Minnesota beat Michigan State Friday to advance to the Big Ten Tournament semifinal, but it came at a price. The Golden Gophers lost key guard Akeem Springs to an Achilles heel injury in the 63-58 victory, and won't have him for Saturday's game with Michigan and beyond.
“I don’t think it’s looking good,” Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino said after the game. “We think it’s a popped Achilles’. Our doctors ... I think they’re pretty sure of it. It’s a huge blow. If that is the case, I feel awful for Akeem. My heart dropped.”
Springs, a team captain, went down near the four-minute mark of the second half. He needed help getting to the locker room, unable to put any pressure on his right foot, and returned to the court on crutches.
The 6-4 standout averaged 9.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game this year in 24 contests.
“I just felt like something popped in the back of my leg,” Springs said in the locker room after scoring six points on 2-of-4 three-point shooting in 28 minutes. He led the Golden Gophers with 65 three-pointers during the regular season.
Pitino told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune he would likely move freshman Amir Coffey to shooting guard and play freshman Michael Hurt and sophomore Ahmad Gilbert more at small forward. Sophomore guard Dupree McBrayer also started the first 19 games before Springs replaced him in the starting lineup Jan. 21 against Wisconsin.
McBrayer scored 15 points against Michigan in the first meeting, an 83-78 overtime win, and played well.
“I hate it,” Pitino said. “He doesn’t deserve that. His leadership has transformed this team. Our guys, they need to rally around him because he deserves that. He came here with no ego. He transformed our locker room. He made some huge shots.”
Michigan enters tired, but relatively healthy. Sophomore big man Moritz Wagner, who scored only five points in 17 minutes and didn't make a field goal against Purdue, is nursing a minor back injury, according to head coach John Beilein, but is expected to play Saturday.
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