The mind is willing but the offense is weak

Posted on February 28, 2009 by JF in 2008-2009

Don't you forget about me.

Winning on the road in the Big Ten isn’t easy. Winning at Illinois has been impossible for 30 years for the Gophers. Winning anywhere without an offense, especially at #20 Illinois where the Gophers haven’t won since 1978 (officially) was probably too much to ask. They put up a fight though, and if effort counts for anything, the Gophers have finally realized how to play in a must win game.

Earlier in the season the Gophers were easily intimidated on the road. The Michigan State game was decided the second the team bus pulled inside the city limits of East Lansing. The opposite was the case as Minnesota found (or more accurately, rediscovered) that attacking the basket and pounding the ball inside creates the best chance to score for a team with dubious jump shooting skills. Coupled with a pressing defense, the Gophers threatened to blow Illinois right off the court.

Damian Johnson led the Gophers on a 9-2 game opening run with multiple dunks and lay-ups. Unlike previous games, the dunks stayed down and lay-ups didn’t slip out. Illinois quickly answered with a run of their own, and took a 19-17 lead. Johnson continued his stellar play, and seemingly scored every time he touched the ball, scoring 14 of his teams 21 points, but with the game tied at 21, the Gophers seemingly forgot about the gangly forward playing the game of his life, stopped getting the ball inside, and scored only twenty points over the final twenty five minutes of the 52-41 loss.

Turnovers were once again a contributing if not a deciding factor in the Gophers’ eighth loss of the conference season. The Gophers turned the ball over a staggering 20 times, or on almost one-third of their possessions. Some were of the good variety, and few wouldn’t have happened in a more tightly officiated game (only 20 total fouls were called on Thursday, Eddie Hightower was not in the building), but even with those caveats, the Gophers played a sloppy game and made too many mistakes to win.

Lost among another road loss and the heaps of turnovers was Minnesota’s best rebounding game in years. Minnesota’s ability to limit Illinois to only one shot and to get plenty of second chances of their own kept the game closer than it probably should have been. Minnesota out-rebounded the Fighting Illini 37-25 and 15-5 on the offensive end. Even with the horrible turnover woes, the Gopher managed to take 10 more shots. With even remotely decent shooting these extra shots would have led to enough points to win, but not on Thursday.

To call it “shooting” might be too generous. More accurately, the Gophers were throwing the ball in the general direction of the basket and hoping for the best. Against one of the better defensive teams in the country this was not even close to good enough. The Gophers made only six jump shots all night, and missed 31. From the three point line they were even worse where they made only 1-14 (7.1%!). With shooting that poor it was only a matter of time before the misses piled up into a game killing slump, and that is exactly what happened as the Gophers failed to score in the last six minutes of the game.

The Gophers won’t win their final two games because of crisply run offense or outstanding shooting. This team can’t rely on anything on the offensive end. If the shots fall, it will be luck. What they can control is their effort and attitude, and that finally seems to be coming around. The Gophers clearly wanted to win at Illinois and worked as hard as they could to end the thirty year long losing streak. The Gophers might not have the offensive where with all to win their final two games, but they still have a fighting chance to win their way into the NCAA tournament, and the fight is there.

Who did what?

• Damian Johnson did everything he could, but his teammates didn’t give him enough chances in the second half, or even in the second half of the first half. He finished with a game high 18 points, but his highlight reel blocked shots may have been even more impressive.
• Colton Iverson was a force on the glass with 8 rebounds and had two put backs for four points.
• Ralph Sampson attempted two long jump shots, neither of which were even close to going in, during a crucial stretch in the first half that helped let Illinois get back into the game.
• Al Nolen had another dreadful game on the road, in what has become an all to common occurrence. This time it was four turnovers, no points, and no leadership.
• The Lawrence Westbrook streak-o-meter has shifted back to cold.
• Paul Carter had eight rebounds, as the box score says, but I don’t remembering him having any impact on either end of the court.
• Travis Busch made a wide open three pointer.
• Devoe Joseph is a guard, and being a guard in this game, was horrible.
• Devron Bostick almost broke the back board with a jump shot.
• Blake Hoffarbar is in danger of becoming the starting point guard. He can’t shoot lately, but neither can Nolen. He can, however, get the ball to his teammates in a position to score, something the offense (term used loosely) desperately needs.
• Jamal Abu-Shamala got some senior pity minutes.

Tags: Damian Johnson, Game Review, Illinois Fighting Illini