One hallmark of Niko Medved’s offense is backdoor cuts and the Gophers were dialing them up with big success midway through the second half at Missouri on Wednesday.
Then Minnesota fell through a trap door.
After Cade Tyson was fouled on another back cut to the basket and made one free throw, Missouri went on a 21-1 run — with an 8-point possession — to stake a 70-48 lead in a 83-60 win at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo.
Minnesota (2-1) was up nine in the first half, but struggled once Missouri (4-0) went to a zone defense. The U struggled to shoot over it.
Minnesota cruised to two nonconference wins over lightweights in Gardner-Webb and Alcorn State, but the Tigers, an NCAA tournament team a year ago, were an entirely different level.
Mark Mitchell, a preseason all-SEC forward, averaged 20.7 points per game and scored 18 to lead all scorers.
Cade Tyson, who had only six points win the first half, got going with a series of cuts to the basket. He had three finishes in the restricted area and added another point from the free throw line to give him 15 with 12 minutes remaining. He finished with team-high 17.
During that massive run, Missouri capitalized on handful of Gophers turnovers to put the game out of reach.
Gophers led Missouri 21-12 with eight minutes left in the first half, but trailed 32-30 at the half. Minnesota out-rebounded Tigers 24-11, including 11-0 on offensive glass, but the U shot 3 for 15 from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes.
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