CHICAGO – Senior center Matz Stockman could miss Saturday's Big Ten tournament semifinal after being treated for concussionlike symptoms, Gophers coach Richard Pitino said after Friday's victory over Purdue.
The 7-foot Stockman left the game midway through the second half and was tested by the team trainer. He was hit in the head unintentionally by Trevion Williams on a rebound attempt near the 12-minute mark.
"We're playing [starters] a lot of minutes," Pitino said. "Matz could be out. He's got concussionlike symptoms. So [freshman] Jarvis [Omersa] has got to be ready. We'll evaluate that and go from there."
Stockman's playing time increased after the season-ending injury to Eric Curry, who had surgery to repair ligament damage to his right foot Wednesday. Curry had been the first frontcourt player off the bench. That role shifted to Stockman, who went from not playing in three straight games to posting nine points, six rebounds and a career-high seven blocks in 24 minutes in the previous meeting vs. Purdue and a career-high 25 minutes in Thursday's overtime win vs. Penn State.
The Gophers could now get a lot smaller and less experienced behind the starting frontcourt of Jordan Murphy and Daniel Oturu, who combined for 40 points and 18 rebounds Friday. Omersa, a 6-6 forward out of Orono, is averaging just seven minutes per game.
Local standouts
Friday's boxscore revealed clearly the Minnesota-born talent that produced the upset of Purdue.
Oturu, Amir Coffey and Gabe Kalscheur combined for 45 points on 17-for-30 shooting. Coffey, a junior from Hopkins, had 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting.
Oturu, a freshman center from Cretin-Derham Hall, produced his eighth double-double, 13 points and 10 rebounds. Kalscheur, a freshman from DeLaSalle, scored all of his 11 points in the first half, making three of five three-pointers. His most important contribution, though, was holding Purdue leading scorer Carsen Edwards to 11 points.
