Gophers' Mike Mitchell Jr. returns to Bay Area to face familiar foe

SAN FRANCISCO – Gophers guard Mike Mitchell Jr. remembered the last time he played San Francisco as much as any other game during his first two seasons in college.

Before transferring to the Gophers, Mitchell had his best career game with Pepperdine in conference play with 22 points and six three-pointers against the Dons last season.

The San Jose, Calif., native returned to the Bay Area to face his former league foe Sunday when the Gophers played San Francisco at the Golden State Warriors' Chase Center.

"Excited to play in front of family and friends again," Mitchell said before the game. "It's my first time playing at Chase Center. I used to go to Warriors games there."

Mitchell, who averaged 8.4 points this season, finished with nine points, six rebounds, four assists and four turnovers in Sunday's 76-58 loss against USF. After starting all 63 games at Pepperdine in two seasons, he came off the bench for the sixth time this year with the U.

Mitchell lost all three games against the Dons when the Waves played them in the West Coast Conference the past two seasons. USF was predicted to finish third in the WCC behind perennial NCAA tournament teams St. Mary's and Gonzaga in the preseason poll.

"They don't get to play high major teams that much, so it's a really big game for them," Mitchell said. "I told [teammates] that USF's a really good team and could go to the NCAA tournament this year."

Gophers reserve center Jack Wilson, a 6-11 Washington State transfer who didn't play Sunday, also had a large group of friends and family in attendance. He grew up in Northern California in Montara, which is located 30 miles away from San Francisco.

"I'm not from [San Francisco], but I could point them in the general direction," Wilson said before the game. "I have some memories from here with my high school being on this side. It's always good to be back."

Former Prior Lake standout McKenna Hofschild had 23 points, six assists and five rebounds to lead the Colorado State women to a 62-53 victory over San Francisco in the first game of a doubleheader at Chase Center.

Colorado State pulled off a comeback to remain undefeated after trailing 27-23 at halftime. Hofschild, a 5-2 senior guard, was averaging 21 points and 9.5 assists per game for the Rams, who improved to 5-0 this season.