University of Minnesota Athletics
Fast Break: Illinois
1/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SERIES, ETC.
Illinois now leads the all-time series with Minnesota by a 112-63 margin. Tonight's game was the 87th all-time meeting in Minneapolis, with the Illini now holding a slim 44-43 edge. The overtime loss was the second this season for the Gophers. Richard Pitino is now 1-2 versus Illinois.
NEW STARTING FIVE
For the first time this season, head coach Richard Pitino utilized a starting lineup of senior Joey King, junior Charles Buggs, sophomore Nate Mason, and freshmen Dupree McBrayer and Jordan Murphy. Mason is the lone Minnesota player to have started all 20 games for the Gophers this season.
GOPHERS BUILD LARGE FIRST-HALF LEAD
For the second straight home contest, the Gophers built a large first-half lead. Last Saturday against Indiana, Minnesota twice held a nine-point advantage in the opening 20 minutes before settling for a tie score at the break. Tonight, the Gophers held a 10-point lead, 24-14, with 6:28 remaining in the half, only to trail by five points at halftime.
MASON SPARKS SECOND HALF SURGE
At the half, Nate Mason was 1-of-7 from the field for three points, but he scored 14 points in the second half, including 11 straight points to rally the Gophers from a 53-46 deficit with 10:23 remaining to a 57-55 lead with 4:42 left. Mason made 5-of-8 field goals in the second half, including 4-of-6 treys, and he finished the game with 19 points to go along with seven assists and five rebounds.
KING RETURNS TO STARTING LINEUP
After coming off the bench for the past three games, Joey King was back in the starting lineup for the 17th time this season. King led the Gophers with eight first-half points and was one of two players with four rebounds at the half. He finished the game with a team-high 20 points, his team-leading fourth 20-point game this season. King made 7-of-16 field goals, including five three-pointers, while pulling down six rebounds.
MURPHY RECORDS FIRST BIG TEN DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Jordan Murphy recorded his first point-rebound double-double in Big Ten play, as he finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. In eight B1G games, Murphy is averaging 10.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He leads the Gophers with six double-doubles this season.
McBRAYER RECORDS CAREER-BESTS
Dupree McBrayer made his seventh start for the Gophers, leading the team with a career-high eight assists and tying his best by grabbing five rebounds in 32 minutes.
