Tuesday night's 80-71 win over North Florida had several story lines. The Gophers were without Dupree McBrayer who was back in new York for his mother's funeral. Richard Pitino opted to start Brock Stull in his absence instead of Isaiah Washington.
Washington responded with a career night. He had a double-double along with Jordan Murphyand freshman, Daniel Oturu on the way to an 80-71 victory.
One would think three players with double-doubles would manifest itself to more than a nine point win, but UNF made big shot after big shot and ran their offense flawlessly. The Gophers didn't have any breathing room until the very end of the game.
The first half certainly had a theme. When Minnesota had the ball, they had to be prepared for multiple defensive looks from North Florida. Their answer was to get the ball inside and to push it in transition before the defense could set up.
When North Florida had the ball they had to adjust from Minnesota’s perimeter pressure looking to run the Osprey’s 3-point shooters off the arc. They adjusted by back-cutting the overplaying defense to ribbons.
UNF opened up in a 1-3-1. Pitino countered with a hi-lo look of Oturu in the high post and Murphy on the low block. The ball went through Oturu who either drove to the bucket or dumped the ball down to Murphy for the finish when the back line converged on him. North Florida was able to get buckets of their own though and took an 11-8 lead into the first media timeout with 15:07 left.
Minnesota came out of the huddle with an immediate 6-0 run in the next fifty-eight seconds. Matthew Hurt finished on a nice baseline drive, and Amir Coffey got out in the open floor for two straight point-blank scores. North Florida took a timeout trailing 14-11.
Minnesota extended the lead to 18-13 before the next official stoppage. Oturu scored twice around the bucket, once on a drive and the other on an assist from Isaiah Washington.
North Florida began trapping out of their 1-3-1, which looked like a man, but was an unusual matchup zone in which the defenders went with the offensive cutters to a new spot in the zone. They also applied more ball pressure and trapped the wings, and the ball on top at times. The result was confusion on Minnesota’s side, but the Ospreys were having their own troubles in the scoring department. The Gophers held on to a 20-15 lead with 7:58 left.
Both offenses began to pick up the pace from that point. The Gophers pushed the ball in transition and Washington had his best half of his career as a true point guard. His teammates found openings in the zone and in the man to man that they began running, and all Washington needed was an inch. He had eight assists in the first half.
North Florida also began cutting without the ball against the pressure and picked up the pace in transition. The teams went back and forth till the end of the first half where Minnesota took a scant 35-34 into the locker room.
Both teams shot 40.6 percent from the field. Minnesota hit three more foul shots than UNF, and the Ospreys hit two more 3-pointers. They were 3 of 10 and the Gophers were only 1 of 7.
Minnesota had advantage in fastbreak points (11-1), and piled up 22 points in the paint. 30 of their 35 points were scored either in the paint or at the foul line. The poor perimeter shooting would not only be a theme for the first half but for the entire game.
The score stayed close as the second half opened, but two milestones occurred early on. Murphy picked up his double-double at the 16:19 mark, and Washington got his tenth assist very early in the half.
North Florida went back to the traditional 1-3-1, and started to duck in their posts on the opposite low block for the diagonal pass as they went to the continuous ball screen motion in the four out look.
As the score went back and forth halfway into the second half, North Florida was doing it by committee. The ball and player movement got everyone involved, and also started spreading the floor more by moving their bigs out on the floor then looking to drive by the posts. They had five players at the ten minute mark who had between seven and nine points. Minnesota on the other hand was getting their points from the trio of Murphy, Oturu, and Amir Coffey.
Isaiah Washington started to do some scoring on his own as the game went into the final ten minutes. He hit two straight teardrops then dropped a dime to Oturu for the dunk. Murphy also got into the scoring act as the Gophers stretched the lead to the biggest of the game at 60-52 with 8:57 left.
North Florida would not go away quietly though. Every time it looked like Minnesota had breathing room, the opponent bounced back with a big shot. From a 62-55 mark, J.T. Escobar made a jumper, Wajid Aminu hit a layup to force Pitino to take a timeout at 7:34 left with a 62-59 lead.
Washington and Coffey got to the line on three straight scoring attempts and converted on five of six free throws. Washington also hit a spinning ten foot jumper in the lane. But UNF kept answering. The lead was only 70-66 with 2:51 left. North Florida could get no closer.
