The Gophers snapped their 7-game losing streak, beating #10 Michigan State 73-76. After frequently leading at the half and collapsing in the second, Minnesota extned their lead and held on against the #10 team in the country.
Jalen Crocker-Johnson led the way for the Gophers with 22 points, but it was a team effort from the Minnesota starters with Cade Tyson scoring 17, Langston Reynolds adding 15, Bobby Durkin with 13 and Isaac Asuma with 10…each seeming to make their contributions exactly when needed most.
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THE STAT: Anytime you make 48% of your three-point attemts you’re going to be in great positition to win any game. Minnesota was 10/21 from three. Asuma was 0/2 and then the combination of Tyson, Crocker-Johnson and Bobby Durkin were 10/19. That is a winning stat.
TURNING POINT: Jeremy Fears Jr back-kicked Langston Reynolds in the butt to earn himself a technical foul. Technically, Minnesota never trailed but the Fears technical stopped a Spartan run and the Gophers pushed the lead back up from five to 12. Momentum was killed and Fears clearly put himself in Tom Izzo’s doghouse.
IT WAS OVER WHEN: Jalen Crocker-Johnson took a pass from Langston Reynolds and dunked it to put the Gophers up 58-69. From that point Minnesota made things interesting, but that dunk was enough. The Gophers made a few free throws down the stretch, just barely enough, and held on.
HOT: Reynolds was 6/11 from the free throw line in the second half. This may not seem like an impressive percentage, but considering the source, this was incredible.
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GOOD MOVE: Niko Medved used a match-up zone sparingly in the second half to keep Michigan State off-balance. I think the mental toughness of these Gophers was the bigger catalyst, but the zone helped keep them fresh for the offensive end and kept Michigan State off-balance.
NOTABLE: So many games of leading at the half and being overwhelmed at the half. This time the Gophers blizted the Spartans in the first five mintues of the second half, the Fears technical thwarted their momentum and the Gophers held on.
NOTABLE II: Also, maybe we need to rethink how we feel about Jermey Fears Jr. This guys is Brad Davison with some talent…but still a dickhead.
UP NEXT: Maryland comes to the Barn on Super Bowl Sunday. This game tips at 1:00 BTN.
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I’LL END WITH THIS: This was fun
