Temple Owls 75
Minnesota Gophers 70
Richard Pitino’s Golden Gophers suffered its first loss of the season Thursday, falling 75-70 to Temple in the opening round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
1. Poor perimeter defense
Temple started the game cold from inside the arc but they found a way to connect on 3-point attempts to give them a five-point lead at the half. As the Star Tribune put it, Minnesota’s defensive issues on the perimeter “carried over from the mainland” to San Juan.
2. Bad bench, but Mason showed up
On a day the Gophers’ bench totaled just 6 points, it was Nate Mason leading the team with 20 points and Carlos Morris adding 16. Mason attempted a game-high 12 free throws and made 11 of them. Minnesota’s bench was outscored 25-6.
3. King slows down
Joey King had back-to-back 20-point games to start the season before going scoreless in the first half against Temple and finishing with 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting.
Tweet of the Game:
Not exactly the amped up crowd fans are used to at Williams Arena.
We have the atmosphere of a middle school gym here at the Puerto Rico tipoff. MN leads 7-5.
— Amelia Rayno (@AmeliaRayno) November 19, 2015
https://twitter.com/AaronGleeman/status/667380861059264512
Next up:
Minnesota is back in action Friday at 10:30 a.m. against the loser of Thursday’s Butler-Missouri State game.
