Gophers Survive UNO, Clemson
November 2015

The University of Minnesota men’s basketball team closed the month of November with a somewhat surprising 89-83 win over Clemson at Williams arena as part of the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

The Golden Gophers previous had displayed none of the attributes necessary to compete with any ACC team, let alone defeat one. A miserable performance in a Puerto Rican tournament saw feeble efforts in losses to Temple and Tubby Smith-coached Texas Tech.

Against Clemson, Gopher coach Richard Pitino discovered a secret weapon, 6-6 freshman forward Jordan Murphy from San Antonio, Tex. Used sparingly in previous games, Murphy was inserted early in the game to replace the team’s hulking 6-11 post player Bakary Konate, and the freshman responded with a double-double (25 points and 10 rebounds). Murphy injected a needed spark of life into what had become a stagnant starting five.

Pitino had become obsessed with making Konate and fellow immobile hands-of-stone 6-10 center Gaston Deidhiou into serviceable Big Ten players, an overwhelming task. November showed that neither of the two twin towers from overseas is ready for prime time.

Going into the home game against University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) on November 27, Murphy was averaging just over five points per game, but scored a dozen points in the second half in what turned out to be a nerve-wracking 93-90 Gopher victory.

One thing is certain about the 2015-2016 Golden Gophers is the team’s ability to put points on the board. The new 30-second clock has had little effect on the team’s willingness to jack up the ball. Pitino’s troops waste no time in putting up shots from any range. Chief beneficiary of this style of play is pop-a-shot specialist 6-9 senior Joey King out of Eastview High School. King has his three-point shot working better than at any other time in his career and has earned Pitino’s recognition as the team’s hardest working player.

“Joey could be a better rebounder,” the coach said, “but he has the ability to make great plays for us.” King had four second-half three-point baskets against UNO.

The Mavericks from Omaha clung to a 73-70 lead with seven-and-one half minutes to go when a King bomb tied the score at 73. A Carlos Morris layup gave Minnesota a 75-73 lead, but Tra-Deon Hollins tied the game until a successful jump shot by Nate Mason put the Gophers up to stay by 77-75.

The game’s conclusion saw the Mavericks fouling away, and the Gophers missing five of eight free throw attempts.

“That was a tough game to coach,” mused Pitino. “We got to the free throw line enough, but making free throws was another story for us.” Hence, the margin of victory of only three points.

Against Clemson, the Gophers made 24 of 30 free throws and prevented rising Pitino’s blood pressure at the end. Minnesota had a season-low six turnovers to go with 18 assists. In addition to Murphy’s 24 points, King and Mason had 17 each.

In the UNO game, Minnesota high-point man was King with 18, followed by Morris with 17, and Mason with 16.

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