A perfect storm came together early on Thursday afternoon.
The 10th seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers (22-13) entered their opening round contest as a 5-point underdog to the seventh-seeded Louisville Cardinals (20-14). The stellar play in the next forty minutes could not have come at a better time. The Gophers arguably played their best game of the season giving them an 86-76 victory and also handing Richard Pitino his first NCAA Tournament win as the program's Head Coach.
Louisville led through the game's early stages, but a 3-pointer by Dupree McBrayer with 7:13 left in the first half gave the Gophers an 18-17 advantage and a lead they would never relinquish. Counting that shot, an 18-9 run put Minnesota up 33-26. They took a 38-33 lead into the locker room.
The second half was more of the same. Minnesota scored the first five points of the second which gave them a 10-point lead. The advantage grew to as much as 18 points at 61-43 with 9:48 remaining in the game.
The deficit was trimmed to as little as seven with 2:05 left, but the Cardinals could get no closer as the Gophers went a perfect 10 for 10 from the foul line in the final minute to ice the game.
Louisville coach, Chris Mack, entered the game with a defensive plan of letting the opponent beat them from the outside. This was expected. His team runs a pack line defense while Minnesota has struggled at times with the three-point shot. On this day, the Gopher shooters made him and his team pay dearly.
They were 11 of 27 from deep for a 40.7 percent clip. Gabe Kalscheur led the charge going 5 for 11. Amir Coffey went 3 for 7, and the unlikely source, Jordan Murphy stretched the floor hitting 2 of 3. The team shot 50 percent overall from the game.
All 86 points came from the starting lineup, and all five players were heavily involved in the output. The freshman shooting sensation, Gabe Kalscheur, led all scorers with 24. Jordan Murphy had 18 points and 6 rebounds including a 7 for 10 effort from the field. Amir Coffey had 18 points and 6 rebounds, and set the tone by scoring 13 in the first half. Dupree McBrayer and Daniel Oturu both added 13 points.
Matthew Hurt, Jarvis Omersa, and Brock Stull all played and didn't score, but provided valuable time and effort off the bench.
Minnesota also made 17 of 26 foul shots for a 65.4 percent success rate. Rebounds were knotted up at 35. The Gophers had 11 offensive boards. They also only had 5 turnovers for the game while dishing out 10 assists.
Louisville on the other hand, shot 44.1 percent from the field. They were 9 of 26 from deep for 34.6 percent, and made 15 of 17 foul shots. They had 16 assists against 5 turnovers.
The Cardinals had four players in double figures. Point guard, Christen Cunningham, led the team with 22 points which was boosted by a perfect 13 for 13 from the foul line. Mack's go-to on the offensive end was the high ball screen and Cunningham proved savvy in drawing fouls.
Their big man, Steven Enoch added 14 points, most of which came via the jump hook. He also had 7 rebounds. Darius Perry hit a trio of 3-pointers for 12 points, and Jordan Nwora finished with 10, eight points below his regular season average.
Minnesota has shown various strengths throughout the season, but haven't been able to put the whole package together. On Thursday, all five players on the floor were in sync, while production came from both outside and in. Once Louisville adjusted to chasing Minnesota's shooters more in the second half, they were able to penetrate as well as get the ball inside. Defensively, they played well in stretches and forced the Cardinals into lots of bad shots.
Mack tried to counter with Plans B and C in the second. He went to a zone and a full-court press, implements that he hasn't run much this year, and it showed. Minnesota had little trouble going through either one.
Minnesota will now play the winner of the Michigan State/Bradley game on Saturday. If it happens to be the second seeded Spartans, the two programs and teams certainly won't be strangers. The Big Ten brethren played back on February 9 in East Lansing with the Spartans coming out on top, 79-55.
Stay tuned to The Gopher Report as we bring you more on today's game as well as what to expect on Saturday.
The 10th seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers (22-13) entered their opening round contest as a 5-point underdog to the seventh-seeded Louisville Cardinals (20-14). The stellar play in the next forty minutes could not have come at a better time. The Gophers arguably played their best game of the season giving them an 86-76 victory and also handing Richard Pitino his first NCAA Tournament win as the program's Head Coach.
Louisville led through the game's early stages, but a 3-pointer by Dupree McBrayer with 7:13 left in the first half gave the Gophers an 18-17 advantage and a lead they would never relinquish. Counting that shot, an 18-9 run put Minnesota up 33-26. They took a 38-33 lead into the locker room.
The second half was more of the same. Minnesota scored the first five points of the second which gave them a 10-point lead. The advantage grew to as much as 18 points at 61-43 with 9:48 remaining in the game.
The deficit was trimmed to as little as seven with 2:05 left, but the Cardinals could get no closer as the Gophers went a perfect 10 for 10 from the foul line in the final minute to ice the game.
Louisville coach, Chris Mack, entered the game with a defensive plan of letting the opponent beat them from the outside. This was expected. His team runs a pack line defense while Minnesota has struggled at times with the three-point shot. On this day, the Gopher shooters made him and his team pay dearly.
They were 11 of 27 from deep for a 40.7 percent clip. Gabe Kalscheur led the charge going 5 for 11. Amir Coffey went 3 for 7, and the unlikely source, Jordan Murphy stretched the floor hitting 2 of 3. The team shot 50 percent overall from the game.
All 86 points came from the starting lineup, and all five players were heavily involved in the output. The freshman shooting sensation, Gabe Kalscheur, led all scorers with 24. Jordan Murphy had 18 points and 6 rebounds including a 7 for 10 effort from the field. Amir Coffey had 18 points and 6 rebounds, and set the tone by scoring 13 in the first half. Dupree McBrayer and Daniel Oturu both added 13 points.
Matthew Hurt, Jarvis Omersa, and Brock Stull all played and didn't score, but provided valuable time and effort off the bench.
Minnesota also made 17 of 26 foul shots for a 65.4 percent success rate. Rebounds were knotted up at 35. The Gophers had 11 offensive boards. They also only had 5 turnovers for the game while dishing out 10 assists.
Louisville on the other hand, shot 44.1 percent from the field. They were 9 of 26 from deep for 34.6 percent, and made 15 of 17 foul shots. They had 16 assists against 5 turnovers.
The Cardinals had four players in double figures. Point guard, Christen Cunningham, led the team with 22 points which was boosted by a perfect 13 for 13 from the foul line. Mack's go-to on the offensive end was the high ball screen and Cunningham proved savvy in drawing fouls.
Their big man, Steven Enoch added 14 points, most of which came via the jump hook. He also had 7 rebounds. Darius Perry hit a trio of 3-pointers for 12 points, and Jordan Nwora finished with 10, eight points below his regular season average.
Minnesota has shown various strengths throughout the season, but haven't been able to put the whole package together. On Thursday, all five players on the floor were in sync, while production came from both outside and in. Once Louisville adjusted to chasing Minnesota's shooters more in the second half, they were able to penetrate as well as get the ball inside. Defensively, they played well in stretches and forced the Cardinals into lots of bad shots.
Mack tried to counter with Plans B and C in the second. He went to a zone and a full-court press, implements that he hasn't run much this year, and it showed. Minnesota had little trouble going through either one.
Minnesota will now play the winner of the Michigan State/Bradley game on Saturday. If it happens to be the second seeded Spartans, the two programs and teams certainly won't be strangers. The Big Ten brethren played back on February 9 in East Lansing with the Spartans coming out on top, 79-55.
Stay tuned to The Gopher Report as we bring you more on today's game as well as what to expect on Saturday.
