Spartans Edge Gophers out of NCAA’s

The short-handed Golden Gopher men’s basketball team fell to no. 2 Michigan State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.

The Gophers’ shooting struggles began early in the game. In the first 14 minutes of the game, the Spartans built a strong 20 point lead. At the end of the opening half, Minnesota trailed 33-19.

Michigan State was not as dominant in the second half as the first. The Gophers were only outscored 37-31 this time around. Minnesota tried to get things going, but were not able to catch up to the Spartans. They fell 70-50.

Minnesota shot a season-low 30.5 percent and made only 2 of 22 three-pointers. Amir Coffey led the team with 27 points. Isaiah Washington tallied nine, and Daniel Oturu added eight.

Leading rebounder and no. 2 scorer Jordan Murphy was out for all but four minutes of the game because of tightness in his back. Matz Stockman sat out for his third straight due to a concussion.

The Gophers close out their season with an overall record of 22-14.