Southern California coach Eric Musselman will return to a familiar building Friday night.
Sure, Musselman never has coached a game at Minnesota’s Williams Arena. But his dad has – Bill Musselman served as the Golden Gophers coach from 1971-75 – and young Eric often tagged along to home games and took part in his own version of pregame warmups.
The old arena known as “The Barn” still holds a special place in Musselman’s heart.
“There aren’t many like it,” Musselman told the Minnesota Star Tribune.
USC (12-3, 1-3 Big Ten) will try to bounce back from back-to-back losses to top-12 opponents when it tips off against Minnesota (10-5, 3-1) on Friday night in Minneapolis.
The Golden Gophers are playing their best basketball of the season. They are on a five-game winning streak, including a 70-67 win at home over No. 19 Iowa on Tuesday night.
Fans from Minnesota’s student section stormed the court after the win. It was the second win against a ranked opponent this season for the Golden Gophers, who are off to a surprisingly successful start in their first season under coach Niko Medved.
“We’re far from perfect, we’ve got our limitations,” Medved said. “But they give you everything they’ve got.”
Minnesota has won three of its first four Big Ten games despite missing a pair of key contributors. Chansey Willis Jr. and forward Robert Vaihola both have endured season-ending injuries.
“Sometimes when there are no choices, you’re either going to embrace it or you’re going to give in,” Medved said. “We’re not going to give in. We’re going to fight.”
The Golden Gophers will have to figure out a way to slow down USC’s Chad Baker-Mazara. He is averaging 19.3 points on 44.3% shooting this season. Teammate Ezra Ausar is contributing in the paint with 16.9 points per game on 60.4% shooting.
Cade Tyson leads Minnesota with 21.7 points per game. Jaylen Crocker is next on the scoring list with 12.8 points per game to go along with 7.0 rebounds.
-Field Level Media
