By: Tennie Sumague, Eagle News Service, New York Bureau
NEW YORK (Eagle News)–It was a busy weekend of sports for the state of Minnesota.
NFL fans witnessed the Minnesota Vikings losing the NFC Championship Title on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday evening.
Two hours north and 24-hours beforehand, the Minnesota Golden Gophers Men’s Basketball and Hockey Teams played in the third annual Big Ten College Hoops and Hockey showcase at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
In the first game of the doubleheader, the Gophers basketball team were clobbered 67-49 by 22nd-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.
Ohio State extended their winning streak to seven games and remain undefeated (17-4, 8-0) in Big Ten Conference play. The Buckeyes limited the Gophers (14-8, 3-6) to six field goals on 28.6 percent shooting and forced 10 turnovers in the second half.
Keita Bates-Diop led the Buckeyes with 17 points and 12 rebounds for his eighth double-double this season. Jordan Murphy scored 13 points and Amir Coffey added 11 points as four Gophers were in double figures but committed a total of 15 turnovers and missed 10 free throws.
In the evening hockey matchup, the 13th-ranked Gophers edged Michigan State 2-1 for their second consecutive win against the Spartans.
The Gophers took a 1-0 into the third period when Spartans Cody Milan tied the game with a goal that deflected off the glove of Minnesota goalie, Mat Robson.
The Gophers sealed the victory when Brett Gates scored the winning goal with 3:29 left in the third period.
The opportunity to play at the world’s famous arena was an experience of a lifetime for these Minnesota student-athletes, whose campus location is in Minneapolis, the state’s largest city.
“It was a great opportunity for our players and staff to come here and play at such a historic venue, but we told our players it’s only fun when you win,” said Minnesota Hockey coach, Don Lucia.
“For a lot of [these] kids, they’re certainly never going to play in this venue again. I think the guys really enjoyed it. It’s really a positive experience when they get to play in an environment like this. Big city, bright lights.”
The Big Ten Conference will host its fourth annual event in 2019 when the Maryland Terrapins take on Illinois Fighting Illini in the basketball showdown. The hockey matchup will be announced at a later date.