Washington took over the game via the foul shot and assist. Murphy, Gabe Kalscheur, and Coffey hit late foul shots. On the defensive end, the Gophers gave their best effort of the game. They consistently ran the UNF shooters off the 3-point line and would not let them get their feet set. Minnesota closed out on a 10-5 run to take a hard earned 80-71 win.
For the night, Minnesota was 26 of 67 for 38 percent. 3-point shooting was a problem. They were 1 of 15 for 6.7 percent. Coffey hit the only three. Once again, they made a living on the foul line. They got there 39 times and made 27. 69 of the team’s 80 point occurred either in the paint or at the charity stripe. Minnesota had 16 assists on 26 field goals. Thirteen of those came from Washington. They also dominated the rebounding battle 52-35.
Minnesota had an unusual occurance in the win. Three players had double-doubles. Murphy had the 53rd of his career with 20 points and 18 rebounds. Oturu had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Washington had 14 points and 13 assists. He did this against no turnovers.
This was easily Washington’s best game as a point guard of his career. His vision and passing accuracy was uncanny. All he needed was an inch to deliver a no look pass. He looked under control and nothing seemed forced. This game would have been in the balance without a career night from him.
Coffey also added 18 points and 6 rebounds. He was crucial down the stretch. Kalscheur had 3 points all on foul shots. The break could not come at a better time for him. His recent struggles with the perimeter jumper hit their apex last night. He was 0 for 8 from deep, and 0 for 10 overall. To Pitino’s credit, he continued to give the freshman the green light all night long.
Michael Hurt added 5 points. He gave a good effort on both sides of the floor. He defended the post well and also pulled 3 rebounds. Jarvis Omersa had 3 points. Brock Stull and Matz Stockman both chipped in 2 points.
For North Florida, they shot 41.3 percent from the field and made 8 out of 22 long balls. They didn't get to the line much, but were a near perfect 11 of 12 when they got there. Their 13 turnovers came at un-opportune times. A stretch of three turnovers in three possessions late in a tight game turned out to be very advantageous for the Gophers.
Garrett Sams led the team with 13 points, followed by Wajid Aminu with 10. Noah Horchler and Trip Day both had 9, and Ivan Gandia-Rosa had 8.
Minnesota will now be off until December 21 when North Carolina A&T comes to town.
Washington responded with a career night. He had a double-double along with Jordan Murphyand freshman, Daniel Oturu on the way to an 80-71 victory.
One would think three players with double-doubles would manifest itself to more than a nine point win, but UNF made big shot after big shot and ran their offense flawlessly. The Gophers didn't have any breathing room until the very end of the game.
The first half certainly had a theme. When Minnesota had the ball, they had to be prepared for multiple defensive looks from North Florida. Their answer was to get the ball inside and to push it in transition before the defense could set up.
When North Florida had the ball they had to adjust from Minnesota’s perimeter pressure looking to run the Osprey’s 3-point shooters off the arc. They adjusted by back-cutting the overplaying defense to ribbons.
UNF opened up in a 1-3-1. Pitino countered with a hi-lo look of Oturu in the high post and Murphy on the low block. The ball went through Oturu who either drove to the bucket or dumped the ball down to Murphy for the finish when the back line converged on him. North Florida was able to get buckets of their own though and took an 11-8 lead into the first media timeout with 15:07 left.
Minnesota came out of the huddle with an immediate 6-0 run in the next fifty-eight seconds. Matthew Hurt finished on a nice baseline drive, and Amir Coffey got out in the open floor for two straight point-blank scores. North Florida took a timeout trailing 14-11.
Minnesota extended the lead to 18-13 before the next official stoppage. Oturu scored twice around the bucket, once on a drive and the other on an assist from Isaiah Washington.
North Florida began trapping out of their 1-3-1, which looked like a man, but was an unusual matchup zone in which the defenders went with the offensive cutters to a new spot in the zone. They also applied more ball pressure and trapped the wings, and the ball on top at times. The result was confusion on Minnesota’s side, but the Ospreys were having their own troubles in the scoring department. The Gophers held on to a 20-15 lead with 7:58 left.
Both offenses began to pick up the pace from that point. The Gophers pushed the ball in transition and Washington had his best half of his career as a true point guard. His teammates found openings in the zone and in the man to man that they began running, and all Washington needed was an inch. He had eight assists in the first half.
