University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
6-0
Southern Illinois
3-3
Fast Break: SIU
11/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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SERIES, ETC.
Tonight's 57-45 win was just the second all-time meeting, with the series now tied, 1-1. Tonight's game was the first meeting in Minneapolis, with the only other game being a 69-53 SIU win at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando on Nov. 24, 2006. Minnesota did defeat the Salukis in the opening round of the 1994 NCAA Tournament, but that game was later vacated by the NCAA. Head coach Richard Pitino is 1-0 against SIU, and 2-0 against MVC foes, while Minnesota now stands at 39-20 against The Valley (excluding vacated games). Coach Pitino's fourth-year record at Minnesota now stands at 57-51, and his five-year career mark is 75-65. Minnesota is 6-0 for the first time since 2011-12.
STARTING FIVE
Coach Pitino utilized a starting lineup of junior Nate Mason, sophomores Dupree McBrayer and Jordan Murphy, and true freshmen Amir Coffey and Eric Curry. Mason made his team-leading 39th career start in Maroon and Gold, while Murphy was in the starting lineup for the 26th time and McBrayer made his 20th start. Coffey made his sixth career start, while Eric Curry was in the starting lineup for the first time. Junior Reggie Lynch (9.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 3.8 bpg), who started the first five games this season, missed tonight's game with an (ankle) injury. It marked the first time Minnesota had two freshmen among its starting unit since Murphy and Stephon Sharp made starts in the final game last season.
GRAND DEFENSE
Minnesota scored a season-low 57 points, the first time it's scored below 80 in a game this season. But Minnesota held the Salukis to just 45 points and 19-of-61 (.311) field goals. It's the first time the Gophers have held an opponent below 50 points in a win since defeating Nebraska, 60-42, on Jan. 31, 2015. The Salukis made just 2-of-17 (.118) three-pointers.
AT THE BUZZER
Amir Coffey closed the first half against the Salukis by hitting a three-pointer from the right corner as time expired. The three capped a 15-2 run over the final 8:26 and gave the Gophers a 29-20 lead at the break. It's the third time this season that a Minnesota player has hit a three at the first-half buzzer. Nate Mason knocked down a trey in the season-opening win versus Louisiana, and Ahmad Gilbert did the same in the win versus St. John's.
THE ASSIST MASON
As a freshman, Nate Mason averaged 2.8 assists per game. Last year, the average jumped to 4.5 assists per game. This year, Mason is off to a torrid start dishing the rock, as he has seven assists in four of six games and is averaging 5.5 per game after having a pair of assists tonight. Even with the increase in assists, Mason has maintained a similar scoring average to last year's team-leading 13.8 points per game norm. He has reached double-figures in every game, and is averaging 13.0 ppg.
BORN TO RUN
The Gophers have utilized extended scoring runs in all six games this season. Tonight, Minnesota trailed SIU 18-14 before a 15-2 run gave them a 29-20 halftime lead. Against Arkansas, Minnesota trailed 13-7 with 12:50 left in the half, but outscored the Razorbacks 35-12 the rest of the way to take a 42-25 lead into the break. Within that stretch, Minnesota had runs of 9-0 and 16-2. Last Friday versus St. John's, the Gophers used an 18-3 run to rally from a 22-9 deficit. During the 84-67 win against UT Arlington, the Gophers opened the second half on a 24-3 run to rally from a six-point halftime deficit. Against Mount St. Mary's, Minnesota used a 20-1 run over a seven-minute span to stretch a 49-42 lead to 69-43. Minnesota also had a 12-2 run to start its season-opening win against Louisiana.
COFFEY PACES GOPHERS
Amir Coffey, this week's Big Ten Freshman of the Week and the Gophers' leading scorer this season, led Minnesota with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. The talented 6-foot-8 guard, who has scored in double-figures in all six games this season, added four rebounds and two assists. Coffey scored 30 points during last Friday's win against St. John's, and followed with 19 points (all in the second half) in the win against Arkansas.
THREE REACH DOUBLE-FIGURES
In addition to Amir Coffey's team-high 13 points, two other Gophers players reached double-figures. Dupree McBrayer finished with 11 points, while also dishing out a season-best six assists to lead the Gophers in that category, and Nate Mason had 11 points to reach double-digits for the sixth time this season. Jordan Murphy finished with nine points and Eric Curry had eight.
REBOUNDING BATTLE
Even without 6-foot-10 center Reggie Lynch (7.4 rpg), the Gophers won the rebounding battle, 44-37. Eric Curry grabbed a career-best 11 boards in his first collegiate start, while Jordan Murphy pulled down eight rebounds and Akeem Springs and Bakary Konate each had five caroms.
