Andre Hollins is the Straw that Stirs the Gophers Drink

If the Gophers were going to have an elite player this year, it was supposed to be Andre Hollins. Unfortunately, he had far from lived up to his lofty expectations until these last few games.

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Through the first 15 games of the season, Hollins had only eclipsed the 20 point mark three times. The frustration was evident and the Gophers couldn’t finish games with their star in the dumps. Over the last five games, however, he is averaging 21 per game. The struggling Gophers desperately need it.

Fortunately for Hollins, he was able to see the forest through the trees.

“I never lost confidence,” he said. “I just knew I was in a bad slump. Just had to get in some rhythm. Shot extra shots up, and it’s been going well.”

Hollins’ struggles were a large part of the reason the Gophers started 0-5 in conference play. Minnesota leaned on its athleticism to manhandle the lesser opponents of the non-conference season. Since then, they’ve pulled out two victories and sit at 2-6 in the Big Ten. In those two wins, Hollins finished with 28 and 31 points, respectively. As you can see, the team feeds off of their star’s confidence. Richard Pitino’s mood also feeds of Hollins play, and he was in a good one after Andre went 10-15 from the field including 5-7 from deep against Illinois on Saturday.

“I look at all the other things he brings,” Pitino said. “I think, more than anything, Andre is realizing the clock is ticking, and he’s going to make the most of this. We lost a lot of close, tough games, so we know we’re close. We’ve always stayed really positive.”

Even though things are starting to turn for the better, a birth in the NCAA tournament is still a long shot. The Gophers currently sit at 13-8 with ten games to play. Usually for Big Ten teams the safe number for a tourney bid is 20 wins. That will be a tough number to reach with four ranked opponents still on the schedule, including two match ups with Wisconsin. Five straight conference losses might have been an early knockout punch for the maroon and gold. We’ll have to wait and see.

Hollins and Minnesota will look to keep the momentum going on Wednesday at 6 pm central when they travel to Penn State to square off with the Nittany Lions. Another loss to an unranked opponent might be the final nail in the coffin for the Gophers’ March Madness hopes. A win would keep the momentum rolling with two winnable home games on the horizon.

Jan 24, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Gophers guard Andre Hollins (1) shoots the ball in the second half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Williams Arena. The Gophers won 79-71. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

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