The Minnesota Golden Gophers are set to open the season against Long Island University on Nov. 8 but if this weekend’s scrimmage against Colorado State was any indication, they could be in for another long year.
According to Trilly Donovan of BurnerBall.com, Colorado defeated the Gophers 87-49 in a scrimmage on Saturday and six different Rams scored in double figures, including 15 points, six assists and three steals from guard Isaiah Stevens.
Dawson Garcia reportedly had 13 points and six rebounds for the Gophers, but that won’t ease the concerns of losing by 38 points to a team that went 15-18 and 6-12 in the Mountain West Conference last season.
The Gophers went 9-27 last season and finished last in the Big Ten with a 2-17 conference record. Minnesota was also bitten by the transfer portal last offseason as Jamison Battle transferred to Ohio State, Ta’Lon Cooper transferred to South Carolina and Treyton Thompson transferred to Stetson.
Garcia returns after leading Minnesota with 15.3 points per game while Pharrel Payne and Braeden Carrington return after promising rookie seasons to go along with four-star Pepperdine transfer Mike Mitchell, who averaged 11.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists a year ago.
