Pitino wants to get Reggie Lynch the ball more, talks freshmen Coffey and Curry

Gophers coach Richard Pitino doesn't think he could've done much differently Saturday against Ethan Happ, who had 28 points in Wisconsin's 78-76 overtime win at the Barn.

But looking at how the Badgers played through their center makes Pitino want to get the ball more to Reggie Lynch, the Gophers' top inside scoring threat.

The 6-foot-10 junior is the team's sixth leading scorer, though, with 8.1 points per game on 52.2 percent shooting (24-for-46) in Big Ten play this season.

"That's definitely what we need to do something more of," Pitino said Sunday on WCCO-AM radio. "We do need to continue to go to him because he's a very efficient scorer. He just has to find a way not to get in foul trouble."

Lynch, an Edina native, finished with eight points, seven rebounds and five blocks in 20 minutes before fouling out Saturday against Wisconsin. It was the fifth time he fouled out in seven Big Ten games.

Pitino said Lynch has to be stronger with the ball, but staying off the bench will help him get more opportunities moving forward. He averages 15.8 points, 11.1 rebounds and 5.9 blocks, per 40 minutes. But Lynch plays 21 minutes per game this year.

"We'll get him the ball if he's on the court," Pitino said. "Our offensive flow when he was out of the game just totally went away."

COFFEY TIME: If the Gophers (15-5, 3-4) are going to snap a three-game losing streak Wednesday at Ohio State, Pitino also needs freshman guard Amir Coffey to continue being aggressive looking for his shot.

Coffey led the team with 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting Saturday, including 3-for-4 from three-point range against Wisconsin.

"He's got the ultimate green light with me," Pitino said. "Because he's been such a good passer for such a long time his scoring has been underrated. In order for us to win, we need him to attack the basket. We need him to score. We don't need him to score 30, but we need 12, 13, 14 points per game from him."

The former Hopkins star has been Minnesota's most efficient scorer in Big Ten play. Coffey's averaging 12.9 points on 50 percent shooting from the field and a team-best 43.5 percent shooting from three-point range.

"He's got to get out on the break," Pitino said. "He's got to get in ball screens that we put him in and go make some plays. He did that (Saturday). When he's hitting threes he showed you how he can be pretty special."

The 6-foot-9 Memphis native replaced starting power forward Jordan Murphy for most of the second half and the entire overtime Saturday against Wisconsin. Curry finished with just five points and five rebounds in 19 minutes, but he held his own defensively against Nigel Hayes.

Curry also hit a baseline jumper in overtime that gave the Gophers a 76-74 lead with 59 seconds left.

"He's been playing pretty well," Pitino said. "I liked his length on Nigel Hayes. He's really talented. Amir gets a lot of the accolades, which he should. But in Eric we always thought we got a diamond in the rough. Sky is the limit with him. He's skilled. He can shoot the ball. He's got great length. He plays hard. He's a great kid. When he's playing like he did (Saturday), he's going to force me to play him more."

TOURNAMENT UPDATE: The Gophers were a No. 8 seed in Joe Lunardi's latest ESPN NCAA tournament projections. They were one of eight Big Ten teams in Lunardi's current bracket, including Wisconsin, Maryland, Purdue, Michigan State, Indiana and Northwestern and Michigan.