Gophers coach Richard Pitino didn't have many answers for why his team suffered a disappointing 52-50 loss at Penn State.
After making an opening statement, Pitino waited about 10 seconds for questions (I didn't make the trip to State College). Reporters didn't speak up fast enough, so they lost out on the opportunity to talk to him.
"Thank you," Pitino said before walking out.
This second straight loss Saturday to a team that the Gophers led by 14 points in the first half needed a lot more explanation. Pitino won't address the local media until Friday since Minnesota's next game is Saturday against Wisconsin at home.
A week is a long time to sit on such a demoralizing defeat. Falling to Penn State seemed much more devastating than the 18-point loss Wednesday at Michigan State, because the Gophers had so many opportunities to win Saturday. Some of the same issues that plagued them against the Spartans showed up again.
Poor shooting. Turnovers. Being outrebounded.
Minnesota's defense was good enough to win, holding Penn State to 30.4 percent shooting (17-for-56) shooting for the game. Problem is the Gophers shot even worse than the Nittany Lions in the second half at 28 percent (7-for-28) with 11 of their 20 turnovers. In the end, though, Pitino's team just simply got outplayed down the stretch in almost every way.
Penn State missed five straight shots after Josh Reaves' errant dunk led to Minnesota taking a 48-45 with 2:21 left. The Gophers had been there before pulling out wins at Purdue and Northwestern late, but they didn't play with the same poise on both ends.