All systems would appear to be "go" for the Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium next April. The shakedown cruise departed downtown Minneapolis Friday with 2 ball games--and we mean basketball, not football, games--and returns Saturday with 2 more. The floor was from South Dakota, but the winners were from Minnesota. Both of them. St. Thomas (the men) pulled away from UW-River Falls down the stretch to win 85-70. Then the Minnesota Gophers put their shooting woes behind them by outscoring a skilled offensive machine called Oklahoma State 83-76. So whether you were there to watch the games or to watch to shakedown, if you are a Minnesota basketball fan, it was a successful night.
The Gophers led by as many as 18 in the 2nd half but OSU clawed back to within 77-73 at the 4:30 mark, when Gabe Kalscheur drained a 3 to give the Gophers a little room to breathe. A pair of Isaiah Washington FT a couple of minutes later iced it for the Gophers.
Minnesota outshot OSU 52 percent to 43 percent, a nice reversal from a dreadful shooting night at Boston College earlier in the week. Both teams shot better than 50 percent from long range. So it was in fact a more or less complete turnabout, as the Gophers had little difficulty scoring on the Cowboys, but had a lot of trouble stopping them. Lindy Waters, Cameron McGriff and Mike Cunningham all hit 2 or more 3s, while McGriff and Michael Weathers were quick to the rim.
But Jordan Murphy was again a man among men with 24 points (6-of-12 shooting and 11-of-14 FT) and 16 boards. Washington and Kalscheur scored 15 and 14 points, respectively, each shooting exactly .500 and, best of all, Dupree McBrayer broke out of a season-long shooting slump with a 4-of-6 shooting night.
The first half saw a series of runs. The Gophers went up 5-0, then trailed 13-5. They roared back to within 21-20, then trailed 25-20. They scored 9 straight to lead 29-25, then fell behind again by 33-31. But the Gophers fought back behind Murphy's 15 1st half points (along with 9 rebounds).
Still, it was Matz Stockman who gave the Gophers a huge lift just before halftime. He came off the bench with the Gophers trailing 25-21, to block a pair of the Cowboys' shots. He then grabbed 3 straight defensive rebounds, then assisted on a pair of buckets by McBrayer and Washington. Then, after yet another defensive board, he drained a 3 from the top of the key as the first half clock expired to give Minnesota a 45-38 half-time lead. Let the record show that that 7-point lead at the half was the same as the margin at the final gun.
Perennial power St. Thomas shocked the world by dropping to 5th place in the MIAC last year. So far this year, things are looking up. Maybe not 1st place up, but up, including a solid offensive performance tonight against UWRF. The big news out of Summit Avenue is freshman guard Anders Nelson who, in his first 2 or 3 games as a Tommie, was already established as their best player and their leader on the court. He did everything you might expect of such a player tonight--slashing to the rim, hitting a pair of 3s, harassing opposing ball handlers, etc. etc.--to the tune of 24 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds and 5 steals.
But it was post Connor Bair who was the Tommies best player tonight. He gave up 3-4 inches to UWRF's big guys. Bair played out of his head with 23 points, 5 boards, 2 assists. Oh, yeah, and the fact that UWRF's bigs, Austin Heidecker and Julian Jackson, combined for 32 points and 25 boards has to be tempered by the fact that Bair blocked their shots TEN TIMES. 10 blocked shots! How often do you see that. I can guarantee that it's never been done at the U.S. Bank Stadium.
Still, St. Thomas led almost the entire way but could never quite put UWRF away until the final few minutes when the Tommies' lead finally expanded from 72-64 at 3:00 to the final of 85-70.
Player of the Day--Jordan Murphy
Team of the Day--Minnesota Gopher men
Coach of the Day--Richard Pitino
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