The Gophers punched a ticket to their Thanksgiving tournament title game with a win Monday, and with it, earned a matchup with a tournament team from a year ago.

Minnesota downed South Florida 57-45 in the opening game of the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship in Nassau, Bahamas.

The Gophers will meet Alabama in the Junkanoo Division title bout Wednesday. The Crimson Tide (6-0), who beat Harvard, 80-60, in the other matchup, were a No. 5 seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament who reached the second round before falling to Maryland in double overtime.

That could very well serve as Minnesota’s best nonconference game on its slate this season, and is another chance for the Gophers to earn a quality win away from the confines of Williams Arena after Minnesota fell in Kansas last week.

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