North Florida also began cutting without the ball against the pressure and picked up the pace in transition. The teams went back and forth till the end of the first half where Minnesota took a scant 35-34 into the locker room.
Both teams shot 40.6 percent from the field. Minnesota hit three more foul shots than UNF, and the Ospreys hit two more 3-pointers. They were 3 of 10 and the Gophers were only 1 of 7.
Minnesota had advantage in fastbreak points (11-1), and piled up 22 points in the paint. 30 of their 35 points were scored either in the paint or at the foul line. The poor perimeter shooting would not only be a theme for the first half but for the entire game.
The score stayed close as the second half opened, but two milestones occurred early on. Murphy picked up his double-double at the 16:19 mark, and Washington got his tenth assist very early in the half.
North Florida went back to the traditional 1-3-1, and started to duck in their posts on the opposite low block for the diagonal pass as they went to the continuous ball screen motion in the four out look.
As the score went back and forth halfway into the second half, North Florida was doing it by committee. The ball and player movement got everyone involved, and also started spreading the floor more by moving their bigs out on the floor then looking to drive by the posts. They had five players at the ten minute mark who had between seven and nine points. Minnesota on the other hand was getting their points from the trio of Murphy, Oturu, and Amir Coffey.
Isaiah Washington started to do some scoring on his own as the game went into the final ten minutes. He hit two straight teardrops then dropped a dime to Oturu for the dunk. Murphy also got into the scoring act as the Gophers stretched the lead to the biggest of the game at 60-52 with 8:57 left.
North Florida would not go away quietly though. Every time it looked like Minnesota had breathing room, the opponent bounced back with a big shot. From a 62-55 mark, J.T. Escobar made a jumper, Wajid Aminu hit a layup to force Pitino to take a timeout at 7:34 left with a 62-59 lead.
Washington and Coffey got to the line on three straight scoring attempts and converted on five of six free throws. Washington also hit a spinning ten foot jumper in the lane. But UNF kept answering. The lead was only 70-66 with 2:51 left. North Florida could get no closer.
Washington took over the game via the foul shot and assist. Murphy, Gabe Kalscheur, and Coffey hit late foul shots. On the defensive end, the Gophers gave their best effort of the game. They consistently ran the UNF shooters off the 3-point line and would not let them get their feet set. Minnesota closed out on a 10-5 run to take a hard earned 80-71 win.
For the night, Minnesota was 26 of 67 for 38 percent. 3-point shooting was a problem. They were 1 of 15 for 6.7 percent. Coffey hit the only three. Once again, they made a living on the foul line. They got there 39 times and made 27. 69 of the team’s 80 point occurred either in the paint or at the charity stripe. Minnesota had 16 assists on 26 field goals. Thirteen of those came from Washington. They also dominated the rebounding battle 52-35.
Minnesota had an unusual occurance in the win. Three players had double-doubles. Murphy had the 53rd of his career with 20 points and 18 rebounds. Oturu had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Washington had 14 points and 13 assists. He did this against no turnovers.
This was easily Washington’s best game as a point guard of his career. His vision and passing accuracy was uncanny. All he needed was an inch to deliver a no look pass. He looked under control and nothing seemed forced. This game would have been in the balance without a career night from him.
Coffey also added 18 points and 6 rebounds. He was crucial down the stretch. Kalscheur had 3 points all on foul shots. The break could not come at a better time for him. His recent struggles with the perimeter jumper hit their apex last night. He was 0 for 8 from deep, and 0 for 10 overall. To Pitino’s credit, he continued to give the freshman the green light all night long.
Michael Hurt added 5 points. He gave a good effort on both sides of the floor. He defended the post well and also pulled 3 rebounds. Jarvis Omersa had 3 points. Brock Stull and Matz Stockman both chipped in 2 points.
For North Florida, they shot 41.3 percent from the field and made 8 out of 22 long balls. They didn't get to the line much, but were a near perfect 11 of 12 when they got there. Their 13 turnovers came at un-opportune times. A stretch of three turnovers in three possessions late in a tight game turned out to be very advantageous for the Gophers.
Garrett Sams led the team with 13 points, followed by Wajid Aminu with 10. Noah Horchler and Trip Day both had 9, and Ivan Gandia-Rosa had 8.
Minnesota will now be off until December 21 when North Carolina A&T comes to town.
