Despite missing three usual starters, including leading scorer Jamison Battle, Minnesota defeated Rutgers in a thrilling game that went down to the final seconds. Here are three of the key takeaways from Minnesota's second conference win of the season!
The Luke Loewe Flu Game!
Step aside Michael Jordan, as there's a new flu game story to go around! But in all seriousness, Luke Loewe came up huge yesterday, despite being hooked up to an IV earlier in the day. Even feeling under the weather, Luke Loewe showed why he was a big pick-up on the transfer portal, putting up 19 points with 3 assists, shooting 3-5 from deep. Durning the first half there was a stretch where Minnesota put up a few bad shots in consecutive possessions, and Luke Loewe seemed to calm them down by knocking down a pair of mid-range jumpers. Showed really good shot selection to get high percentage looks, and he was knocking them down all game. Even while playing all 40 minutes, the defensive effort was constantly there, and he still had the legs to knock down some big shots down the stretch. Really impressed with his performance while having make up for some of the missing scoring.
Slow Pace Pays Off
With even less depth than usual, Minnesota started playing with a slow pace and really draining the shot clock on the offensive end. This helped limit the transition looks that Rutgers was able to get, and also keep the players' legs fresh as they weren't having to sprint up and down the floor as much. I thought in doing so, Minnesota wasn't rushing and forcing up some of the bad shots that they have in games past, as they were rotating the ball around for open looks. The result of this? Minnesota shot 54.2% both overall and from three.
Payton Willis Bounces Back In A Big Way
Payton Willis hadn't been as productive over the past few games as he was for most of the season, and with a few key pieces missing, he knew he'd have to step up. Ben Johnson gave him the green light to fire away, and that's exactly what he did. From the very jump, Payton was taking and making big shot after big shot, including some tough contested threes at the end of the shot clock. Even while going off for 32 points, Payton was still getting into dangerous spots to create for his teammates, finishing with 7 assists. When Payton gets into that rhythm, he's one of the best scorers in the Big 10, as he has the rare ability to knock down shots with a hand right in his face like no one's even there.
Key Performers For Minnesota
Payton Willis- 32 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds
Luke Loewe- 19 points, 3 assists
Treyton Thompson- 10 points, 6 rebounds
Key Performers For Rutgers
Geo Baker- 25 points, 2 assists
Ron Harper Jr.- 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals
Paul Mulcahy- 7 points, 9 assists
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