One and done: Gopher men lose in first round of NCAA

Gopher coach Tubby Smith
Coach Tubby Smith of the Minnesota Golden Gophers as his team plays the Texas Longhorns during the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament in Greensboro, N.C. The Gophers lost, 76-62.
Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

(AP) - A.J. Abrams hit eight 3-pointers and scored 26 points to help Texas beat Minnesota 76-62 in the first round of the NCAA tournament Thursday night.

Damion James added 18 points and nine rebounds for the seventh-seeded Longhorns (23-11), who hit 11 of 20 3s overall to win their tournament opener for the fifth time in six seasons.

Texas had lost seven of its last 14 games dating to late January, but now heads into the second round of the East Region to face the Duke-Binghamton winner Saturday.

Damian Johnson
Damian Johnson #34 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers drives against Damion James #5 of the Texas Longhorns during their first-round NCAA Tournament game March 19, 2009 in Greensboro, N.C.
Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Lawrence Westbrook scored 19 points for the 10th-seeded Golden Gophers (22-11), who were making their first tournament appearance since 2005.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.

It was also Minnesota's first NCAA bid under Tubby Smith, who left Kentucky two seasons ago to rebuild the struggling Big Ten program.

Minnesota got off to its best start in more than 30 years at 16-1, but closed the year by losing 10 of 16.

The Gophers got the start they wanted, jumping to a 10-point lead in the opening 3½ minutes, but the Longhorns hung around until Abrams found his range and turned the game into an impressive shooting display.

Star of Texas
A.J. Abrams #3 of the Texas Longhorns scored six 3-point shots in a row to spark a rally against the Minnesota Gophers in their NCAA tournament game Thursday night. Texas beat Minnesota 76-62.
Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

He finished 9-for-19 from the field and 8-for-15 from behind the arc, which was one shy of his career-high for made 3s. He missed three of his first four deep tries, but started finding his range late in the first half before getting free on a screen from Connor Atchley and burying a 3 just before the horn to make it 39-35 at halftime.

That turned out to be the first of six in a row, including a run of 3s on four straight possessions.

After making the first two, Abrams fooled Blake Hoffarber into going airborne with a pump fake, then took a dribble to his right and coolly buried the 3 from right in front of the Texas bench.

Then, after a pair of missed shots by Minnesota, Abrams took a pass and launched another one over Devron Bostick that swished cleanly through the net.

Goldy Gopher
Goldy, the mascot of the Minnesota Golden Gophers cheers on his team against the Texas Longhorns during the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament March 19, 2009 in Greensboro, N.C.
Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

The last one pushed Texas' lead to 59-44 with 10:57 to play. Minnesota didn't get closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

Abrams' eight 3s were the most allowed by Minnesota all season, and followed a frustrating inability to defend the perimeter during the Gophers' late-season slide.

It marked the ninth time in the last 16 games that Minnesota had allowed an opposing team to shoot at least 40 percent from behind the arc.

Dexter Pittman added 17 points and 11 rebounds for Texas, which shot 47 percent and took a 41-30 rebounding edge that led to 15 second-chance points.

Damian Johnson added 13 points for the Gophers, who shot 41 percent from the field.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)