NCAA Tournament 2017, Minnesota vs Middle Tennessee: Highlights, score and recap

Highlights from Thursday’s NCAA Tournament First Round matchup between the fifth-seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers and No. 12 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders in Milwaukee.

The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders are headed back to the second round of the NCAA Tournament following a 81-72 win over fifth-seeded Minnesota on Thursday in Milwaukee.

After Minnesota initially jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead, the two teams could not be separated for much of the first half. With the score tied at 22 nearing the five minute mark of the first half, the Golden Golphers made just two more field goals before the break and got no production out of leading scorer Nate Mason.

That allowed Middle Tennessee to build a lead as big as 37-28, although Dupree McBrayer hit a big 3 on Minnesota’s final possession of the half. Richard Pitino likely felt fortunate to be down only six, as the Blue Raiders were ultra-efficient offensively and maintained a double-digit advantage on the boards for much of the game.

The Blue Raiders absolutely controlled the action in the first eight minutes of the second half to build a commanding 59-42 lead. Minnesota’s interior defense, which was the strength of the team for much of the year, allowed the Blue Raiders to get to the rim at put multiple Golden Gophers in foul trouble.

After shooting 3-of-16 from beyond the arc in the first 30 minutes, the Golden Gophers got a big perimeter shot from Amir Coffey to make things a little more interesting at 60-49 with nine minutes left.  Two minutes later, the lead was just 62-55, as Middle Tennessee started to settle for jump shots and was suddenly unable to slow down Coffey.

Just when things were really falling apart for Middle Tennessee, star Reggie Upshaw scored five straight to give the Blue Raiders a little breathing room up 67-58 with 5:44 to go. Mason responded with a 3, but Minnesota did make another shot until the 2:11 mark, allowing Middle Tennessee to seal a 81-72 win, capped off by a three-point play with 90 seconds left from Jacorey Williams and subsequent Pitino technical.

Middle Tennessee out-rebounded the Golden Gophers 34-22 and grabbed 10 of its own misses to help an offense that was efficient from both the paint and perimeter. The loss of Akeem Springs really hurt the Golden Gophers, who shot 6-of-21 from beyond the arc and couldn’t make up for an uncharacteristically bad game by Mason.

Three Stars

3. Amir Coffey, G, Minnesota. Led the Golden Gophers with 17 points and kept Minnesota in the game with a number of key shots in the second half.

2. Brandon Walters, F, Middle Tennessee. Helped Middle Tennessee control the paint with six rebounds and 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

1. Reggie Upshaw, F, Middle Tennessee. Last March’s hero dominated with 19 points, nine rebounds and a pair of crucial shots to end Minnesota’s comeback attempt.

Highlights

Up Next

Middle Tennessee will look to take the Cinderella run a step further on Saturday with a win over Butler in the South Region Second Round.