While the final two regular-season games carry very little meaning for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, losers of nine straight, there will still be emotion Wednesday night for Nate Mason as he gets honored during Senior Night at Williams Arena before the Gophers home finale against Iowa.
The point guard surpassed 500 career assists in Monday night’s loss at Wisconsin and may wind up with over 1,700 career points.
Mason was Richard Pitino’s first recruit after he replaced Tubby Smith as head coach after the 2012-13 season. Though Mason was just a 3-star recruit, he blossomed into one of the best guards in program history. Unless an ankle injury hampers him into Wednesday’s game, Mason will make his 97th career start.
In addition to Mason, senior centers Bakary Konate and Gaston Diedhiou will also be playing their final games in the Maroon and Gold.
Konate, the Mali native, has 300 points and 382 rebounds in his career, appearing in 114 games as a Gopher. He also spoke with reporters on Tuesday.
Minnesota (14-15, 3-13) concludes its home season Wednesday night at 8 p.m. against the Hawkeyes (12-17, 3-13).