The Gophers wound up playing on the first day of the Big Ten tournament as the No. 11 seed and faced 14th-seeded Rutgers at the United Center in Chicago. Needing a few wins to cement a spot in the NIT tournament, Minnesota came out firing in the first round.
Thanks to a big game from forward Joey King, the Gophers handled Rutgers by an 80-68 final to survive and advance in the tournament. They'll play Ohio State on Thursday.
1 big moment: Both teams' offenses were stuck in neutral for much of the first half. Midway through the second half, though, Minnesota caught fire from 3-point range. Much of that was led by forward Joey King, who hit three 3-pointers during Minnesota's second-half run. That included back-to-back threes with Charles Buggs, whose shot from downtown made it a 46-38 Gophers lead. Though Rutgers later climbed back into the game to cut it to a four-point deficit, that 3-point barrage from King and Buggs was what really helped jumpstart Minnesota's previously sluggish offense.
2 top performers: King saved perhaps his best game of his Gophers career for the first round of the Big Ten tournament. He hit a career-high six 3-pointers and finished 6 of 9 from downtown. King's 20 points fell one point shy of his career high of 21, which came back in 2013 when he was with Drake. Though King only had four rebounds, he did draw a charge and committed just one turnover. It was his 3-point shooting, though, that gave the Gophers a big lift in the second half and helped open the game up.
Freshman guard Nate Mason finished with 15 points, most of which came in the second half. After King provided the offense early in the second half, it was the freshman Mason doing the same later in the half. Every time Rutgers tried to make a run and get back into the game, Mason was there for the answer. He scored in a variety of ways, too, slashing to the basket and hitting mid-range jumpers. His 15 points came on 6-of-9 shooting. Mason also added three steals and a pair of assists.
3 key stats: Center Mo Walker racked up yet another double-double, one game after scoring a career-high 26 points and adding 11 rebounds against Penn State. In Wednesday's game against Rutgers, the Gophers big man had 10 points and grabbed 10 boards. It was his fourth career double-double, all of which have come during his senior season.
Gophers senior guard Andre Hollins finished the game with zero points. It was the first time since his freshman year that he was held scoreless in a game. He entered Wednesday's game as Minnesota's leading scorer but finished 0 for 6 from the floor, including 0 of 3 from 3-point range. It wound up not mattering in Wednesday's win, but the Gophers will need their senior leader to pick up the production if they hope to go far in the tournament.
Offensive rebounds for Rutgers easily could have been a killer for the Gophers. The Scarlet Knights finished the game with 13 offensive boards, while Minnesota got on the offensive glass for nine boards. Rutgers' ability to crash the glass on offense is what kept the Scarlet Knights in the game during the first half as the Gophers struggled to box out on defense.
Seen: Louisville coach Rick Pitino, father of Gophers coach Richard Pitino, was in attendance Wednesday in Chicago for Minnesota's game against Rutgers. It's not the first time the elder Pitino has come to watch his son's team, and Minnesota always seems to play well when the Hall of Fame coach is in the building. Such was the case in Wednesday's 12-point victory.
Freshman Bakary Konate and sophomore Charles Buggs gave a glimpse of what Gophers fans can expect from Minnesota in the next few years. On a fast break, Buggs lobbed up a pass to Konate, who flushed it down to complete the alley-oop. Konate had just four points, but the dunk was one of the highlights for Minnesota's offense.
Mason may have ended up on a poster after Rutgers' Bishop Daniels threw down a ferocious one-handed dunk in transition over Mason. Daniels' thunderous dunk cut the Gophers' lead to 56-45 with just under nine minutes remaining, but Mason and Minnesota got the last laugh.
Next: Wednesday's victory keeps the Gophers alive in the Big Ten tournament. Their reward? A date with No. 6 seed Ohio State, the same Buckeyes team that beat Minnesota by two points in overtime in their one and only matchup this season. They'll face off Thursday night at 8 p.m. CT. The Buckeyes are coming off a blowout loss at home to Wisconsin to end the regular season, while the Gophers will be playing their second game in as many days. Minnesota needs a win to bolster its NIT hopes, but that won't come easy against Ohio State.
Follow Tyler Mason on Twitter
