The Hoosiers need to win a few conference road games this season if they hope to contend for the Big Ten title. And Sunday afternoon would be a good time to start. \nIU travels to Minnesota this weekend to take on a Golden Gopher squad that currently occupies the cellar of the conference. At 0-6, Minnesota has had a tough time establishing itself this season and the Hoosiers need to take advantage of the opportunity they have to pick up a precious road win.\nMinnesota must be looked at as a statement game for the Hoosiers, since they failed to score a win or even a solid performance at Iowa on Tuesday. IU needs to dominate this game from the outset, take the crowd out of the game and not allow a struggling team to think it has a chance. Minnesota lacks post depth and has very little in terms of post talent, so senior Marco Killingsworth needs to establish himself early and take over the game. \nThe Hoosiers also need to do something they haven't done recently -- drive to the basket. In the last several games, it seems like the Hoosier guards are looking to shoot threes as opposed to finding way to get easy layups. While the team's shooting percentage has been great all year, it has dropped in the last few games and settling for contested shots from beyond the arc is not the best plan when you're struggling. Driving to the hoop will not only create better opportunities for the shooters, as defenses will collapse on the driving player. But it will also cause the defense to foul. \nThe Hoosier guards have simply not gotten to the charity stripe enough this season and that is a direct result of not being aggressive. Though he's a great shooter, Robert Vaden needs to take a leadership role in this effort and be an example to the other perimeter players. If Vaden starts to go to the hoop, others will follow. This will be a great game to work on getting the offense back on track for the rest of the season. \nBut that's not to say Minnesota can't pull this upset, the team is certainly capable. It will look at IU as a team that is struggling and even reeling after a bad loss at Iowa. Williams Arena is always a difficult place to play and you can bet that if the Hoosiers don't take care of business early, it could be a tough slog down the stretch. And it's not like the Gophers are totally devoid of talent, either. \nThe Hoosier guards will have their hands full with 6-foot-5 senior swingman Vincent Grier, who might be the conference's best penetrator. Grier has the ability to go for 30 any night and can cause problems for teams that don't play disciplined help defense. The key to stopping him is to stop his penetration and make him shoot long-range jump shots, something he has a tough time with. If the Hoosiers stop Grier, it should be an easy win.\nIU is simply more talented than Minnesota and should win this game. Sure, anything can happen in the Big Ten, but I personally want this to be what I call an "Ahlfeld game." I want to see my boy Adam Ahlfeld on the floor. I've done a little research and I found that every time he registers at least one minute of playing time, the Hoosiers have won the game. I know my old psychology professor would say that my study proved a correlation not causation, but as a fan all I know is when Ahlfeld plays, we win.\nGet him in the game.
Much needed win in sight
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