I feel home. #gophers pic.twitter.com/wIH5oRyIMl
— Jonathan (@GettingGophery) November 7, 2014
The Minnesota Gophers opened their basketball season with a 95-68 exhibition victory over Minnesota Duluth Thursday night.
Carlos Morris made a big first impression on Minnesota fans. The junior college transfer finished with 23 points in his debut at the U of M to lead five Gophers who scored in double figures.
Daquein McNeil impressed early. He was 4-for-4 in the first half, including a pair of threes on his way to 15 points. Joey King also added 15, while Andre Hollins had 13 and DeAndre Mathieu chipped in 12.
Minnesota opened the game blistering hot, making nearly 60 percent of their shots in the first half and building a 21-point halftime lead over the Bulldogs.
Minnesota didn’t cool off much in the second half as they finished shooting nearly 59 percent from the floor for the game.
Pitino: "We needed to play well because we didn't in our (Iowa State) scrimmage. We needed to get some confidence going." #Gophers
— Marcus R. Fuller (@Marcus_R_Fuller) November 7, 2014
The Gophers also controlled the glass. They outrebounded the Bulldogs 40-31, which included a 15 rebound performance from Gopher big man Elliott Eliason.
It will be a matchup of father versus son when the Gophers and Richard Pitino open the season against his father’s Louisville Cardinals in Puerto Rico on Nov. 14.
Final from the barn 95-68 Gophers over UMD. next up Louisville in Puerto Rico.
— Dawn Mitchell (@DawnAtFOX9) November 7, 2014
