Minnesota Loses to Wisconsin 63-53

Minnesota lost to Wisconsin 63-53. The Gophers fall to 5-10 in conference play and 16-12 on the season. After playing tightly for the first fifteen minutes, Minnesota was undone by turnovers and basic mistakes. Nate Mason and Carlos Morris led Minnesota in scoring with 11 points each. This game was lost in the first three minutes of the second half when the following happened.

Wisconsin missed a number of wide open threes, so this game potentially could have been much more of a laugher. Frank Kaminsky finished with 21 points on 9-13 of shooting, and he and Bronson Koenig scored the majority of the Badgers first half points. The Badgers were had a -7 point differential when Kaminsky was on the bench, proving just how valuable the center is for his team.

In contrast, Andre Hollins struggled today, finishing with only 2 points on 1-8 shooting. He had difficultly getting free on offense, even on plays that were seemingly run for him as the first option. Hollins led the Gophers in rebounds with 5, and added two assists and two steals. Minnesota is not going to win many basketball games when Hollins plays poorly, and he has had poor home/road splits throughout the season.

Nate Mason played very well. He started in place of DeAndre Mathieu and finished with 11 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds with only 1 turnover.

Notable

For extended parts of this game, Pitino played lineups that had at least three returners. Gaston Diedhiou and Bakary Konate both played extended minutes on the floor together, including in the second half. Konate flashed a nice post game, and Diedhiou attempted a three.

Next

Minnesota travels to Michigan State on Thursday February 26th.