Gophers men's basketball team trounces Nebraska

MINNEAPOLIS – University of Minnesota men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino stressed during a rough Big Ten start that his team wasn’t that far off defensively from where it needed to be to win consistently.
It wasn’t just about turning over teams at a high rate with the press like the Gophers did in nonconference play; they also had to execute in a half-court set. Players had to get comfortable switching from man to zone defense depending on the opponent.
Finally, the Gophers showed Saturday the type of all-around defensive game their coached longed for.
Mo Walker scored a team-high 19 points as Minnesota forced 20 turnovers and held Nebraska to 37 percent shooting in a 60-42 victory at Williams Arena.
“What I normally try to do is gauge it,” Pitino said. “We may do zone (defense) on a make, man on a miss. And then what we do is chart throughout the course of the game.”
When the Gophers (14-9, 3-7) lost 52-49 at Nebraska on Jan. 20, the Cornhuskers had trouble against the zone, going the last eight minutes of the second half without a field goal.
So Pitino had his team play zone from the start Saturday, and it worked again.
“That’s what we wanted to do and see how they responded from it,” he said. “I think that’s the right way to play them.”
The 6-foot-10, 250-pound Walker wasn’t just a major offensive factor inside. He also led the team with eight rebounds, three of the team’s 10 steals and two blocks.
It was the sixth time this season Walker had three steals in a game.
He was the only center in the Big Ten entering the game to rank among the top 15 in the conference in steals (1.7).
“We know part of the game plan is that they were going to try to get the ball into the middle,” Walker said. “When they got the ball to the middle, I knew I could step up big. The guards did a good job slapping down, so I got a few steals. We were really aggressive in the zone, and I think that’s the reason we won the game.”
NEBRASKA (42): S.Shields 4-15 2-2 11, Petteway 4-8 1-1 10, Pitchford 2-7 0-0 4, Ta.Webster 2-5 0-0 5, Tr.Smith 2-6 1-2 6, B.Parker 1-1 0-0 2, Da.Rivers 0-2 0-0 0, Le.Smith 2-2 0-0 4, N.Fuller 0-0 0-0 0, M.Abraham 0-0 0-0 0, J.Hammond 0-0 0-0 0, Kurkowski 0-0 0-0 0, Menke 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-46 4-5 42.
MINNESOTA (60): D.Mathieu 3-7 1-2 7, A.Hollins 4-7 2-2 12, Jy.King 3-8 2-2 9, Mu.Walker 7-10 5-5 19, N.Mason 2-6 3-4 8, C.Morris 1-5 1-2 3, E.Eliason 1-4 0-0 2, Buggs 0-1 0-0 0, Konate 0-0 0-0 0, Diedhiou 0-0 0-0 0, Lukashewich 0-0 0-0 0, Shell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-48 14-17 60.
Nebraska 16 26 - 42
Minnesota 23 37 - 60
3-Point Goals: Nebraska 4-20 (Tr.Smith 1-3, Ta.Webster 1-3, Petteway 1-4, S.Shields 1-7, Pitchford 0-3), Minnesota 4-13 (A.Hollins 2-4, N.Mason 1-3, Jy.King 1-5, D.Mathieu 0-1). Fouled out: None. Rebounds: Nebraska 30 (Tr.Smith 6), Minnesota 27 (Mu.Walker 8). Assists: Nebraska 14 (Petteway 5), Minnesota 13 (A.Hollins 6). Total Fouls: Nebraska 16 (Ta.Webster 4), Minnesota 12 (D.Mathieu 3). A-13,253.