Minnesota cruises to 95-50 win over Alcorn State
The Minnesota Golden Gophers, for a second-straight game to start their 2025-26 season, cruised to victory, defeating the Alcorn State Braves 95-50.
The Gophers, in an effort reminiscent of their season-opening win over Gardner-Webb on Monday, got off to a fast start in the game, using a 17-0 run to open the game. Alcorn State didn’t get on the board until the 13:02 mark in the first half.
The Gophers would eventually take a 48-17 lead into halftime over the Braves. Despite the big lead, it wasn’t a perfect first half for Minnesota as they shot 14-of-35 from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, including 2-of-11 from three-point range. Niko Medved’s team did take advantage of Alcorn State’s foul trouble in the first half, however, making 18-of-21 first-half free-throw attempts.
The second half was a much more efficient 20 minutes for the Gophers, shooting 15-of-25 from the floor, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. They were also 14-of-16 from the free-throw line, bringing their game totals at the free-throw line to 32-for-37.
In the win, the Gophers saw Cade Tyson with another terrific effort with 21 points on 5-of-9 shooting; he was also 10-of-11 from the free-throw line. Chansey Willis Jr., after being held scoreless against Gardner-Webb had 13 points while Jaylen Crocker-Johnson and Robert Vaihola both recorded double-doubles in the win.
Crocker-Johnson finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds in the win, while Vaihola finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
WHAT IT MEANS
We have to take the result on Saturday with a grain of salt. Alcorn State is going to be one of the worst teams in college basketball this season. That being said, the Gophers, for a second-straight game to open the season took care of business on both sides of the ball, which is easier said than done.
The Gophers checked all the boxes in the win. They were efficient from the floor (48.3% shooting percentage), made their free throws (86.5%), dominated the boards (50 to 24), and once again had the ball moving throughout the win with 20 assists on their 29 total makes.
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