Freshman forward Kenny Kaminski guards Minnesota guard DeAndre Mathieu on Jan. 11, 2014, at Breslin Center. MSU beat Minnesota in overtime, 87-75. Julia Nagy/The State News
Minnesota walked into Breslin Center as one of the nation’s worse shooting teams, hitting 43.5 percent of its shots from the field.
That has been anything but the case so far for the Gophers, as they are lighting up MSU’s defense from behind the arc, shooting 7-of-12 on 3-pointers to give them a 41-36 halftime lead.
Gopher forward Malik Smith is doing most of the damage on the court with 11 points, nine of which came from 3-pointers. Guard Andre Hollins is also contributing to the effort with 10 points and two assists
The shining star for the Spartans so far is redshirt freshman forward Kenny Kaminski, who nailed all four of his 3-point shots to give the Spartans 12 points. Senior guard Keith Appling chipped in nine points and three rebounds in his effort.
Sophomore guard Gary Harris and junior forward Branden Dawson have been silenced this half, combining for five points on 2-of-10 shooting.
It’s also no secret the Spartans are missing senior forward Adreian Payne, who did not dress with a sprained foot. Matt Costello, Alex Gauna and Gavin Schilling have only combined for four points on two shot attempts from the field.
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