University of Minnesota Athletics
Fast Break: LIU Brooklyn
12/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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SERIES, ETC.
Tonight's 76-66 win was the third all-time meeting (excluding vacated games) between Minnesota and LIU, a member of the Northeast Conference, with the Gophers holding a 3-0 lead (2-0 in Minneapolis). Head coach Richard Pitino is 1-0 against LIU, and 2-0 against NEC foes, while Minnesota is 9-0 against current members of the NEC (excluding vacated games). Coach Pitino's fourth-year record at Minnesota now stands at 62-52, and his five-year career mark is 80-66. Minnesota is 11-1 for the first time since 2012-13, when the Gophers started 15-1.
STARTING FIVE
Coach Pitino utilized a starting lineup of redshirt senior Akeem Springs, juniors Nate Mason and Reggie Lynch, and sophomores Dupree McBrayer and Jordan Murphy. Mason made his team-leading 47th career start in Maroon and Gold, while Murphy was in the starting lineup for the 32nd time and McBrayer made his 26th start. Lynch, a redshirt junior who transferred from Illinois State, has started 11 games for the Gophers, while Springs made his first career start at Minnesota after transferring from Milwaukee. Amir Coffey, who started the first 11 games this season, missed tonight's game with an injured toe.
MINNESOTA'S START AMONG BEST-EVER
The Gophers' 11-1 mark is among the best in program history, as just 16 Minnesota men's basketball teams since 1895 have started a season with wins in 11 of 12 games. Since 1972-73, just eight teams have reached 11-1.
DOUBLE-DIGIT WINS
During the Gophers' 11-1 start, eight of the Minnesota victories have been by double-digits. That figure matches the number of double-digit wins recorded by the 2012-13 team, which also stood at 11-1 through its first 12 games on its way to Minnesota's most recent NCAA Tournament appearance. Minnesota's average margin of victory in its seven double-figure wins this season is 18.3 points, with the largest margin being the 37-point win against Georgia Southern.
EMPIRE STATE OF MIND
Dupree McBrayer is a native of Queens, N.Y. Tonight's opponent was from Brooklyn. Coincidence or not, McBrayer finished with a career-high 21 points to go along with five assists in 37 minutes against the Blackbirds. His previous career-high had been 18 points, which he accomplished twice, including against St. John's. McBrayer connected on a career-best eight field goals in 11 attempts, including his lone try from three-point range, to reach double-figures for the fourth straight game and ninth time in 12 games this season. McBrayer played a key role in the second half, as 15 of his 21 points came after the half.
MASON RECORDS SEASON-BEST
Nate Mason, who leads the Gophers in scoring at 13.3 points per game, recorded a season-best 19 points and knocked down four three-pointers for the third time in the last four games. Mason was 6-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-6 from long-range, while leading the Gophers with seven assists in a team-high 39 minutes. Mason has reached double-figures in all but one game this season and 48 times during his career. He has five or more assists in eight games, and leads Minnesota with 5.4 assists per contest.
LYNCH ADDS TO BLOCKED SHOT TOTAL
Reggie Lynch has blocked 21 shots in his past five games, including three against LIU Brooklyn. The Edina, Minn., native now has 40 blocks on the season, an average of 3.6 per game, which leads the Big Ten Conference and ranks sixth nationally. Lynch is spearheading the Minnesota team blocking effort, which leads the Big Ten and also ranks sixth in Division I at 6.7 per game.
MISCELLANEOUS ODDS AND ENDS
Among odds and ends in today's game, Dupree McBrayer scored his 300th career point … Akeem Springs dished out five assists, which tied his previous career-high versus Oakland on Feb. 10, 2015 (when Springs played at Milwaukee) … Eric Curry scored his 75th career point and grabbed his 75th career rebound … Curry has nine games this season with five or more rebounds, including eight tonight … Minnesota had 11 offensive rebounds, and is averaging 15 offensive rebounds in its past three games … the Gophers recorded seven steals tonightand are averaging 8.7 steals over the past three contests … Minnesota held its 10th halftime lead of the season, and the Gophers are 9-1 in those games … the Gophers improved to 5-0 when wearing their Gold uniforms this season.
