Gophers Open NCAA Tournament with 86-76 Win over Louisville
March 21, 2019

Protecting the ball and shooting from the field, the Minnesota Gophers upset the Louisville Cardinals 86-76 in the first round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament in Des Moines.

Minnesota had only 5 turnovers (the Cardinals were also outstanding in that category, committing only 5 turnovers) and outshot Louisville everwhere except the free-throw line.

Amir Coffey hit a long three-pointer in the final seconds of the first half for a 38-33 lead. Jordan Murphy started the second half with a three-pointer, and Coffey followed with a reverse layup, on which he drew a foul to create a three-point play and a Minnesota’s first double-digit lead of the game.

The last couple minutes in the first half and the first couple of minutes in the second half, they delivered quite a punch,” said Louisville coach Chris Mack. “Goes from a 1 or 2-point game to 10 very, very quickly. We were playing uphill from there.”

Minnesota extended its lead to 16 and was never threatened, although Louisville did creep back to within single digits in the final five minutes.

“Great win for our guys,” said Minnesota coach Richard Pitino. “I just thought we played really good defense when we needed to. We showed toughness and grit down the stretch.”

Minnesota had no scoring from its bench, but all five starters were in double figures: Gabe Kalscheur 24, Amir Coffey and Jordan Murphy 18, Dupree McBrayer and Daniel Oturu 13.

Kalscheur led Minnesota rebounders with 8, including 3 on the offensive boards in the first half, which helped the Gophers to 7 second-chance points in the half.

Minnesota shot 50 percent from the field in each half and was just as consistent from beyond the arc: 40 percent in the first half and 41.7 in the second. The Gophers struggled at the free-throw line, making only 2 of 6 in the first half and 17 of 26 for the game.

Christen Cunningham led the Cardinals with 22 points, and Jordan Nwora had 11 rebounds.

Murphy’s back locked up on him in the second half, and he did some stretching with the trainer during a time out, then returned. As for the next game, against Michigan State, Murphy said, “I’m going to be ready to go. 100 percent. There’s no way I’m missing it.”