Minnesota, Wichita State fight to keep strong starts going

Before they get to work on carving Thanksgiving turkeys, Minnesota and Wichita State will try to slice each other up Thursday in the first semifinal of the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando.

Both teams are off to good starts, although the Golden Gophers (5-1) have had to work hard for four of their victories. That includes a 68-65 decision Monday night at home against Central Michigan, which had a chance to force overtime until Jakobi Heady's 3-point shot banged off the front iron as time expired.

Minnesota also scraped out a four-point win over Omaha on Nov. 9 and a three-point victory over Yale, which won the Ivy League title last year and shocked Auburn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Its one loss was a three-point decision against a North Texas team that is off to a 5-1 start.

"We don't want to be in close games early on. But at the end of the day, it's giving us experience," forward Dawson Garcia said. "We are a new team."

Garcia, a fifth-year senior, is scoring 22.8 points per game and adding 7.8 rebounds while hitting 56.0 percent of his shots.

Meanwhile, the Shockers (5-0) come into this one fresh off a resounding 88-63 rout of Saint Louis on Friday night in the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City. They put four players in double figures, led by Georgia transfer Justin Hill with 17 points, and outscored the Billikens 48-26 in the second half.

Second-year coach Paul Mills said this stretch of the season, which will see his team play either Wake Forest or No. 18 Florida on Friday, will make his team better regardless of the results.

"You have to play a challenging schedule and I'm excited to watch guys shoulder bigger loads and be able to take on more and be able to perform," he said.

Hill is pacing Wichita State by averaging 17.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.

This will be the first meeting of these teams since 1995. The Shockers own a 3-2 lead in the series.

--Field Level Media