The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Friday, February 2, 2018 — 7

Behind Enemy Lines: Minnesota’s Jordan Murphy and Nate Mason

Michigan 
fans 
don’t 

particularly 
like 
Minnesota 

point guard Nate 
Mason.

After 
a 

near-double-
double 
and 

20-point outing 
in 
the 
Golden 

Gophers’ 
two 

games 
against 

the 
Wolverines 

last 
season, 

the 
resentment 

makes sense.

But when Mason took Big Ten 

first-team honors over Derrick 
Walton Jr. for the 2016-17 
season, the indignation reached 
another level.

After all was said and done, 

though, it was Michigan that got 
the last laugh. The Wolverines 
were catapulted to the Sweet 
Sixteen because of Walton’s 
elite play, while Mason and 
Minnesota suffered a first round 
upset to Middle Tennessee State.

Forward 
Jordan 
Murphy 

wasn’t discussed as much as 
Mason, but he still had his way 
against Michigan last year. In 
the first contest, especially, 
Murphy wiped the floor with the 
Wolverines, notching 16 points 
and 15 rebounds in an overtime 
victory.

The 2017-18 season has been 

a flipped script for the Golden 
Gophers (3-8 Big Ten, 14-10 
overall). Dealing with the loss 
of three key players, Minnesota 
is positioned at the bottom of 
the Big Ten standings. Golden 
Gophers will need more frequent 
All-American performances by 
Murphy and Mason to maintain 
a thread of hope to resurrect an 
already-disappointing season.

The Daily sat down with 

Murphy and Mason at Big Ten 
Media Day in October to talk 
about battling depth issues, 

their lack of roster turnover and 
what their expectations for the 
season were.

The Michigan Daily: The 

team didn’t face a lot of roster 

turnover 
from 

last year. What 
improvements 
are you hoping to 
see this season? 
Have 
any 
of 

them 
been 
on 

display after the 
offseason?

Jordan 

Murphy: 
Building off the 
chemistry 
we 

had last year is one of the biggest 
things I was looking forward to. 
Really one of my goals. We do a 

good job of hanging out off the 
court to build that chemistry. 
Just staying connected with 
each other, whether that’s a 
group chat or just talking. It’s 
one of the most 
important things 
that we’ve done.

Nate Mason: 

We’re definitely 
a 
little 
more 

connected. 
Our 

chemistry 
is 

there. But we’ve 
still 
got 
two, 

three new guys 
that we need to 
rely on to help us 
out. Isaiah Washington, Jamir 
Harris, 
Davonte 
Fitzgerald. 

Those are three new guys that 

are gonna play this year. We 
gotta get them on the same page. 
It’s gonna take a while, but it’s 
better now than before it’s too 
late.

TMD: Before 

the season even 
began, the team 
lost Eric Curry 
for 
the 
year 

because 
of 
an 

ACL tear. How 
do you plan on 
making up for 
that loss?

JM: 
We’re 

trying 
guys 

at 
different 

positions. We’re getting Davonte 
ready for when he’s ready to go 
full contact. Mixing it up a bit 

with the big men. Having guys 
step up in that position, knowing 
that there are rebounds to get, 
there are points and minutes 
to be had. Making sure guys 
understand that 
and making sure 
they step up is 
the biggest thing.

NM: 
Eric 

was 
a 
very 

good 
player 

for 
us 
coming 

off 
the 
bench 

last 
year. 
He 

primarily backed 
up 
Murphy. 

But 
we’ve 
got 

Davonte Fitzgerald. He’s gonna 
come in and take that spot. He’s 
getting healthy and he’s gonna 

be good. It’s just a matter of 
being healthy and being in sync. 
Also gotta keep Murphy out of 
foul trouble.

TMD: 
Winning 
eight 
of 

your 
last 
nine 

games 
last 

season propelled 
Minnesota 
to 
the 
NCAA 

Tournament. 
What was going 
well during that 
stretch 
that 

you 
think 
can 

continue 
into 

this season?

JM: 
Guys 

started 
to 
understand 
their 

roles more. As to the rest of the 
season, the guys started to really 
find their niches inside of their 
lineups. We started making good 
lineups that meshed well with 
each other. Guys started to get in 
the gym more and work harder 
and harder as it got towards the 
end of the season.

NM: I mean, it was just a will. 

We sat down as a team, had a 
team meeting, a players-only 
meeting. We just discussed the 
will. We put it out there and 
we wanted to fix it. We were 
focused, locked in and that was 
it.

TMD: Minnesota is projected 

to finish top three in the Big 
Ten standings this year. What 
are your expectations for the 
season?

