Men’s basketball: Gophers blowout Alcorn State in 95-50 win

The Gophers men s basketball club wasn t groggy for its Saturday morning tip-off against Alcorn State at Williams Arena Instead of an ability drink the jolt was Minnesota s stifling defense which didn t allow a bucket until left in the first half The U jumped out to a - lead in a - blowout win The Gophers had a similar sizzling start in the season opener against Gardner-Webb not allowing a made field goal until remained in the first half of that - win on Monday Combined that s more than total minutes without a basket given up to start the opening two games of head coach Niko Medved s tenure Both beginnings have been impressive but need to be put in context Alcorn State fell to - and was ranked th out of teams nationwide according to analytics site KenPom Gardner-Webb dropped to - with a - defeat to Clemson on Friday and are in KenPom Minnesota - will play at Missouri - on Wednesday Point guard Chansey Willis who was held scoreless in the opener led the way in the first half with points and four assists He finished with points Cade Tyson who had a game-high points against Gardner-Webb finished with points including of from the free-throw line Jaylen Crocker-Johnson who joined Medved in a move from Colorado State posted his second consecutive double-double with points and rebounds On Monday he had points and boards BJ Omot and Grayson Grove missed Saturday s encounter with injuries Omot leg also missed the season opener on Monday With specific walk-ons also unavailable Minnesota had only nine players suited up which kept certain regulars on the court at the end of the blowout Related Articles Coach Niko Medved reflects on pretty cool debut with Gophers Men s basketball Gophers open with rout of Gardner-Webb Frustrated by stagnation Mark Coyle puts more money into Gophers men s basketball North Carolina transfer Cade Tyson can have really good year for Gophers Cretin-Derham Hall guard Ty Schlagel commits to Nebraska