The Gophers men’s basketball team looked at its berth in the National Invitation Tournament as an opportunity for a dry run toward a hopeful spot in the NCAA tournament next March.
And Minnesota earned some quality experience, especially in crunch time, in the consolation tourney on Tuesday.
Down five points with five minutes left, the unseeded U scratched back to beat fourth-seeded Butler 73-72 in the first round of the NIT at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Minnesota (19-14) will play on Saturday or Sunday against either top-seed Indiana State or Southern Methodist. Those two teams play Wednesday night. The U will remain on the road this weekend, regardless of which opponent advances due to the Minnesota high school boys basketball tournament being played at Williams Arena.
Head coach Ben Johnson reminded his team about the chance they have in front of them this March.
“I want to think big picture, and we want to do our best to keep playing and keep winning and being in environments like this,” he said on KTLK-AM from Indianapolis. “We can win and grow and win a game late and win a game on the road against a hungry team and continue to play for something like a championship. That is important for our growth.”
Dawson Garcia and Bulldogs guard Jahmyl Telfort each poured in 25 points, but Telfort’s shot at the buzzer was off the mark for 4.5-point favorite Butler (18-15). Braeden Carrington forced Telfort to rainbow the attempt.
“It looked good,” Johnson admitted of the shot in the radio interview.
The Gophers weathered cold shooting down the stretch, making 1 of 9 shots over a four-minute span. But they made just enough in the last minute.
After a Garcia layup tied it 67-67 with two minutes remaining, D.J. Davis hit a 3-pointer for the lead with 1:47 remaining. In the final minute, Parker Fox added a layup, Telford made a jumper and Garcia contributed a layup to make it 72-71 with 22 seconds remaining
With 13 seconds left, the Gophers didn’t foul, and Davis’ pass was intercepted by Fox. In transition, Elijah Hawkins was fouled near the basket with five seconds remaining; he made both shots from the stripe to take a 73-72 lead.
Those clutch free throws for Hawkins went with his 15 assists, 11 points and only four turnovers.
Bulldogs coach Thad Matta, who used to be at Ohio State, called a timeout with 1.8 seconds remaining, but the buzzer beater was off.
Johnson said he saw “long faces” on Butler players in the handshake line.
“You notice guys don’t necessarily know what they have until it’s gone,” he said. “My message to them was sometimes you may feel like, ‘I don’t want to do this’ or ‘Oh, gosh, I got to get up for this.’ Then once it’s gone, you realize, ‘I woulda, shoulda, coulda.’ ”
The Gophers went on an 11-0 run midway through the first half to take a 19-11 lead, and Butler’s six turnovers aided the U’s margin. At one point, Minnesota had nine assists on nine baskets. But Butler went on its own run and ended up taking a 38-36 lead at the half.
This marks the Gophers’ first NIT appearance since they won the championship in 2014, and it’s the U’s first postseason appearance since 2019, when they advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
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