Gophers avoid scary upset in 66-54 win over Chicago State

Four University of Minnesota students consumed more hotdogs in a halftime eating contest than the Gophers men s basketball association made shots in the first half against Chicago State on Tuesday night On dog night at Williams Arena the male students mangled and mashed down the majority of hot dogs four apiece in a sprint race while the U players managed to make only nine of shots in the opening -minute slog The Gophers performance in the second half continued to be stomach-churning as Chicago State a -point underdog went on a - run to take - lead with nine minutes left But Minnesota ended the tournament on a - run to escape a stunning upset with a - win at The Barn To show the magnitude of the narrow escape Chicago State was ranked out of total teams in Division I going into the challenge while Minnesota was in the s at tipoff Cade Tyson led the Gophers with points while Marcus Tankersley had for Chicago State Gophers center Robert Vaihola appeared to hyperextend his right knee in the second half and didn t return Minnesota - took a - lead after the first minutes but struggled for the next -plus minutes Minnesota scored and points in its first two wins of the season over Gardner-Webb and Alcorn State respectively But they scored only against Missouri and in regulation of the overtime win over Green Bay on Saturday Instead of showing kinks early in Niko Medved s first season they have gone from smooth sailing to rough waters And it s not just against higher competition in Missouri Green Bay was in KenPom The Gophers had troubles with zone defenses against Missouri and Green Bay but Medved employed his own zone against Chicago State to great success down the stretch In the opening minutes the Gophers shot from field from -point range and didn t points a bucket over the final five minutes and seconds But Chicago State wasn t any better so Minnesota led - at the break Overall Minnesota shot from the field and percent from deep The Gophers will play San Francisco in Sioux Falls S D on Saturday Then Minnesota will go to Palm Springs to play Stanford on Thanksgiving Nov and either Santa Clara or St Louis on Nov Related Articles Gophers men s basketball Minnesota struggles but escapes with OT win over Green Bay Gophers can t keep up with Missouri in a - loss Gophers coach Niko Medved breaks down recruiting class Men s basketball Gophers first stiff test awaits at Missouri Men s basketball Gophers blowout Alcorn State in - win