University of Minnesota Athletics
Fast Break: Nebraska
2/6/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Recap | Quotes | Photo Gallery 1 | Photo Gallery 2
SERIES, ETC.
Tonight's 91-85 loss was the 68th all-time meeting between Minnesota and Nebraska, with the Golden Gophers holding a 51-17 lead in the series (not counting vacated games). The Gophers hold a 36-8 lead in games played in Minneapolis. With the loss, Minnesota fell to 14-12 overall and 3-10 in the Big Ten, while Nebraska completed a season sweep of the Gophers and improved to 18-8, 9-4 B1G. Head coach Richard Pitino is 2-5 against the Huskers, and 32-55 against Big Ten foes, while Minnesota now stands at 1,464-1,094 all-time. Coach Pitino's fifth-year record at Minnesota is 89-73, and his six-year career mark is 107-87.
STARTING FIVE
Coach Pitino utilized a starting lineup of seniors Nate Mason and Davonte Fitzgerald, juniors Jordan Murphy and Dupree McBrayer, and sophomore Michael Hurt. Mason made his 94th career start, while Murphy was in the starting lineup for the 80th consecutive time. McBrayer started his 57th career game and Fitzgerald made his third career start with the Gophers after making six starts in two seasons at Texas A&M, and Hurt started his eighth game.
MASON GOES FOR CAREER-HIGH 34
Nate Mason led all players with a career-high 34 points, his fourth game with 25 or more this season, and now has 1,625 points for his career. Mason passed Quincy Lewis (1996-99, 1,614 points) for seventh on Minnesota's all-time scoring list this evening. The senior played 37 minutes and knocked down 10-of-20 field goals, including a career-best 7-of-9 treys and 7-of-11 free throws, while adding six assists (one turnover). Mason, a reigning First Team All-B1G guard, is averaging 16.4 points and 4.4 assists.
MURPHY RECORDS DOUBLE-DOUBLE NO. 21
Jordan Murphy had 22 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for the Gophers, recording his 21st double-double of the season. Murphy, who leads the nation in double-doubles this season, tied Mychal Thompson's single-season record of 21, set during the 1975-76 season. Murphy was 11-of-17 from the field, with five of his boards at the offensive end of the floor, and he dished out four assists. Murphy is averaging 17.7 points and 11.7 rebounds per game.
MURPHY CLIMBS ALL-TIME REBOUNDING CHART
Murphy now has 854 career rebounds, which ranks fifth all-time at Minnesota, and needs 51 more boards to pass Richard Coffey (1987-90, 904 reb.) for fourth. This season, Murphy has 305 rebounds, which is five more than he had last season and ranks sixth for a single season. Larry Mikan holds the record at Minnesota, with 349 boards during the 1969-70 season.
WASHINGTON CONTINUES IMPROVED PLAY
Isaiah Washington continued his improved play, finishing with 10 points, a team-high eight assists (zero turnovers) and four rebounds in 31 minutes. The eight assists tied his career-high, which he had previously achieved versus Alabama A&M on Nov. 21, 2017. Washington, who was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Monday, is averaging 17.0 points and 6.0 assists over his past three games.
HURT HAS SOLID OUTING
Michael Hurt made his eighth start of the season and had seven points and a career-high five rebounds, while tying his career-bests with three assists and two blocked shots. Hurt was 3-of-4 from the field in a career-high 34 minutes.
