The Minnesota Golden Gophers are still undefeated, folks! Bobby Durkin sank a deep three in the final seconds last night to beat the Cincinnati Bearcats 63-61. Talk about a heart-stopper at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, OH.
The Shot That Stunned Everyone
For most of the second half, it looked like the Gophers were toast, trailing the Bearcats in their own house. But then, with just 0.4 seconds left on the clock, Durkin hit his only three of the entire game to put Minnesota up and essentially seal the win. Can you believe it? Isaac Asuma advanced the ball to Durkin for the heroic bucket. What makes it even wilder is Durkin looked out-of-sorts for most of the night, with just two points and an 0-for-5 record from downtown before that game-winner. He even had two threes blocked earlier!
Cincinnati had a whopping 79% chance of winning with 17 seconds left. That’s a lock, right? But then MJ Collins missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and suddenly, the door was open for the Gophers. Durkin walked right through it.
How Minnesota Even Got Back In It
Minnesota jumped out to an early lead, controlling the game for the first 10 minutes. But then Cincinnati slowly took over, playing some tough defense that made things difficult for everyone on the Gopher offense except Kyan Evans. The Bearcats forced a ton of Gopher turnovers, 17 of them to be exact, turning them into 16 points.
But the Gophers battled back. Kyan Evans was an absolute beast all game, dropping 26 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and dishing out five assists for a double-double. It was his first big scoring night as a Gopher, and he kept them in it. Minnesota also hammered the offensive glass, snagging 13 offensive rebounds that led to 11 crucial bonus points. On the other side, Cincinnati’s Tylen Riley was on fire, finishing with 25 points on 8/17 shooting, including a scorching 6/9 from beyond the arc. He had only scored 11 points all season before last night!
What This Win Means for the Gophers
This isn’t just a win, and being 3-0 on the young season isn’t just “great.” This is a Quad 1 win for the Gophers, and that is massive! It’s their best non-conference win since way back in 2011, when they beat North Carolina and West Virginia in back-to-back games. A win like this early in the season is exactly what the Gophers need to boost their resume as they try to get back to the NCAA Tournament.
The Gophers are coming home to “the Barn” for a couple of “gimme-games” against Southern on Thursday at 7:00, and then Western Illinois. Don’t get too comfortable, though, because after that, it’s three straight games against Power 5 teams. This team just showed they can battle back and pull off the improbable. What an insane start to the season!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply