Richard Pitino might be onto something trying to play a constant full-court pressure, run-and-gun style in the Big Ten.

Or he might be in for a rude awakening.

Either way, the first-year University of Minnesota basketball coach is ready to find out. His Gophers (11-2) open conference play Thursday against Michigan (8-4) at Williams Arena.

Ever since he was hired to replace Tubby Smith in April, Pitino challenged the perception that the Big Ten mostly plays a slow, grind-it-out and physical brand of basketball.

“I think it’s only certain teams that do that,” he said. “I don’t think it’s as much as some people think.”

Big Ten Network analyst and former Illinois player Stephen Bardo believes the Gophers are the sixth-best team in the conference right now — and could be better as they get more comfortable with Pitino’s system.

“I love the fact that they’re going to play a different style than a lot of the Big Ten programs will,” Bardo said. “I think at least in the first year, teams know that it’s coming, but it will take them by surprise.”

Under Pitino last season, Florida International thrived off an aggressive full-court press. It made teams uncomfortable because his players basically got into their defensive stance and harassed the opposition after every made basket.

“That’s our plan,” junior point guard DeAndre Mathieu said. “I don’t think we have a choice. That’s our style of play. That’s a style our coach likes to play. I don’t think many teams in the Big Ten have seen this style, as often as we play it. It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be interesting to see how it works. But I think it’ll work.”

Minnesota leads the Big Ten and ranks 22nd nationally in steals per game (8.5). The Gophers rank second in the Big Ten in turnover margin (plus-3.85) and opponents’ turnovers per game (14.5).

Only No. 3-ranked Ohio State has a better turnover margin (plus-4.71) and higher opponent turnover average (15.3) in the conference.

The Gophers have faced two teams this season that were better at speeding up the game and forcing mistakes than they were.

In losses to Syracuse and Arkansas, Minnesota committed 19 and 16 turnovers, respectively. They were the Gophers’ only nonconference opponents to have a better turnover margin and record more steals. The Orange, now ranked No. 2, are not only talented but have one of the best defensive coaches in the country in Jim Boeheim. The Razorbacks, who are as athletic as any team Minnesota will see in the Big Ten, rank second nationally with 18.3 turnovers forced a game.

Pitino’s system can’t work well without his guards taking care of the ball, and they struggled mightily at that in both losses.

The Syracuse loss was a two-point game with less than two minutes remaining. That was hard to imagine with Minnesota’s four-guard attack of Mathieu, Andre Hollins, Austin Hollins and Malik Smith combining for 15 turnovers.

Mathieu and the Hollinses have started every game this season, but the Gophers often have played all four guards at the same time, with Smith playing small forward and Austin Hollins moving to power forward.

Their best game together was when they combined for 74 points in a win over Nebraska-Omaha. Mathieu had 27 points, and Andre Hollins, the team’s leading scorer, had his first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

“When there are other people scoring, then teams just can’t focus on me,” Andre Hollins said. “When we’re all contributing, that’s hard to stop. That’s a four-headed monster. You can’t leave anybody open, so I’m excited about that going into the Big Ten.”

Pitino isn’t sure how much he’ll go with a four-guard lineup now. He still wants to play fast as a team but understands the defensive limitations with a smaller group on the floor.

At 6 feet 4, Austin Hollins has been overly impressive with three double-doubles this season. He is averaging 7.2 rebounds a game, but Pitino doesn’t think those numbers will be maintained.

“That’s a question mark,” Pitino said. “There are some things offensively we can do that’s tough to go against playing four guards basically. But then defensively, certainly rebounding is an issue. So I’m not sure.”

Minnesota is a perimeter-oriented team, and that might not be a bad thing with the Big Ten suffering from a shortage of dominant post players. Michigan’s Mitch McGary, who is out indefinitely with a back injury, was arguably the league’s best inside presence.

Having post players who can play well in a pick-and-roll offense and run the floor in Pitino’s system will be an important factor.

Andre Hollins expects frontcourt starters Elliott Eliason and Oto Osenieks and backups Joey King and Mo Walker to do their part and keep Minnesota playing as fast as it can.

“We know our big guys are going to step up,” Hollins said. “We’re going to find them off pick-and-rolls more. They’re going to have to demand the ball more and be a little bit more aggressive. They do it in practice, and I think it’s coming along.”

Follow Marcus R. Fuller at twitter.com/GophersNow.