Taking on a USC Upstate Spartans team that underwent a coaching change just over a month ago and was ranked by Sports Illustrated as the 300th best Division I team out of 351, the Minnesota Golden Gophers didn’t need to put forth their best effort to win their regular season opener.
While there wasn’t much doubt during the second half of Minnesota’s 92-77 victory, there was still plenty to be desired as the Gophers allowed 14 3-pointers, committed 13 turnovers and found themselves tied with the Spartans late in the first half before a 12-2 run gave them separation into halftime.
Jordan Murphy’s career-high 35 points and 15 rebounds carried the Gophers on a night when many of their guards were shaking off some rust.
“I didn’t like our offensive attack in the first half, and that’s on me,” said head coach Richard Pitino. “Got to do a better job there, put these guys in the right space.
“We got the win. It was definitely not pretty. But Jordan Murphy was terrific, obviously, so there was a lot of good.”
Murphy scored 22 of his points in the second half against smaller Spartans forwards who were no match for the explosive junior. It continued a positive trend for Murphy, who made big strides offensively late last season as he averaged over 15 points in the team’s last 11 games.
Murphy was able to score at will on the low block Friday night with an assortment of post moves and putbacks. He recorded nine offensive rebounds in the game and played a big part in Minnesota’s 54-35 rebounding advantage.
“I’ve worked on pretty much everything in the offseason,” Murphy said. “Just making sure that my overall game is just more solid than it was last year. I’m starting to understand the game better, just from a mentality standpoint doing what I need to do.”
Senior Reggie Lynch added a double-double of his own with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The defending Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year stayed out of foul trouble as the Spartans played their bigs on the perimeter, allowing Lynch to stay aggressive and amass four blocks.
It was just the second time that Lynch and Murphy have notched a double-double in the same game. The last time it happened was Dec. 11, 2016 against Northern Illinois.
“If I see [Jordan] doing well, then it makes me want to excel to his level,” said Lynch. “We feed off each other really well.”
Slow-starting guards
Facing a zone defense, Minnesota’s guards had a tough time finding a rhythm Friday night.
Nate Mason, Dupree McBrayer and Isaiah Washington combined to shoot 7 of 26 and only got to the free-throw line six times. Amir Coffey fouled out of the game late in the second half with eight points and four turnovers.
“I don’t think I did a really good job of what we were running to put them in a position to succeed,” said Pitino. “I’m not sure we simulated their defense well enough. We didn’t have two really good practices leading up to this game, so I think our guys learned, ‘We’ve got to be more locked in.'”
Washington, in particular, struggled in his debut. The prized recruit out of New York went 1 of 9 from the field with six of his misses coming from behind the 3-point stripe. He did, however, lead the team in assists with five.
“He hasn’t seen a zone like that before,” said Pitino. “We don’t play a match-up zone, so he hasn’t really gone against one.”
Notes
- Davonte Fitzgerald played 10 minutes and scored two points in his first regular-season action since March 23, 2015. The Gophers are being cautious with Fitzgerald as the transfer rehabs from a torn ACL last year.
- Minnesota let the Spartans shoot 45 percent from 3-point range, giving up seven 3s in the first half. USC Upstate led 26-25 with 6:15 remaining before halftime when the Gophers took the lead for good and eventually built up a 43-33 advantage at the half.
- The Gophers travel to Providence on Monday to face Pitino’s alma mater. The Friars made the First Four of the NCAA Tournament last year, losing to USC 75-71.
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