Gophers, Hawkeyes players take knee before national anthem

Members from the Gophers and Iowa men's basketball teams kneeled before the national anthem at Sunday's game as a statement against social injustice.

The Gophers were interested in sending a message after the violence and unrest that took place Wednesday, when supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the United States Capitol.

Gophers coach Richard Pitino said he addressed the disturbing event with his team before Wednesday night's loss at Michigan, but he shared his feelings further before practice two days later.

"I told them if you want to talk about it, what I saw on that TV was absolutely disgusting, absolutely ridiculous," Pitino said Saturday. "We have been constantly reminded since this spring that our country is far from perfect and has a long, long way to go."

It was the second game in a row when Iowa players and coaches took a knee before the anthem; they did the same before their victory at Maryland on Thursday. It was prompted after a Terrapins player reportedly reached out to the Hawkeyes to join them.

Gophers center Liam Robbins' hometown of Davenport, Iowa, is an hour away from Iowa City, so he attended many games at Carver-Hawkeye Arena growing up.

Robbins was thrilled to pick up one victory against the Hawkeyes this season on Christmas Day, but he wasn't able to get the sweep Sunday.

The 7-foot Drake transfer had a strong showing in the first half with eight points, but he was held scoreless for the last 19 minutes of the game. Robbins, who dealt with foul trouble in the second half, finished with 10 points on 3-for-10 shooting, six rebounds and two blocks in 30 minutes.

"We've got to throw him the ball more," Pitino said. "We got to look to him. Good things will happen when we do that."