South Dakota State 84
Minnesota Gophers 70
For the first time in program history, South Dakota State beat the Gophers 84-70 at Williams Arena.
1. Three-point barrage
Jake Bittle, Deondre Park and Reed Tellinghuisen combined to shoot 10-of-17 from the 3-point line for South Dakota State. Bittle was 3-of-4 and Tellinghuisen was 4-of-5.
As a team the Jacks were 11-of-19, but most of the damage was done in the first half as they built the big lead.
Bittle finished with 25 and Parks had 21.
Richard Pitino: "I thought (SDSU) was a very good team. I was very concerned about this. Not that South Dakota wasn't good."
— Marcus R. Fuller (@Marcus_R_Fuller) December 9, 2015
2. Too big of a hole to dig out of
While South Dakota State was busy draining 3s in the first half, the Gophers were busy throwing up bricks. The Jacks shot 51 percent in the first half, while Minnesota shot just 23 percent.
3-19 on two point shots. Could actually do that with my eyes closed.
— Jonathan (@GettingGophery) December 9, 2015
That helped SDSU surge to a 23-point first half lead at The Barn.
It set the stage for Minnesota’s second straight non-conference home loss, following a 47 game non-conference home winning streak.
Nate Mason scored 18 points, 2 rebounds & 5 assists but it wasn't enough as @GopherMBB falls to South Dakota, 84-70. https://t.co/R2zg4UilTr
— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) December 9, 2015
3. Mason leads Gophers in the loss
Nate Mason finished with 18 points and five assists to lead the Gophers. Kevin Dorsey added 16.
Tweet of the Night:
Ouch, that hurts!
Oh, crap. Can't figure out how to add the poll. Question: who do you want coaching #Gophers in 2nd half: Richard or Bernie, Richard's dog?
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) December 9, 2015
Up Next:
The Gophers will meet up with Oklahoma State in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Saturday.
