New York – It was starting to look like it might be a long night for the Gophers men's basketball team.
The Gophers were down by six points to St. John's less than halfway through the first half Wednesday, and the warning signs were there. No one was taking good shots. Mistakes ran rampant. Someone needed to take charge.
Enter Nate Mason, the dynamic freshman who has been a huge factor in each Gophers game so far. The 6-1 guard from Decatur, Ga., took over, heading into the break with 13 points, two rebounds and two steals and helping the Gophers to a nine-point lead in their NIT Season Tip-Off semifinal. He was the spark plug.
But later, after the Gophers lost their lead and began to fall apart down the stretch, Mason had retaken a spot on the bench. While the Gophers coughed the game away, losing to the Red Storm 70-61, their most consistent scorer sat.
"I do wish I had him in there more, certainly," coach Richard Pitino said. "But I also do want to be able to rely on my veterans … But Andre [Hollins] and DeAndre [Mathieu] have been there down the stretch so often, and so it was difficult.
"There are so many factors that go into basketball besides scoring. I'm excited about [Mason's] potential and his future. But certainly, it's not just about him. DeAndre and Andre, they've won their share of games as well."
Complicating the issue is that both the backcourt and power forward rotations have been affected by the loss of guard Daquein McNeil, who is suspended following an arrest on two counts of felony assault. Without him, the Gophers don't have a natural backup for Carlos Morris at small forward. Sophomore Charles Buggs played that role at times Wednesday, which left freshman Josh Martin — whom Pitino has made clear is not ready — to back up Joey King at power forward.
Because of those substitutions, Pitino also implemented a brand-new matchup zone that the Gophers hadn't used previously, since the coach doesn't feel comfortable playing Buggs at power forward in man-to-man defense.
Pitino could use a small, three-guard lineup with Mathieu, Mason and Hollins, but he was hesitant to use that configuration down the stretch because of the team's anemic rebounding effort.
In five games, Mason is tied with center Mo Walker for the team lead with 4.6 rebounds per game, but Pitino said he thinks Morris has more potential muscling in for boards near the basket.
Pitino said one of the focuses for Thursday practice was getting players comfortable with the different rotations, positions and defensive configurations that are necessary.
"One part of the unfortunate situation is having to scramble on the fly," he said. "As we get more time to practice on certain combinations, we'll be able to do it."
There isn't much time. The Gophers had only one day, Thanksgiving, between Wednesday's loss and Friday's consolation matchup with Georgia, who lost 88-76 to No. 10 Gonzaga. The Gophers are looking to win their first game away from home in three tries this season.
"When you think SEC, you don't necessarily think big, strong, physical, but [Georgia is] that," Pitino said. "So it's going to be a tough test. … We have got to dust ourselves off, pick ourselves up and get back to work."