Mathieu, Minnesota Top Western Kentucky 76-54

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — DeAndre Mathieu took Minnesota's loss to Louisville hard, as is his tendency.

He took out some frustration on Western Kentucky, putting lessons from the season opener to good use.

Mathieu had 11 points, six assists, five rebounds and a career-high five steals in 29 minutes, helping the Gophers control the pace from start to finish in their home opener for a 76-54 victory Tuesday over the Hilltoppers.

"I feel like I'm back in my groove. I'm finding my niche, and I learned that I can play hard without fouling," said Mathieu, who acknowledged he played timidly in the second half during the 81-68 defeat Friday by the seventh-ranked Cardinals. He finished with four fouls, four turnovers and six points.

This was a good way to bounce back.

"He set the tone for us. We go where he goes," said freshman backup Nate Mason, who pitched in 10 points.

Mo Walker led the Gophers (1-1) with 14 points, Joey King scored 10 and Elliott Eliason added seven, as the frontcourt had short shot after short shot set up by Mathieu's deft driving to the basket. Coach Richard Pitino was most proud of the defense, though, declaring this the best performance on that side of the court in his time at Minnesota.

That started with Mathieu.

"We told him, 'You're 5-9. If you want to be noticed, get steals, get deflections, stop worrying about your points,'" Pitino said.

The Gophers built a 46-28 halftime edge behind 6-for-11 shooting from 3-point range. They led by as many as 25 points in the second half, despite being outrebounded 42-41. They had 17 steals and forced the Hilltoppers into 25 turnovers.

"Like I told our kids, 'If you turn the ball over 25 times, you're not beating anyone.' I don't care who it is," Western Kentucky coach Ray Harper said. "We've got to do a better job taking care of the basketball. When we did, we got good looks."

Nigel Snipes scored 15 points with eight rebounds and hit 4 of 6 attempts behind the arc for the Hilltoppers (1-1), who fell behind 18-6 early and never came closer than 10 points after that. Justin Johnson had 15 points and seven rebounds, but beyond those two the rest of the team shot 7 for 38 from the field.

"We just weren't focused," Snipes said.

George Fant and T.J. Price, both preseason picks for the All-Conference USA team, combined for five points on 2-for-11 shooting. The tone for the defensive pressure was set by Mathieu and the rest of the guards, the type of end-to-end relentlessness Pitino and his staff have been pushing the Gophers to consistently display. Pitino told Mathieu to be "the most intense player in the country."

Said Harper: "He dominated the game. He did whatever he wanted."

Mathieu, the wiry 5-foot-9 passing whiz who quickly became perhaps Minnesota's most important player last season after transferring from junior college, had his drive-and-dish game in sync with the big men around the basket.

He drew the defense right and flipped a no-look pass left to Eliason for an uncontested dunk and a 20-6 lead midway through the first half. A little later, a similar dart through the line set up a passing lane to King on the opposite block for a layup.

Early in the second half, Mathieu planted himself just past midcourt to catch an outlet pass in transition. Then he leaned hard into a perfect bounce pass that found Andre Hollins in stride on the other wing for a fast-break layup to give the Gophers a 57-34 advantage.

TIP-OFF

This game was officially part of the NIT Season Tip-Off, with a preliminary series of campus-site contests this week before the four-team tournament next week at Madison Square Garden in New York. Minnesota plays St. John's and Gonzaga plays Georgia in the semifinals on Nov. 26, with the winners facing two days later.

TIP-INS

Western Kentucky: The Hilltoppers, who beat Austin Peay 77-70 in their opener at home Friday, have started their first season of membership in Conference USA. They moved from the Sun Belt, where they played against Florida International, the team Pitino ran in 2012-13. Harper went 2-1 against Pitino that year.

Minnesota: The Gophers hadn't started a season 0-2 since 1960, with losses to Bradley and Oklahoma. The team's NIT championship from last season was recognized in a brief ceremony before the game.

UP NEXT

Western Kentucky hosts Belmont on Saturday.

Minnesota hosts Franklin Pierce University, a Division II school in New Hampshire, on Thursday.

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