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• "Nobody on our team feels good about this. We're not consistently doing the tough things," coach Scott Nagy said. "There's no reason why Minnesota would play harder than us. We should have every motivation in the world."
• The Gophers had a special guest behind their bench, with coach Richard Pitino's father, Rick Pitino, wearing a maroon-and-gold scarf over a matching Minnesota jacket and shirt. The Louisville coach took advantage of a night off to travel north and support his son's new team, and he looked every bit the fan in his seat, clapping emphatically and wincing when plays went against the Gophers.
• He greeted the team in the locker room afterward. Nobody knew he was going to be there until he showed up in his seat.
• "I really appreciated it. That was fun. I'm glad we got the win in front of him," Richard Pitino said. "I brag about this place so much that I wanted him to see it, so I'm happy he got a chance."
• SDSU is not the same without Nate Wolters, the program's all-time leading scorer, Summit League Player of the Year and third team Associated Press All-American who's now in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks.
• This is a team with plenty of experience left from two NCAA tournament appearances and a total of 52 wins over the last two seasons, though, with three returning starters in Brayden Carlson, Dykstra and White.
• "We just didn't make the tough plays that we needed to to come up with the win," White said. "Minnesota, when you don't make those plays, they make you pay."
• SDSU tied the game at 21 on a 3-pointer by Carlson with 7:36 left before the break. But the Gophers scored the final five points of the first half, including a baseline jumper by Hollins, who picked up where he left off after the intermission with a 3-pointer from the corner in the opening seconds to stretch the lead to 39-28.
• Mathieu followed with a couple of 3-pointers of his own, and the Gophers quickly had a comfortable lead. Andre Hollins struggled to find his shot all night, but he finished with eight assists and didn't lose any aggressiveness. He used a spin dribble to set up a double-pump bank shot he sank from the edge of the lane as he fell to the court with 4:09 left. He picked up a foul, made the free throw and stretched the lead to 69-52.
• Austin Hollins followed with a layup that put him over 1,000 career points, prompting a chant of his name from the crowd at the next stoppage of play.
• "He just uses his athleticism. He's always had a good court sense. He knows where to be," Eliason said.
• The Gophers have had their struggles with three new starters and this thin frontcourt, but there are signs of progress with Pitino's style.

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