There was no major halftime adjustment needed, no deficit to overcome on Wednesday night at Williams Arena. After an exciting second half surge Monday against a UT-Arlington team considered to be very good, the Minnesota Golden Gophers only had to overcome some intermittent sleepy spells in the first half to run away from overmatched Mount St. Mary’s with uber-efficient inside production, a dominant rebounding advantage and excellent defense.
The game lacked pizzazz, but it was the type of breezy win the Gophers struggled to pick up last season as they barely snuck past Missouri State and Nebraska-Omaha and lost against mid-majors South Dakota, South Dakota State and Milwaukee. Pitino made sure Mount St. Mary’s wasn’t overlooked with St. John’s on the horizon in two days.
“We should never overlook any opponent, and we talk about that a lot,” Pitino said. “I don’t think our guys overlooked them at all. I thought they played pretty hard.”
Jordan Murphy, despite a bothersome wrap on his right hand, bullied Mountaineers around in the paint with 8-for-9 shooting and an 18-12 double-double. It was the sophomore’s best game of the short season after struggling early against Lafayette and Arlington. Pitino has often referred to Murphy’s alter ego as “Low Motor Murph,” a joking jab at the second-year player’s laid back personality that sometimes needs a jolt of adrenaline on the court. Murphy’s engine was revving on all cylinders Wednesday as he cleaned up second chance points against the smaller Mountaineers. Pitino said he spoke to Murphy about keeping his energy level higher.
“I think what happens with Murph is sometimes he lets certain things zap his energy, whether he’s confused by something or whatever,” said Pitino. “We just talked about playing through that is the most important thing. Your effort should always be there.”
One wrinkle that should help Murphy all season is the opportunity to share the court with center Reggie Lynch. While Lynch has only played 35 minutes in the last two games as he works his way back from a knee injury, Murphy has enjoyed sharing the court with the big man. “It takes a lot of the load off of me,” he said after the game. “Obviously he’s a great shot-blocker, great defender, really big space occupier. I feel like it’s just a great thing having Reggie. It takes some getting used to, but it’s really a blessing, honestly.”
Dupree McBrayer continued his red-hot start to the season with a perfect 5-of-5, 13-point night, making him 16 of 23 from the field through three games. McBrayer showed signs of being a great slasher and finisher as a wide-eyed freshman, but his summer of development seems to have reaped a better mid-range and long-range game. He began his college career 6 of 39 from 3-point range and is 10 of 19 since. “My confidence is too high right now,” McBrayer said early in the week. “I think I can make every shot.”
“You can tell when he shoots the ball he believes it’s going in,” said Pitino, who last year predicted McBrayer’s great potential. “He’s worked hard at it, he’s put in the time, and that’s where you get confidence from, and he’s done that.”
Minnesota’s rebounding was once again suffocating as they beat Mount St. Mary’s by 21 on the glass, one game after they were +15 against Arlington. After finishing in the Big 10’s bottom three in rebounding last season, the Gophers have looked like an entirely different team in the paint thanks to Eric Curry, Lynch and Murphy.
“It’s been a really big point of emphasis by our coaching staff and coach of course, just knowing that we have the size, we have the length, we have the athleticism to do it on our team,” Murphy said.
The Gophers now begin a five-game stretch against strong non-conference competition: vs St. John’s, vs Arkansas, vs Southern Illinois, @ Florida State and @ Vanderbilt. They’ll enter it with a 3-0 record after manhandling an inferior team — a simple feat that wasn’t accomplished very often a season ago.
