They were primed to return this year after beating Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan and Purdue — ranked No. 5, No. 9, No. 4 and No. 20, respectively, in the AP poll for March 8 — before injuries to starters Gabe Kalscheur and Liam Robbins accelerated another late-season slide. The Gophers simply didn’t make enough shots to keep up and had to work too hard to get them. In the NCAA Division I rankings as of Friday, they were 13th in 3-point attempts and 334th in 3-point percentage.
Minnesota fires coach Richard Pitino after 8 seasons produced only 2 NCAA Tournament bids
