THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM OPENS THE EXHIBITION SEASON AGAINST BEMIDJI STATE

The 2011-2012 University of Minnesota basketball team opened up the exhibition part of their season against Bemidji State University.

The Gophers won the tip and they looked to take their time on the offensive end. Ralph Sampson scored the first basket for the Gophers.

The Gophers looked to push the ball in transition and they looked to take as much time off the clock as they could.

Bemidji State took a timeout with 17:45 left in the first half with the Gophers up 8-0.

Andre Hollins for Minnesota did a good job of running the point guard spot. He was able to get his team into spots on the floor and got the team into their offense.

Joe Coleman for the Gophers knew where he was on the floor. He did a good job of asking for the ball and was able to make shots.

With 15:00 left in the first half the score was Minnesota 10 and Bemidji State 4.

The Gophers mostly used a man-to-man defense. Bemidji State had a hard time defending the Gophers.

With 10:41 left in the first half the score was Minnesota 12 and Bemidji State 8.

Bemidji was able to get the ball out of the Gophers net and push it down the court.

At the under 8:00 minute media timeout the score was Minnesota 16 and Bemidji State 12.

Minnesota went to a full court press that was able to put Bemidji State in a panic. They were not able to get a shot off and were forced to turn it over.

With 3:40 left in the first half the score was Minnesota 26 and Bemidji State 21.

Minnesota went to a zone defense after the timeout. They were able to force Bemidji State to take shots that they were not comfortable taking.

At halftime the score was Minnesota 30 and Bemidji State 21.

Both teams started out hot as they were able to step up and knock down shots.

At the first media timeout the score was Minnesota 39 and Bemidji State 27.

Trevor Mbakwe and Ralph Sampson shot the ball really well. The Gopher guards did a good job of getting the ball inside and letting them go to work on the low block.

The Gophers were able to try out a lot of different players as Tubby Smith went to a wholesale substitution in the second half.

With 7:22 left in regulation the score was Minnesota 59 and Bemidji State 42.

The Gophers continued to make their shots down the stretch.

The Gophers came away with the 71-58 victory over Bemidji State.

After the game Tubby Smith talked about the game and the up coming season. Also Ralph Sampson and Trevor Mbakwe addressed the media. Tubby Smith said,“We got just what we wanted. We knew Bemidji State would do things that we hadn’t seen. We saw some things we need to work on and it gives us a chance to see what we have to do defensively and overall what we need to work on.”

Also Ralph Sampson III talked about facing an opponent rather than teammates for the first time this year. He said, “I think this game was needed for us. We’ve been going against each other for quite a while. It’s always great to get this first game in and actually play someone else.”

Trevor Mbakwe talked about areas in which the Gophers need to improve on. He said, "It starts on defense. I think we just got kind of out of position a couple times. …We didn’t play as hard. We lacked intensity sometimes in the game. I think when we picked it up, we were able to extend our lead a little bit, but then we kept them in the game. These games show you where you are, what you should keep on working as an individual and as a team.”