INDIANAPOLIS – All year, the Gophers have had something of a blueprint for these situations.
Close game, big possession, late in the shot clock: Minnesota coach Richard Pitino has found something he's comfortable with, something that has been consistently successful. He runs a high ball screen for point guard DeAndre Mathieu, who then drives to the basket.
It was starting to get to guard Andre Hollins. He spoke up.
"I can run a high ball screen, too," he told Pitino during a timeout Thursday, the Gophers clinging to a three-point lead over Penn State at 59-56 with 21 seconds to go.
Said Pitino: "He kind of got on me a little bit. I said all right, relax, just because DeAndre is so good at it. But you could see he's so eager to make a play. … He was dying to hit that big shot."
Then he did. With the clock ticking down, Joey King got Hollins the ball and the junior quickly launched it.
Swish.
The three-pointer with 15 seconds left all but notched the must-win 63-56 victory over Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.