The Minnesota Golden Gophers got off to a good start to the season when they were able to defeat Bucknell last week. Their challenge looks to be quite a bit different on Monday night, however, as they play host to the South Dakota St. Jackrabbits in a match-up of the Big Ten versus the Summit League at 7 p.m.
Tubby Smith's team will likely rely on the inside tandem of Ralph Sampson III and Trevor Mbakwe, but that should come as no surprise as it's been the gameplan since last season. Mbakwe led the team with 17 points and 10 rebounds in the opening-night victory while Sampson contributed all over the box score with eight points, nine rebounds and six assists.
The Jackrabbits are also 1-0 entering Monday night's game. It seems the Daily Gopher has done a thorough scouting report on them, though, so we will defer to the experts on what to watch for out of South Dakota State:
SDSU is led by Nate Wolters who is a preseason 1st team all-Summit League guy and he is supported by Jordan Dykstra who was a mid-major freshman All-American team selection a year ago. Tony Fiegen is their tallest starter who contributed 16 points in their first game of the year, but he averaged just 5 points a year ago. The Jackrabbits are in the hunt to win the Summit League this season garnering one first place vote in the preseason poll and finishing 3rd.
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