New York • Nate Mason scored 20 points to lead No. 14 Minnesota to an 89-84 victory over No. 25 Alabama, which finished the game with just three players, in the championship game of the Barclays Center Classic on Saturday.
Jordan Murphy scored 19 points and and grabbed 14 rebounds for Minnesota (7-0) while Isaiah Washington added 14 and Amir Coffey finished with 12.
Only the third ever matchup between the Southeastern Conference and Big 10 programs was marred by a near brawl involving Minnesota's Dupree McBrayer and Alabama's Dazon Ingram in front of the Crimson Tide bench 6:21 into the second half.