University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Postgame Notes: Ohio State
12/15/2019 8:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SERIES, ETC.
Tonight's 84-71 win was the 140th all-time meeting between Minnesota and Ohio State, with the Buckeyes leading the series, 88-52 (not counting vacated games). It was Minnesota's first win against an AP Top 5 team since a 77-73 victory against No. 1 Indiana on Feb. 27, 2013. Minnesota improved to 5-5 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten, while No. 3/2 Ohio State fell to 9-1 overall and 1-1 in the conference. The Gophers are 762-835Â all-time versus current members of the B1G (not counting vacated games). Coach Richard Pitino improved to 3-7 against the Buckeyes and 45-74 versus current conference foes. Minnesota now stands at 1,492-1,118 all-time (not counting vacated games). Coach Pitino's seventh-year record at Minnesota is 117-97, and his eight-year career mark is 135-111.
STARTING FIVE
Coach Pitino utilized a starting lineup of senior Alihan Demir (ninth start at Minnesota, 64th career start), redshirt junior Payton Willis (10th start at Minnesota, 26th career start), redshirt sophomore Marcus Carr (10th start at Minnesota, 37th career start), sophomore Gabe Kalscheur (46th career start), and sophomore Daniel Oturu (41st career start).
FIRST HALF RECAP
Minnesota shot 51.7 percent (15-of-29), including 5-of-11 from three-point range, as it built a lead as large as 11 points and took a 38-29 lead to the locker room. Daniel Oturu led the Gophers with eight points and five rebounds, while Marcus Carr, Gabe Kalscheur and Alihan Demir each had seven points. Payton Willis added six points and led Minnesota with six rebounds, just one off his career-high. The nine-point halftime deficit for Ohio State was its largest this season. The Buckeyes trailed Cincinnati by seven points at the half in the season-opener, but wound up winning, 64-56.
CARR-EER NIGHT
Marcus Carr must love the Barn, as he's recorded career-high point totals in his past two games at home. Against Clemson on Dec. 2, he went for 24 points and nine assists, and tonight he topped that effort by finishing with a game-high 35 points, becoming the first Gophers player with 35 points in a game since Jordan Murphy had 35 versus USC Upstate on Nov. 10, 2017. Carr connected on 12-of-17 field goals, including three treys, and was 8-of-9 at the free throw line. He also led the team with seven assists, and added three rebounds and a pair of steals. Carr matched or exceeded career-bests for points, field goals made, free throws made, and three-pointers made.
OTURU RECORDS SIXTH DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Daniel Oturu notched his sixth double-double of the season (14th career) with 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Oturu connected on 6-of-12 field goals and seven of his boards came on the offensive end of the floor. Oturu has recorded double-doubles in three of his past four games.
KALSCHEUR REBOUNDS
Gabe Kalscheur responded after a tough game at Iowa, finishing with 15 points on 7-of-15 shooting against Ohio State. During the loss against the Hawkeyes, Kalscheur was 0-of-10 shooting, being held without a field goal for just the fourth time in his career. Through 10 games, Kalscheur is averaging 11.3 points per game this season.
MISCELLANEOUS NEWS AND NOTES
Freshman Tre' Williams celebrated his birthday Sunday, finishing with six points, three rebounds, two steals and an assist in a season-high 27 minutes ... the Gophers connected on 31-of-57 (.544) field goals, outrebounded the Buckeyes, 40-28, and had a 42-30 advantage in points in the paint ... Minnesota trailed for just three minutes and 27 seconds ... tonight's attendance was 9,854.