MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota reserve big man Maurice Walker will miss the rest of the season with a torn posterior cruciate ligament and a torn meniscus in his knee.

Walker was injured last week against South Dakota State. He had appeared in all 12 of the 14th-ranked Gophers games this season. He averaged 3.7 points and 2.8 rebounds and gave the team a little extra bulk in the paint behind Ralph Sampson III and Colton Iverson.

The school says the freshman will have surgery in the coming weeks.

Coach Tubby Smith says he is “extremely saddened for Mo.” He lauded Walker’s improvement early in the season and says “he was doing everything we asked him to do.”

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