While it was just an exhibition game for the Gophers tonight vs. The University of Minnesota-Duluth, it was great to see college basketball back at Williams Arena again. Minnesota played great en route to a 109-53 win with many positives to pick out for Coach Pitino and his team. With so many injuries last season for the maroon and gold, the depth for Pitino and Co. could truly help turn that 15-17 record into something much more improved in 2018-19. Seven different players–Murphy, McBrayer, Oturu, Kalscheur, Omersa, Stull and Washinton–scored in double figures for Minnesota while ten different players scored at least four points.
Here are three takeaways from tonight’s victory ahead of the season home opener on Nov. 6 vs. Omaha.
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After starting in 27 games last season and facing adversity with a nagging leg injury for much of the latter part of the season, Dupree McBrayer showed tonight just how explosive he could be when he is at full strength. In the first half alone, McBrayer scored 11 points, making four of his five shots include two of his three 3-point attempts in 12 minutes. McBrayer added two rebounds and one assist in the first 20 minutes of play, resting for much of the second half with Pitino giving his younger players a chance to log some minutes.
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Freshmen, Freshmen! Jarvis Omersa, Gabe Kalscheur, and Daniel Oturu–all from Minnesota–played their first game for Coach Pitino, showing flashes of brilliance in the blowout victory. Oturu led the trio with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting and added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Kalscheur made six of his seven free throw attempts on his way to scoring 12 points and Omersa added 11 for the Gophers including this dunk to impress the crowd in the second half.
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Is Washington back? After so much hype about the freshman from Harlem, New York, Washington ended up starting just four games and shooting 36.6 percent from the line last season. In the first game of his sophomore campaign, Washington impressed the crowd with a couple of his famous dazzling passes as well as a couple of deep 3-point baskets that rattled in. With Nate Mason graduating, Washington will have to take a giant leap if this Gophers team is going to improve in the always competitive Big 10 Conference. Washington finished the game with 18 points, logging in 23 minutes and making all but one of his eight shots. He added four rebounds and two assists.