Minnesota Loses to Wisconsin 76-63

Minnesota lost to Wisconsin 76-63 at Williams Arena. The Gophers fell to 6-11 in Big Ten play and 17-13 for the season. With the win, the Badgers clinched the Big Ten Regular Season title. Fun fact, the last time Wisconsin won the Big Ten outright, they lost in the Sweet 16. Frank Kaminsky led all scorers with 25 points. Nate Mason was the high scorer for Minnesota with 15.

The game was lost in the first ten minutes. Minnesota started the game playing with little effort on defense and cold on offense. The Gophers missed seven of their first nine shots. On the other end, the Badgers ran the Swing to near perfection, in part because Minnesota made basic defensive errors. By the under-12 timeout, Wisconsin had twelve point lead that was never seriously challenged.

Minnesota made a late run in the first half, kickstarted by Nate Mason. At some point in the first half, Mason realized that he's more athletic than Bronson Koenig and started acting like it. The Gophers closed the half on a 15-6 run and looked to have momentum to pull even in the second half. Unfortunately, Minnesota was unable to carry that advantage into the second half. The Gophers were able to reduce the deficit to six, but missed shots and turnovers prevented them from cutting the lead any further.

Notes

Bakary Konate played solid minutes against Frank Kaminsky. The freshman had 7 points, four rebounds, a block, a steal, and only one foul in 17 minutes of action. Konate displayed nice footwork on both ends of the floor. He is still a raw player, but tonight flashed the athleticism and skill that has won high praise from Pitino.

Nate Mason had another excellent game. He finished with 15 points, three assists and three rebounds, as well as two turnovers. In the second half of the season, Mason had clearly established himself as the point guard of the future. Minnesota fans should hope for additional growth in the offseason, but Mason's college ceiling is quite high.

Minnesota only attempted nine free throws, but made seven. It's not much, but it is nice to see some reversion to a higher mean late in the season.

Next Up

Minnesota plays its final Big Ten game of the season Sunday at the Barn against Penn State. This will be the last regular season game for Andre Hollins, Mo Walker, Elliott Eliason, and Kendal Shell.