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/ Men's BasketballPhoto by: Brad Rempel
Willis Helps Boost Guard Play in Wisconsin 'W'
2/6/2020 12:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
by Matt Little, Athletic Communications Student Assistant
Twitter handles: the combination of words, letters, and symbols after the "@" that are unique to each person's account. They can be simple, such as just being one's name, or they can be more complex, describing yourself in creative and funny ways. In Wednesday night's 72-50 victory over the visiting Wisconsin Badgers, Payton Willis, or @Unlimitedrange0, lived up to his.
The Fayetteville, Arkansas native opened the first half hot, shooting a perfect 4-4 from the field and 3-3 from deep within the first 8:28. He drilled his first two treys within the first three minutes of the contest, and added another two on a quick pull up jumper in the twelfth minute, before drilling another three at the 11:32 mark. He did miss his next attempt from behind the arc, but only after four bounces off the rim, and he'd finish the half with 13 points, shooting 4-6 from the field and 3-5 from downtown. The second half told relatively the same tale, as the shooting guard added 8 more points, going 3-4 from the field and a perfect 2-2 from deep, marking a career-high 21 points for the junior.
Willis wasn't the only Gopher guard boasting an impressive stat line Wednesday night, as point guard Marcus Carr left the court just one rebound away from what would've been the first triple-double since Minnesota legend Mychal Thompson did so in 1976 - the only Gopher to achieve the feat in program history. Carr's 12 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, coupled with Willis and Gabe Kalscheur's effectiveness from deep, marked an impressive turnaround from their past two contests, where the Maroon and Gold shot an average of 29.9% from the field and 16.9% from deep.
Another impressive feat seen from the Gophers in this contest was in the play of center Daniel Oturu, who finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. This performance marked his 12th double-double of the season, and his first since the Jan. 15 home bout with Penn State. Oturu was named to the list of the Top-20 Late Season Wooden Award watch list earlier this week, and this dominant performance will only boost his ranking.
Up next, the Maroon and Gold head to State College for a season sweep over No. 22 Penn State this Saturday, Feb. 8.
Twitter handles: the combination of words, letters, and symbols after the "@" that are unique to each person's account. They can be simple, such as just being one's name, or they can be more complex, describing yourself in creative and funny ways. In Wednesday night's 72-50 victory over the visiting Wisconsin Badgers, Payton Willis, or @Unlimitedrange0, lived up to his.
The Fayetteville, Arkansas native opened the first half hot, shooting a perfect 4-4 from the field and 3-3 from deep within the first 8:28. He drilled his first two treys within the first three minutes of the contest, and added another two on a quick pull up jumper in the twelfth minute, before drilling another three at the 11:32 mark. He did miss his next attempt from behind the arc, but only after four bounces off the rim, and he'd finish the half with 13 points, shooting 4-6 from the field and 3-5 from downtown. The second half told relatively the same tale, as the shooting guard added 8 more points, going 3-4 from the field and a perfect 2-2 from deep, marking a career-high 21 points for the junior.
Willis wasn't the only Gopher guard boasting an impressive stat line Wednesday night, as point guard Marcus Carr left the court just one rebound away from what would've been the first triple-double since Minnesota legend Mychal Thompson did so in 1976 - the only Gopher to achieve the feat in program history. Carr's 12 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, coupled with Willis and Gabe Kalscheur's effectiveness from deep, marked an impressive turnaround from their past two contests, where the Maroon and Gold shot an average of 29.9% from the field and 16.9% from deep.
Another impressive feat seen from the Gophers in this contest was in the play of center Daniel Oturu, who finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. This performance marked his 12th double-double of the season, and his first since the Jan. 15 home bout with Penn State. Oturu was named to the list of the Top-20 Late Season Wooden Award watch list earlier this week, and this dominant performance will only boost his ranking.
Up next, the Maroon and Gold head to State College for a season sweep over No. 22 Penn State this Saturday, Feb. 8.
Senior Salute
Friday, March 06
Highlights: Gophers 47, Indiana 77
Wednesday, March 04
Coming Home: Jim Shikenjanski
Tuesday, March 03
Cinematic Recap: Gophers-Bruins
Monday, March 02