The two-day U.S. Bank Stadium Classic is off to a winning start for Minnesota as the Gophers and Tommies won at the home of the Vikings on Friday night.
Playing on a raised floor in the middle of the 65-thousand-seat stadium, the Gophers beat the Big 12’s Oklahoma State 83-76 to improve to 6-1 on the season. St. Thomas, in the game before the U of M played, defeated the University of Wisconsin-River Falls 85-70.
Before we get to who led the way for the Gophers we need to point out some impressive numbers put up by Tommies stars: Anders Nelson, a 6-foot freshman guard from Edina had 24 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and five steals, and Connor Bair, a senior forward from Prior Lake, scored 23 points and finished with an incredible 10 blocks.
👀⏳ #Timelapse of the #USBSClassic🏀 Court Install! Tickets are still available starting at just $15! 🎟: https://t.co/HxgqXnYXUs pic.twitter.com/x7kdaKLSWl
— U.S. Bank Stadium (@usbankstadium) November 29, 2018
The Gophers were led by senior forward Jordan Murphy’s 24 points and 16 rebounds while Isaiah Washington (15 points), Gabe Kalscheur (14 points), Amir Coffey (11 points) and Dupree McBrayer (10 points) all scored in double figures.
Minnesota is now 4-0 on neutral courts this season, having gone 3-0 at the Vancouver Showcase.
The win over Oklahoma State (4-3) also looks good on the resume considering the Cowboys were fresh off an upset win over No. 19 LSU.
The Gophers get their first Big Ten test of the season when they host Ohio State at Williams Arena on Sunday.
The U.S. Bank Stadium Classic continues Saturday with North Dakota State and Drake at 5:30 p.m., followed by South Dakota State against Northern Iowa.
The basketball games inside the football stadium are essentially serving as a practice run for the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four in April.
