Gophers men’s basketball blows out Bethune-Cookman, with Big Ten play next

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The Gophers men’s basketball team looked beyond its 0-2 record in the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando earlier this week.

“We didn’t get the results that we wanted, but we were playing our best basketball that we’ve played all year,” coach Ben Johnson said Sunday. “Just how we played and how it looked. Guys are getting more comfortable and understanding. We are getting rhythm.”

Yet, coming off consecutive losses to Wichita State and Wake Forest, Minnesota returned home and got a palate cleanser with a 79-62 win over Bethune-Cookman at Williams Arena.

Focusing on the process is proper, but the Gophers (6-3) still needed a positive result between the multi-team event in Florida and two upcoming Big Ten games: Michigan State at The Barn on Wednesday and at Indiana next Monday.

“I definitely feel like we were playing pretty good basketball. Just a couple of possessions that goes one way, we are 2-0 over there,” said guard Brennan Rigsby, who missed a game-winning 3-pointer in overtime of a 68-66 loss to Wichita State on Thanksgiving.

The Gophers were 16-point favorites over Bethune-Cookman (2-6), which was picked to finish eighth in the 12-team Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) this season. Minnesota has fallen 12 spots to 102 in the KenPom rankings this week but were miles ahead of Bethune Cookman (279).

After the Gophers led by 17 points in the first half, Bethune-Cookman cut it to 38-34 early in the second half. Johnson called a timeout, had some stern words for his players and subbed out Frank Mitchell.

“There was just a lack of just focus,” Johnson said. “We have those moments where I can tell — we are team that you can’t have those lapses. It was a big pow-wow about the focus level, our details. There is a standard that they have to have of themselves and it was getting back to that.”

The Gophers came out of the timeout getting touches for Dawson Garcia. They went on a 10-0 run to make it 48-34 with 15 minutes left and put the game out of…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/gophers-blowout-bethune-cookman-79-215000340.html

Author : Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Publish date : 2024-12-01 21:50:00

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