Everything was going swimmingly for the No. 14 Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Barclays Classic in Brooklyn. After demolishing Massachusetts on Friday, the Gophers held a 57-44 lead over the No. 25 Alabama Crimson Tide with under 15 minutes left and appeared on their way to a quality non-conference win.
Then chaos.
Senior point guard Nate Mason was ejected for jawing with Alabama freshman Collin Sexton, but moments later, the entire Alabama bench was ejected for rushing onto the court during a skirmish under the basket. To complicate the situation, the Crimson Tide lost two more players to a foul-out and an injury, respectively, leaving them with three players on the court for the final 10 minutes, 41 seconds.
Remarkably, Alabama outscored Minnesota despite playing 3 on 5, got 40 points from Sexton and forced the Gophers to sweat out an 89-84 win.
For 25 minutes of game time, though, the Gophers looked the part of a top-15 squad. Jordan Murphy delivered 19 points and 12 rebounds in the first half to extend his double-double streak to seven games and stake the Gophers to a 41-29 halftime edge. They led by as many as 17 points in the opening half after jumping out to a 21-7 advantage.
Mason then came out gunning in the second stanza with 11 quick points, including a 3-pointer where he crossed over Sexton and stared him down before the release. That got tensions boiling as Sexton and Mason wound up nose to nose a few moments later, resulting in offsetting technical fouls, but Mason continued talking and picked up his second technical on his way to the bench, disqualifying him from the game.
That got Pitino steamed, and he picked up a technical, as well, with the score 57-44.
Alabama was granted four free throws and possession. They made three of the free throws and cashed in on Riley Norris’s 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 57-50, but then the madness continued. After Norris’s 3, Dupree McBrayer got tangled up with Dazon Ingram, and words were exchanged in front of the Alabama bench. With tensions already high, the Crimson Tide’s bench emptied as players raced out to assist in a potential altercation, though no punches were ever thrown.
Since it is illegal for reserve players to come onto the court during an incident, Alabama’s entire bench was ejected.
Just over two minutes later, Ingram picked up his fifth foul, forcing the Crimson Tide to play down a man. Minnesota quickly extended the lead to 67-54 before Alabama’s John Petty rolled his ankle after missing a 3-point shot. The injury forced Petty from the game, leaving the Crimson Tide with three players on the court: Sexton, Norris and Galin Smith.
The Gophers opted to shoot jump shots against the Crimson Tide’s 1-2 zone and expanded the lead to 74-60 before Sexton took over. The freshman scored 13 of Alabama’s next 20 points to cut the deficit to three at 83-80, but the Crimson Tide could get no closer.
Murphy fouled out without scoring in the second half, leaving the Gophers with reserves Michael Hurt and Isaiah Washington on the floor down the stretch. Washington, the New York native, scored a career-high 14 points playing in front of friends and family. Amir Coffey added 12, and Mason scored 20 before his ejection.
The full broadcast, which was streamed on Facebook, is embedded below. Click forward to the point where there are 15 minutes remaining in the game to see where the insanity began.
Up Next
Minnesota (7-0) will take on No. 11 Miami (5-0) on Wednesday at Williams Arena in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
