University of Minnesota Athletics
Fast Break: Oral Roberts
12/21/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Recap | Quotes | Photo Gallery
SERIES, ETC.
Tonight's 77-63 win was the fourth all-time meeting between Minnesota and Oral Roberts, with the Gophers now holding a 4-0 lead in the series (all games at Williams Arena). Minnesota improved to 10-3 on the season, while ORU dropped to 4-11. Head coach Richard Pitino is 1-0 against the Golden Eagles, and 4-2 against Summit League foes, while Minnesota now stands at 1,460-1,085 all-time (not counting vacated games). Coach Pitino's fifth-year record at Minnesota is 85-64, and his six-year career mark is 103-78.
STARTING FIVE
Coach Pitino utilized a starting lineup of seniors Nate Mason and Reggie Lynch, junior Jordan Murphy, and sophomores Amir Coffey and Michael Hurt. Mason made his team-leading 82nd career start (76th consecutive) in Maroon and Gold, while Murphy was in the starting lineup for the 67th consecutive time. Lynch, who transferred from Illinois State, has now started 46 games for the Gophers (96 career), while Coffey made his 46th career start and Hurt started his first career game in place of injured Dupree McBrayer (lower leg).
FREEBIES FALLING TONIGHT AT THE STRIPE
Minnesota entered tonight's game shooting just 69.4 percent at the free throw line this season. But this evening, the Gophers were red-hot at the charity stripe, as they connected on 14-of-16 attempts in the first half and finished the night at 82.1 percent (23-of-28). It was a season-best effort for Minnesota, which had previously gone 21-of-27 (.778) in wins versus both Providence and Alabama.
HOME SWEET HOME
Minnesota continued its six-game home stand with tonight's win versus the Golden Eagles. The Gophers, who are now 7-1 at The Barn this season, follow with games versus Florida Atlantic (Dec. 23), Harvard (Dec. 30), Illinois (Jan. 3) and Indiana (Jan. 6) before heading to Northwestern on Jan. 10.
MR. DOUBLE-DOUBLE REACHES MILESTONE
Jordan Murphy finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for his 13th-straight double-double to start the season (34th career), and the junior also scored his 1,000th career point during the game. Murphy, who leads the nation in double-doubles this season, made 7-of-15 field goals, while adding an assist in 29 minutes. Murphy has averages of 20.0 points and 12.8 rebounds per game, while making 95-of-168 (.565) field goals this season.
MASON MOVING UP ALL-TIME SCORING CHART
Nate Mason had 14 points to give him 1,414 for his career, which ranks 10th all-time at Minnesota. He now needs 32 points to pass Trent Tucker (1979-82, 1,445 points) for ninth. Mason, a reigning First Team All-B1G guard, made 5-of-12 field goals, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, while also grabbing five rebounds and dishing out two assists (one turnover). He is averaging 15.4 points and 4.4 assists with just 14 turnovers.
COFFEY HAS SOLID GAME
Amir Coffey made just 3-of-7 field goals, but he was 9-of-10 at the free throw line to finish with 15 points to go with a team-best seven assists (one turnover), three rebounds and a pair of steals. Coffey, who now has eight-straight (33 career) double-figure scoring games, is averaging 14.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists.
HURT RECORDS CAREER-HIGH IN FIRST START
Michael Hurt made his first collegiate start for the Gophers, and he made his mark on the win with career-highs for points (10), field goals (3), free throws (3) and minutes played (26). Hurt also had one of the game's top plays, as he took a pretty pass from Isaiah Washington and flushed it for his second career dunk. Washington finished with 12 points, four assists and a pair of rebounds.
