Heading into Wednesday’s highly-anticipated matchup with the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes, the No. 12 Minnesota Golden Gophers knew they could play with anybody. But they also knew they weren’t perfect.
Their imperfections were on full display in front of a sellout Williams Arena crowd that went home disappointed after a 89-84 loss in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Minnesota (7-1) came into the game allowing opponents to shoot 40 percent from 3-point range, ranked 316th out of 351 teams in the country in 3-point defense. The Hurricanes shot 10 of 25 — exactly 40 percent — in the win. They were 6 of 12 in the second half, shooting right into the teeth of a raucous Gophers student section. All six makes came in a nine-minute stretch as the ‘Canes took a 36-36 halftime tie and turned it into a 71-59 lead.
Freshman Chris Lykes, at just 5-foot-7, knocked down a pair of 3s in the second half, as did Dejan Vasiljevic.
“We gotta defend better. Whenever a team shoots 56 percent, you’re not going to win the game,” said Pitino referencing Miami’s second-half shooting percentage.
The 3s were open because Minnesota couldn’t contain Dewan Huell, Miami’s athletic big man, on the pick and roll. Huell converted six dunks and scored a season-high 23 points against the usually-stout Gophers posts. Though Reggie Lynch and Jordan Murphy both recorded double-doubles and combined for 10 blocks, they had trouble recovering from screens against Miami’s athletic perimeter ball-handlers.
Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga opted to start Lykes in the second half to give his team a faster lineup, which turned out to be the perfect maneuver against Minnesota’s interior defense. Lynch, in particular, excels against post-ups but struggles moving laterally.
“Our objective was to try and create more ball screen situations for their bigs,” said Larranaga. “If you let their big guys just hang around the basket, they get every rebound and they block a lot of shots.”
While Lykes sparked Miami’s pivotal second-half run, the Gophers got nothing from their bench. Literally.
Minnesota’s bench got outscored 16-0, as Isaiah Washington replaced Dupree McBrayer (leg infection) in the starting lineup. The Gophers’ bench consisted of Michael Hurt, Jamir Harris, Davonte Fitzgerald and Bakary Konate, who combined for one missed shot, two rebounds and no assists in the loss. Without Washington’s presence in the second unit, the Gophers lack a confident bench scorer.
But Washington wasn’t efficient as a starter, continuing an early-season trend of over-shooting and under-producing. The freshman took a team-high 17 shots and finished with 14 points, but until he strung together five consecutive makes toward the end of the game, Washington was 1 of 12 from the field. He finished with five turnovers.
“I think with the last turnover,” said Mason, “he kind of put his head down and walked away, and I kind of called him, ‘Man, put your head up.’ It’s going to be a tough pill for him to swallow, but once he looks at the film and dissects everything and listens to what Coach has to say, I think he’s going to recover.”
All things considered, Minnesota nearly came back to win the game. The Gophers went on a 12-2 run to pull within two points late, but a wacky bounce under the basket led to a Hurricanes dunk, and Minnesota never got back within one possession.
The reasons they lost, though, were the reasons one might expect. Minnesota’s flaws are no longer a secret, and they’ll need to address them before the rigors of conference play.
Up Next
Due to new Big Ten scheduling, the Gophers will play a pair of conference games in December, beginning with Sunday’s tilt against Rutgers at Williams Arena. First tip is at 5 p.m.
