'We can play with anybody': Gophers start Big Ten Tourney Wednesday against Northwestern
Minnesota Gophers guard Payton Willis (0) grabbed the loose ball after Wisconsin Badgers guard D'Mitrik Trice (0) tripped and lost it in the first half. ((Photo by Renee Jones Schneider/Star Tribune via Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS - To the surprise of Gophers fans and star center Daniel Oturu himself, the Minnesota sophomore sensation was not named First Team All-Big Ten when the conference honors were announced on Monday.
Oturu landed on the All-Big Ten Second Team after leading the conference in rebounding, being second in scoring behind Iowa star Luka Garza and leading the league with 2.5 blocked shots per game. Oturu has emerged as a potential All-American and probable NBA Draft pick after the season, being the lone player in the NCAA to average at least 20 points and 11 rebounds per game for the season.
He's averaging 20 points and 11.4 rebounds per contest, so was he snubbed? Probably, but that’s life when Minnesota enters the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday as the No. 12 seed out of 14 teams.
“I’m not as outraged as everybody else is. When you finish 12th, it’s just the bottom line. I think Dan had a really good year, but he should be proud of the fact that he was second team all-conference as a sophomore in one of the toughest conferences maybe ever,” Gophers coach Richard Pitino said.
Oturu wasn’t alone when it comes to earning All-Big Ten honors. After sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules, sophomore Marcus Carr was named to the conference’s Third Team. Carr scored in double figures in 23 games, averaging 15.5 points per game.
He averaged 6.7 assists per game, set a single-season assist record at Minnesota and led the Big Ten in minutes per game in league play at more than 37 minutes per game. Carr was honored for his assist record during Minnesota’s final regular season home game on Sunday.
“It was definitely something, kind of a goal that I had for myself coming into the year. Definitely just knowing that if I was playing well, that I would put my team in a good position to be winning games,” Carr said.
Gophers start Big Ten Tournament Wednesday vs. Northwestern
The harsh reality for Minnesota (14-16, 8-12) is after losing so many close games in Big Ten play, the Gophers are the No. 12 seed for the 14-team Big Ten Tournament. They face No. 13-seeded Northwestern in the first game of the tournament Wednesday night.
The Gophers scored 107 points in their regular season finale Sunday, the most in a regulation game in seven seasons under Pitino. They also set a school record with 18 3-pointers, led by Gabe Kalscheur tying a single-game record with eight.
Their only chance to reach their third NCAA Tournament in four years is a daunting task and a steep mountain: They have to win the Big Ten Tournament, five games over five days.
“This team is playing good basketball, we really are and that’s what’s important is you want to be playing good basketball in February,” Pitino said. “You just take it one game at a time, you don’t look ahead, you totally lock in on beating Northwestern.”
It’s been a tough year for the Gophers, who have had issues closing out games for much of the Big Ten season. They beat a Cornhuskers team that had only seven scholarship players available. That ended a stretch where they lost six out of seven games after beating rival Wisconsin. The Badgers won the regular season Big Ten title and are the No. 1 seed for the tournament.
The Gophers get a new opportunity this week after losing eight Big Ten games by eight points or fewer, and losing second half leads to Maryland and Iowa at home.
“We believe we can play with anybody and I think, although we didn’t get enough wins, if you were watching any of our games and most of our games, you could tell we’re right there. We just have to do a better job of finishing,” Carr said. “We’re right there with anybody in the country, and really I believe we can beat anybody so we definitely have that confidence going into the tournament.”
There remains a very real chance the Gophers, barring a run this week, won’t end the seasons in the Big Dance or the NIT Tournament. Minnesota likely needs to win at least two games to get NIT consideration. It would be the fourth time in Pitino’s seven years that Minnesota didn’t get into the NCAAs or NIT, fueling speculation about his future with the Gophers.
Pitino is taking things day-to-day and told his team things could be a lot worse.
“I told them constantly last game, ‘Guys, this is the time of your life. None of you are married, none of you have kids, you don’t have real problems right now. Enjoy this.’ I didn’t tell my wife that, but that is the reality of it. You’ve got a great opportunity, the conference tournament is really fun, it’s a fun thing to be a part of. So embrace it,” Pitino said.
If Minnesota beats Northwestern Wednesday night, it would advance to face No. 5-seeded Iowa on Thursday.