Gophers basketball team trying to keep it together without two starters
With starting guard Amir Coffey injured and starting center Reggie Lynch suspended and now facing expulsion after a second school investigation found him responsible for a sexual misconduct offense, Gophers men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino held a team meeting Monday that one player called “atypical.”
Pitino’s team entered this season with legitimate hopes of a deep NCAA tournament run. Two months later, an injury has marginalized their tournament hopes and Lynch’s suspension has cast another dark cloud over Pitino’s program.
And yet, on Monday, Pitino gathered his team with hopes of inspiring a run to March Madness even with a diminished roster that threatens to derail a once-hopeful season.
Indiana’s Robert Johnson (4) lays up as Minnesota’s Bakary Konate, left, and Jordan Murphy defend in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018, in Minneapolis. Illinois won 75-71. Johnson led Illinois with 28 points. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
“I told the guys yesterday that we’re 13-4 and 2-2 in conference,” Pitino said. “Do we feel like with who we have, can we go win some games and do what we’re hoping to do, which is make the NCAA tournament? I believe we can, and they believe we can; that’s the most important thing, that they believe in the locker room. We’re close to being 14-3 and 3-1. We just need to find a way to go win some games.”
That won’t be easy, not with the road-heavy schedule approaching, and not with a starting lineup down to three players who average more than three points per game.
The Gophers play four of their next five games outside of Minnesota, starting with Wednesday’s 8 p.m. tipoff at Northwestern (10-7, 1-3).
Lynch’s suspension came one day before the Gophers’ 75-71 loss to Indiana on Saturday at Williams Arena.
“It all hit us out of nowhere — especially the day before a game,” forward Davonte Fitzgerald said. “Now the reality has set in with us, and (the question is) how are we going to move forward? So we had that team meeting and had to talk it out and face these challenges coming up.”
The Gophers blew a lead with three minutes remaining in Saturday’s loss to Indiana. Moments after the game, Pitino chuckled when asked if this is the most difficult stretch of his five years in Dinkytown.
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“Well, I won eight games two years ago,” Pitino cracked, referencing the team’s 8-23 record in 2015-16. “That wasn’t too easy. … When you’re in this game long enough, you see a lot. So we’ll get these guys positive and control what we can control. I’m the leader of it, so I’ll get them going.”
Pitino’s Gophers had a weak bench even before Coffey’s injury and Lynch’s suspension. Now they will be forced to lean even more on Jordan Murphy (18.9 points per game), Nate Mason (16), and Dupree McBrayer (9.6).
“And it’s even more difficult because Dupree really can’t practice,” Pitino said, referring to the junior guard’s lingering leg injury. “Especially with three games in six days this week. But it’s not just on those three guys; it’s on everybody. We’ve still got a lot of bodies that can help; it’s not just on those three guys.”
With a winable game against struggling Northwestern up next, the Gophers used this week as a chance to re-set.
“Right now we’re not trying to feel too bad because we know we’ve still got the same goals,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s going to be a little tougher now with those two guys, out so we’ve just got to change a few things, change our approach offensively and defensively, and not feel bad for ourselves.”