Senior Luke Loewe stepped into an important role for Minnesota after the team struggled for much of the conference schedule. Following his high school career in Fond du Lac, Wisc., Loewe played his first four seasons of his collegiate career at The College of William and Mary before transferring to Minnesota.
For much of this season, the Gophers relied on its two stars in senior Payton Willis and sophomore Jamison Battle. Loewe showed some flashes of his potential early on, but hit multiple three-pointers just once in his first 15 games.
Even with his slow start, he was still seeing significant minutes each game, in part because Gophers head coach Ben Johnson typically doesn’t go that deep into his bench — but it gave Loewe even more opportunities to prove his worth.
“I’m gaining a little more confidence, playing a little better,” Loewe said. “Had some rough stretches at the beginning of the season but, personally, I’ve just been staying the path.”
Johnson stuck with Loewe, and he’s now showing Minnesota fans what he’s capable of. Most notably in a win over Northwestern; Loewe had a big role heading into the game after Willis was ruled out due to COVID-19. He didn’t disappoint.
Loewe hit six three pointers and scored a career-high 24 points as a Gopher with Willis sidelined.
“He’s a good player, veteran, just tough. You watch him, he’s got a toughness to him,” Northwestern head coach Chris Collins said about Loewe after that game. “We knew that coming into [tonight], the last four or five games, he’s been shooting at a very good clip.”
Collins was spot on — Loewe has been finding his shot and has recently become a dangerous shooter. Over the past 11 games, Loewe has shot 44.2% from deep on 52 attempts and had seven games where he’s made multiple threes.
Another part of Loewe’s game that has been impressive over the course of the season has been his ability to spread the ball in an efficient manner. Loewe is averaging 2.5 assists per game while turning the ball over just 1.1 times per game.
Out of the five conventional starters for Minnesota, Loewe has the second-most assists, behind Willis, and has the second-fewest turnovers. Redshirt senior Eric Curry holds that lead by just two turnovers, but has started four fewer games than Loewe.
“Luke is a competitor. He’s that guy that’ll do whatever it takes,” Johnson said. “When you do that, you eventually get rewarded, and it’s just really good to see him get rewarded.”
