Gophers knock off Butler, advance to round two of the NIT

Led by 25 points from Dawson Garcia, the Gophers’ 2023-24 team will continue playing basketball. After beating Butler 73-72, Minnesota will advance to face the winner of Indiana State and SMU this weekend in round No. 2 of the NIT. Elijah Hawkins hit a pair of clutch free throws and Minnesota stole one on the road at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The first round game of the NIT always seems like the hardest. You have to convince your team to be excited to play in a lesser tournament. Nobody dreams about playing in the NIT growing up playing basketball in the driveway, but real hoopers love basketball whenever they can play it. There were certainly moments tonight that the Gophers looked un-interested, but that doesn’t matter if you come out on top on the scoreboard.

Minnesota fans know how helpful a deep NIT run can be for a re-building program and there is plenty of reason for excitement with this team right now. No matter what tournament you’re in, it’s a bout surviving and advancing and the Gophers did just that.

What’s next

Top-seeded Indiana State will face SMU tomorrow night at 6:00 PM (CST) on ESPN+. The Sycamores were one of the best stories in college basketball this season, led by viral sensation Robbie Avila, as the storied program was finally back in the spotlight. If ISU is able to get by on their home floor, the Gophers will get the opportunity to stay in the state of Indiana, in Terre Haute, which is just over an hour drive from the Butler campus. I am not sure what their travel schedule will be, but I imagine that the game will take place on Saturday, giving the No. 1 seed an extra day of rest.

Overall, Minnesota will need better play from their guards if they want to continue to advance in this tournament. Mike Mitchell Jr. and Cam Christie were a combined 2 of 11 from the field in the second half and if it wasn’t for a Dawson Garcia masterclass, we’re probably having a different conversation right now. Ultimately, this team will get to continue playing basketball and there cannot be any complaints when that’s the case in March.