Gophers Take Care of Business
March 9, 2014
The University of Minnesota men’s basketball team finished the regular season with a 19-12 record after a convincing 81-63 win over Penn State Sunday at Williams Arena before a less-than-sellout crowd of 12,775 spectators.
Now the Gophers have to convince the Nittany Lions that Minnesota is just as good when the two teams meet on a neutral site during the first round of the Big Ten tournament. At stake for Minnesota is a NCAA tournament bid.
On Sunday, Penn State came out flat, and it cost them. Minnesota quickly built leads of 8-0, 13-3, and 23-5 before the first half was 10 minutes old. Only three-point baskets by Brandon Taylor, D.J. Newbill, and John Johnson allowed PSU to stay within 14 points of the Gophers at halftime.
“We were playing a desperate team,” Penn State coach Pat Chambers mused after the conclusion of the contest. “We knew we had to hold them under 80 points to even have a chance, but we will play them again on Thursday in Indianapolis.” He vowed the outcome will not be so one-sided. His team finished the regular season with 15 wins and 16 losses (6-12 in the Big Ten).
It was Senior Night for the Gophers, and one senior was honored despite having a year of eligibility remaining. A mysterious knee injury has ended the career of redshirt junior Oto Osenieks of Riga, Latvia. A starter for most of the season, Osenieks’ knee was diagnosed to have undergone some form of “cartilage breakdown.” He will remain with the team as a student coach next season, according to head coach Richard Pitino. Osenieks was averaging 5.6 points and 2.9 rebounds while playing 19 minutes per game. His loss further shortens Minnesota’s bench and forces further reliance on seldom-used redshirt freshman Charles Buggs.
Former NBA coach Lionel Hollins got to watch his son, senior Austin Hollins, put on a show in what could be his last game at Williams Arena. Hollins, the younger, electrified the crowd with a three-point basket to put the Gophers up by 28-13 as Penn State was scrambling to mount a comeback. He finished with 14 points.
A third senior, Maverick Ahanmisi, played 13 minutes and surprised with 13 points. “Maybe I should have played him more [during the season],” Pitino observed.
For a fourth senior, guard Malik Smith, the night was not so memorable. Early on this season, Smith was a threat to score from anywhere on the floor. He has slumped to where he can’t score from anywhere. He missed the only two shots he took in nine minutes of action.
In the second half, the Lions went on a 17-1 run, and the Minnesota lead went from 54-29 to 55-46, but the Gophers re-grouped with jump shots and free throws to take a 65-50 lead. “It’s hard to come back when you’re down by more than 20 in the second half,” Chambers remarked, “but we get to play them again, soon.”
Newbill led all scorers with 24 points. DeAndre Mathieu and sub Mo Walker had 16 each for the Gophers. Andre Hollins finished with 13. For the game, Minnesota shot 55.6 percent from the floor to Penn State’s 40.4 percent.
“When we have our three-headed monster [Mathieu, Austin and Andre Hollins] in the game we’re a hard team to guard,” said Pitino, “at least until they start throwing the ball away.”