JM: Our goal is always gonna 

be a Big Ten title. That’s the first 
thing on our mind. Always gotta 
think about the big goals that we 
have for our team and that’s the 
main thing: a Big Ten title. 

NM: We want to win the Big 

Ten title. That’s our goal: we 
want a Big Ten title. We’ve got a 
chance to do it, and the only thing 
that can stop us is ourselves. 
This is the most talented team 
I’ve ever been around, it’s crazy. 
If we pull all together and play 
as one, we have a chance.

Michigan set to face struggling Golden Gophers

To say that things aren’t going 

as planned for Minnesota would 
be an understatement.

Slated 
as 
the 
preseason 

consensus No. 3 team in the Big 
Ten, the Golden Gophers (3-8 
Big Ten, 14-10 overall) currently 
sit tied for 11th place in the 
conference standings with just 
seven games remaining. Their 10 
losses are as many as they had all 
of last season.

Minnesota’s plunge to bottom-

dweller status is largely a result of 
the roster hits it has taken — most 
notably center Reggie Lynch, 
who is under investigation by 
the university for multiple sexual 
assault allegations. Lynch was last 
season’s Big Ten Defensive Player 
of the Year, and without him, the 
Golden Gophers sit second to 
last in the conference in scoring 
defense.

Minnesota has also suffered 

from the absences of starting 
shooting guard Amir Coffey 

— who is day-to-day with a 
recurring shoulder injury — and 
sixth man Eric Curry with an 
ACL tear. Coffey played over 33 
minutes per game last season as 
the team’s best finisher, while 
Curry notched nearly 20 minutes 
per game as the team’s sixth man.

Amid injury and controversy in 

a disappointing year, the Golden 
Gophers enter Crisler Center on 
Saturday on a four-game losing 
streak and with little to play for 
except pride. A victory on the road 
over No. 24 Michigan (7-4, 18-6), 
though, would be significant for 
Minnesota.

Enduring what looks like a lost 

season, Minnesota coach Richard 
Pitino now views each tough 
game as an opportunity to flatten 
the learning curve.

“I equate it to when Nate 

(Mason), Dupree (McBrayer) and 
(Jordan Murphy) two years ago 
were in the game,” Pitino said on 
Jan. 18. “And as painful as it was 
at times, it was helpful to them in 
their growth.”

Despite Minnesota’s struggles, 

it’s been Murphy — not the 
bench or newcomers — who 
has picked up the most slack. 
The junior forward is having 
a banner year, averaging 17.7 
points, 11.9 rebounds, a block and 
a steal per game. Without Lynch, 
Murphy has spearheaded an 
impressive rebounding effort — 
the Golden Gophers are second 
in the conference in offensive 
rebounding and third in defensive 
rebounding.

And if Michigan coach John 

Beilein loves anything about 
his team, it’s how it keeps 
opponents off the glass. While 
the Wolverines don’t grab many 
offensive boards themselves — 
they’re last in the conference — 
they boast the highest defensive 
rebounding percentage in the Big 
Ten. 

“There’s one thing I care about 

on the glass: Don’t let them get 
offensive rebounds,” Beilein said 
on Jan. 12. “That’s all it is. You 
see numbers, (but) the number is 
what’s the percentage of offensive 
rebounds they got. And we’re one 

of the better ones in the country at 
not allowing offensive rebounds. 
… I don’t care about how many 
rebounds they get, we’re like No. 
1 in defensive transition. You’ve 
gotta pick your poison there.”

Added 
senior 
guard 

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman 
after Monday’s game: “I like how 
gritty we were on the boards. 
Everybody was crashing the 
boards on (Northwestern), and 
we held them to seven offensive 
rebounds. Any time you can limit 
teams to less than 10, you’re gonna 
win the game.”

For a Michigan offense that 

has scored 27 points or less in 
the first half in four of its last five 
games, controlling the glass and 
exploiting one of the conference’s 
weakest defenses could likely 
foretell the final outcome.

With a chance to add one 

bright spot to its gloomy season, 
Minnesota will have to exceed 
expectations and rebound in 
more ways than one. Against the 
Wolverines, that opportunity may 
be hard to come by.

ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Editor

ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Editor

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

Minnesota forward Jordan Murphy believed his team could win the Big Ten before the season, but injuries have since crippled the Golden Gophers.

The two Golden Gophers sat down with the Daily at Big Ten Media Day in October to discuss the upcoming season

EVAN AARON/Daily

Senior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman cited his team’s ability on the boards as a positive in Michigan’s victory over Northwestern on Monday.

“We do a good 
job of hanging 

out off the 

court.”

“Eric (Curry) 

was a very good 
player for us ... 

last year.”

“We’re 

definitely a 
little more 
connected.”

