The Gophers head into a nine-day hiatus feeling pretty good about themselves.
After fending off a rapid-fire 12-0 run by the LIU-Brooklyn Blackbirds to begin the second half, head coach Richard Pitino called timeout, refocused the troops and watched as they quickly rebuilt the lead to double digits.
The Blackbirds posed no further threat as the Gophers finished off a 76-66 victory to move to 11-1. “I just told them to relax, get stops,” said Pitino. “That’s been our identity thus far.”
As the Gophers have proven multiple times through their first dozen games, they are able to win in a multitude of fashions. Wednesday, it was the guards who shouldered the load.
You, Me and Dupree
Dupree McBrayer poured in 15 second-half points to finish with a career-high 21, exceeding his previous high of 18, which he accomplished earlier this season against St. John’s and Georgia Southern. It was his ninth double-digit output of the season, and his eight made field goals were a season best. “Dupree, we’ve always said, was always our most improved player,” Pitino said. “He showed that — made some very, very impressive finishes in the second half.”
McBrayer is right on 40 percent from beyond the arc this year after going 1 of 1 against the Blackbirds, but he scored most of his points in the second half attacking the rim. He and freshman Amir Coffey are both turning into tremendous finishers, and with Coffey sidelined, McBrayer turned in enough spectacular left-handed lay-ins for both of them.
After an and-1 late in the game that gave the Gophers their biggest lead, McBrayer let out a scream as he capped a run of nine points in under four minutes. “Just my teammates and coach telling me to be aggressive because in the first half they were saying I was being too passive,” said the sophomore, “so I just went out trying to be aggressive.”
Richard Pitino on Mason and McBrayer. pic.twitter.com/NC9dwJKBzG
— Sam Ekstrom (@SamEkstrom) December 15, 2016
Backcourt Chemistry
McBrayer’s back court partner, Nate Mason turned in a season-high 19 points of his own, highlighted by 4 of 6 shooting from 3-point range. The junior is now better than 45 percent from 3-point land. “Just putting in the work in the offseason,” said Mason, who also had seven assists.
“Nate is out there playing like a junior,” said Pitino. “He’s had two quality seasons in the Big 10, and he’s got great confidence. We’re still really, really young. It’s crazy. We’re one of the youngest teams in the country when it comes to minutes played, so we need a guy like Nate Mason to really play well.”
Dupree McBrayer and Nate Mason comment on their big nights. pic.twitter.com/WAySXn7Kkn
— Sam Ekstrom (@SamEkstrom) December 15, 2016
Between Mason’s shooting and passing and McBrayer’s all-around improvement, the Gophers’ guards are poised to help them make the leap in Big 10 play. Both took the offseason seriously and returned with new skills in their respective toolboxes. The improvement in skill has led to an improvement in wins, which is only building the young guards’ confidence. “The turning point was the first game I came back I had 18 in the exhibition game,” said McBrayer. “From there on, just gaining confidence every game and my teammates and coach keep saying, ‘Keep shooting, keep shooting.'”
Mason and McBrayer both have a point guard’s DNA. Their ability to drive and create will put stress on opponents’ perimeter defense and open things up for the Gophers’ bigs as the season progresses. “Both of us can create for others,” said Mason. “It’ll be hard to stop two people that can create for other people like us, so it definitely takes a lot of pressure off me to have someone like [Dupree] handle the ball, bring the ball up the court.”
Steph Eric Curry From Deep
Having attempted just two 3-pointers — and missing both — coming into the game, freshman forward Eric Curry tried four of them against LIU-Brooklyn and knocked down his first collegiate 3-ball on Attempt No. 2. It’s a part of his game that’s been up and down this season but should only improve as he grows older and more confident in his shot. “I yelled, ‘Shoot it,'” said Pitino, referencing Curry’s 3-pointer.
Curry played big minutes Wednesday night as Reggie Lynch dealt with early trouble and the Blackbirds chose to go with a smaller lineup. The freshman played 25 minutes off the bench, recorded 11 points, eight rebounds and numerous deflections. Between his springy legs, long arms and active hands, he’s proving to be an effective, yet disciplined, low-post defender and offers a change of pace from Lynch, who may not be as agile. “We’ve done that in the past for some of these smaller teams,” said Pitino. “We’ve gone small, played Eric at the 5, switched a lot of the ball screens. It was pretty effective.”
Coffey Scratched
Another prized freshman, Amir Coffey, didn’t play with a case of turf toe. Coffey suffered the injury in the team’s last game against Northern Illinois and made the decision with team doctors during warmups that he shouldn’t risk aggravating the problem. Coffey was the team’s second-leading scorer coming into the game. “Fortunately, we have some rest, so we’ve got to get him healthy,” Pitino said.
Senior Akeem Springs replaced Coffey in the starting lineup and finished with eight points, five assists and three rebounds.
UP NEXT: Minnesota faces the Red Wolves of Arkansas State in its final non-conference test on Dec. 23.
