The ball smoothly slid through the net as guard Dupree McBrayer buried a critical three-pointer on the Williams Arena hardwood. Everyone in the building rose to their feet as the senior guard played Tuesday night for one of the most important people in his life. McBrayer lost his mother, Tarya, to cancer earlier this week. Despite the tragedy, he decided to suit up Wednesday night in memory of her. The entire Gophers' team was playing with McBrayer in the back of their minds. Even the Nebraska Cornhuskers wore warmup shirts to honor McBrayer's mother, too.
“[Before the game], I just said play as hard as you possibly can for Dupree,” head Richard Pitino said after the game.