One down, two to go in “Operation get three, drama free”

Posted on 23. Feb, 2009 by JF in 2008-2009

Get rid of your expectations and enjoy the ride. Trying to figure out how the Gophers will play on any given night will just give you a headache, and any Gopher fan will want to be pain and distraction free from what will surely be the most exciting last three Big Ten games that the Gophers have played in a decade.

Minnesota’s 72-45 blowout wouldn’t have been too surprising if the game had taken place in a vacuum. The Gophers are the better team and Northwestern’s chaos inducing, throw back style of basketball is much more manageable the second time around. However, when looking at the season as a whole, and specifically the last several games for each team, a 27 point Gopher win was one of the more unlikely outcomes (slightly more unlikely than a Northwestern win but slightly more likely than actual cow walking on to the court inside The Barn). The Gophers had looked dreadful, losing winnable game if not “must-win” games and Northwestern was much improved and had apparently finally learned how to win.

On Sunday the Gophers absolutely needed to win if they wanted to make it to the NCAA tournament, but it hardly felt like a must win game. The crowd was quiet and late to arrive. The game was against Northwestern, hardly an opponent that inspires fear, despite their recent success, and it was a Sunday night game in a town where the liquor stores and card dealerships are still closed on Sundays. The only people inside of Williams Arena who treated it like an important late season game were the Gopher players, and they were ready to play.

This wasn’t the frustrating team that tentatively passed the ball around the perimeter and got lost on defense. They made crisp passes and found the gaps in the zone, relentlessly pushed the ball up the court whenever there was an opportunity, and brought back the full court press that had been so successful early in the season. It was by no means a perfect game. They shot much better, breaking 50% for the first time in weeks. Turnovers were still high, with 17 in the game, but only four were committed in the first half, and several were the result of aggressive play and not mental blunders. On defense, the Gophers returned to form. They stopped doubling the post (it helps when there is no need) which took away the open three pointers that cost them wins earlier this season at Northwestern and most recently at Michigan. It was the press, though, that ultimately kept Northwestern off balance and out of rhythm. The Gophers forced 11 turnovers and caused may other ugly possessions in which the Wildcats didn’t set up their offense until there were 20 or less seconds on the shot clock. The Princeton offense needs time to develop, and Northwestern never had the time to sufficiently run the Gophers in circles.

This we know: the Gophers play better at home, and they play much better when Kevin Payton is waving his towel and providing insta-coaching during time outs before the team huddle (Ralph Sampson III was on the receiving end of the world’s fastest post up lesson in the first half). Kevin Payton is back, and in good academic standing, and Sunday’s game was at home. With the win the Gophers improved to 17-2 with Payton on the bench and 15-2 at home. If those two factors are at all predictive of future success, there will be a lot people in the Twin Cities calling in sick in a few weeks.

Who did what?

Ralph Sampson deserved much more than the three points he scored after sprinting down the court time after time on Minnesota’s fast breaks
Damian Johnson scored six points and had a few nice steals. More importantly, he combined with the flu to hold Kevin Coble to only five points.
Lawrence Westbrook attacked the zone to hit runners and floaters along with four open three pointers. The Gophers need him to drive, but also need him to stop before he gets under the basket or a player twice his size. He finally figured out how to do this on Sunday.
Paul Carter continues to be the Gophers best rebounder and reliable free throw shooter. He didn’t slice and dice the zone like he did during the early minutes at Michigan, but he didn’t have to this time.
Al Nolen’s decision making remains questionable against the 1-3-1 zone, but at least he played well enough to stay on the court. I couldn’t tell if he was too slow to react or just couldn’t see. All night his teammates were open and he just held on to the ball as the shot clock ran down.
Colton Iverson, for better or worse, didn’t hesitate to put the ball on the floor and charge towards the basket, head down, from the high post. It even worked a few times and got him to the free throw line six times.
Blake Hoffarber made an exclamation point three pointer late in the game. He also added four rebounds and four assists to show that he isn’t always one dimensional.
Devron Bostick scored all nine of his points in the first half, helping the Gophers to a 16 point lead they would not relinquish. He also played solid defense and only got lost once, which is no small feat against the Princeton Offense. Bostick continues to play well when he gets more than a few minutes on the court. Junior College players usually take a while to figure things out, and a consistent 6-9 points per game from Bostick would be a big help for Minnesota’s inconsistent half-court offense.
Devoe Joseph is human after all.
Travis Busch is the least offensively dangerous player ever to take get six free throw attempts in non-garbage time.
Jamal Abu-Shamala won’t see many more meaningful minutes.
Jonathan Williams kept up his foul per minute pace.
Kevin Payton needs to understand that if the crowd chants your name, and you get in the game, and you are left unguarded on the right wing, it is ok to shoot.