After stealing a victory with a second half comeback against Washington last Wednesday following a lethargic first half, the Minnesota Golden Gophers’ offensive woes caught up to them in a 68-56 loss to Boston College.
Minnesota was outscored 35-24 in the second half as the Eagles 3-2 zone forced the Gophers to rely on their struggling outside shooting as they finished 5 of 30 on the night from long range and 19 for 65 overall. Jordan Murphy fouled out with just under six minutes remaining, and Boston College pulled away late to hand Minnesota its third straight Big Ten/ACC Challenge loss.
Where are the veterans?
Aside from Murphy, who chipped in a 16-11 double-double before his exit, the Gophers got next to nothing from their most experienced players. Amir Coffey was stuck on four points until two late 3s and a pair of free throws after the game was out of hand. He finished the game with 12 points, shooting 4 of 10 with one rebound and two assists. It’s still early in the season, but it’s fair to ask if Coffey’s work at the point is stimulating enough offense. He has just eight assists in the last four games.
Dupree McBrayer struggled even more, finishing with zero points on 0 for 8 shooting. He’s 10 for 44 from the floor since the season opener against Omaha and 3 for 25 from 3-point range during that slump. And he seems to have lost some initiative to drive to the basket, a skill he demonstrated frequently in his earlier years. It was the fourth time he’s been held scoreless in a game where he played 10 or more minutes.
Still no bench
The Gophers’ bench was supposed to be improved this season, but that improvement may have to wait until Eric Curry’s return from knee surgery. The second unit floundered once again, notching more fouls (10) than points (9). Isaiah Washington’s high-volume, low-accuracy shooting continued as he went 2 for 10, putting him at 9 for 43 on the season (21 percent). Jarvis Omersa picked up four fouls and didn’t score. Matz Stockman picked up three fouls.
On the Eagles’ side, big man Nik Popovic pulverized the Gophers for 18 points on 9-for-9 shooting, leading their team in scoring.
Washington is the Gophers’ only bench player with God-given scoring touch. Without his shot falling, the unit has few that can be score freely, and when bench bigs are getting themselves in foul trouble in just a handful of minutes, neither end of the floor is getting stabilized.
Eric Curry’s return in a week or two should push Daniel Oturu back to the second unit and improve the reserves’ defense.
Shakopee’s finest
Shakopee product Steffon Mitchell had a terrific ballgame in his first meeting against the in-state team that didn’t recruit him out of high school. The former Saber scored eight points with a team-high 13 rebounds and four assists.
Mitchell famously lost to Coffey’s Hopkins team in the 2014 State Tournament on Coffey’s three-quarters court buzzer beater.
Up Next
The travel-weary Gophers (5-1) get to play in their home city on Friday, but not on their home court. They’ll face Oklahoma State at 9 p.m. at U.S. Bank Stadium as the facility gets a dry run before the Final Four comes in April.
Oklahoma State (4-2) just knocked off No. 19 LSU 90-77, but they suffered a loss to Charlotte back on Nov. 10.
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