The Gophers battled in the second half to take the lead and hold on to a 78-73 win over UCLA. Both teams shot the ball very well, but Minnesota shot over 62% in the second half and surged ahead in the final minutes to upste the Bruins. Bobby Durkin led the way for the Gophers with 23 points but Cade Tyson and Langston Reynolds each had 21.
QUOTABLE: Talking about the adversities his team has face as well as the overall toughness his team exuudes, Niko Medved had this to say about his team.
“They kind
of inspire me, to be honest. We just have great guys, but I’ve never been through anything like this. We had four guys score tonight? That’s crazy.”
“Tough as nails. Tough mentally, tough physically and they exemplify that. This team, they leave everything out there, they have an incredible amount of toughness. Toughness to me is emotional and mental toughness that leads to having physical toughness.”
THE STAT: The stat today is four. As in, only four players for the Gophers scored. I mentioned the three who had 21 or more and Isaac Asuma added 13.
TURNING POINT: With under 7:00 to go, the game tied at 61 apiece, Cade Tyson makes two free throws to give Minnesota a lead and then Asuma stole the show. The sophomore hit a runner in the lane to give Minnesota a four-point lead, blocked a shot on the defensive end, led the break after getting the loose ball and hit Tyson for a layup and now a six-point lead.
From there, the Gophers held on.
HOT: Durkin was 5/6 from three in the first half and opened the second half with a three to give Minnesota the lead. He finished the game with seven threes and 23 points.
NOT: Donovan Dent and Trent Perry combine to average 26.6 points per game. This afternoon they combined to shoot 1/13 for three points.
BAD MOVE: I understand why the Gophers have moved to playing their zone for the full 40 minutes of the game, but UCLA looked extremely comfortable operating tvheir offense against it. The Bruins shot 51% from the floor and were able to get open looks from three and easy lobs to their big men. Other than one possession, after a timeout and under 15 on the shot-clock, that resulted in a shot-clock violation, it was zone.
Again, I understand that this team has to avoid foul trouble and save their legs as the starters all play over 35 minutes. But I would have loved to see the Gophers switch things up, even if just for a couple of possessions.
NOTABLE: With two games remaining, the Gophers have a shot at the 11-seed in the Big Ten Tournament but appear most likely to be in the 12/13 matchup. Both would be in the 2nd round of the tournament.
UP NEXT: A trip to Indiana on Wednesday at 5:30.
