From The Barn

Tubby, time out, turnovers, put tournament in doubt

Posted on 08. Mar, 2009 by JF in 2008-2009

And now the waiting, the worrying, and the wondering can begin in earnest. With a chance to jump off the bubble and land comfortably in the NCAA tournament, season long problems persisted and the Gophers dropped their heartbreaking and winnable Big Ten finale to Michigan. The regular season loss was a microcosm of a roller coaster season that like actual roller coasters, ended after a long decline. After outplaying lesser competition (Michigan wasn’t very good in the first half), turnovers and offensive woes let the Wolverines back into the game, and two bizarre time outs sealed the close loss. Also like the entire season, bizarre line up choices clouded the final outcome, leaving many to wonder if there is any method left to Tubby Smith’s maddening substitution choices.

In the early going, it appeared that the Gophers had learned the obvious lessons from their loss in Ann Arbor, get the ball inside and defend the three pointer. The Gophers dominated the point all day, and pounded it inside even though seniors Jonathan Williams and Jamal-Abu Shamala, two players not known for their inside scoring ability, started their final home games. As a team the Gophers shot 57% in the first half, by far their best shooting half in weeks, and also attempted and made nine free throws thanks to their aggressive offensive play. Meanwhile, Michigan’s outside shooting was more reminiscent of the performances that seemingly every team other than the Gophers is used to while playing the Wolverines. They made only 3-12 in the first half, and this cold shooting let Minnesota build leads as large as nine points with six minutes left before half time. All the while though, turnovers were an issue, and Michigan began exploiting the Gophers’ biggest weakness, and cut the half time lead to three.

The second half started much as the first, as the Gophers regained their footing with more inside scoring. After a jump shot by Ralph Sampson III with 13 minutes left, the wheels fell off the bus that was waiting to take the Gophers to the NCAA tournament. John Beilein, who did more than just loosen the lug-nuts holding those wheels on, switched to a 2-3 zone, leaving the poor shooting Gophers with few options than knock down outside shots that haven’t and once again didn’t fall. DeShawn Sims continued his hot shooting, often with the slow foot of Jonathan Williams “guarding” him, and Michigan’s three point shooters led by  Laval Lucas-Perry found their range. Lucas-Perry, the Arizona transfer made all thee pointers that he attempted in the second half, and Manny Harris, who had been kept in check all day, hit two more.

The Gophers did not immediately fold, and still managed to hold a fragile lead with 8:43 left in the game when the first of two unfortunate stoppages put the two final nails in the Gophers coffin that poor shooting and turnovers had helped construct. The officials ruled that due to a shot clock malfunction, the Gophers would lose six seconds of their possession, leaving them with only three seconds to take a shot. Minnesota’s in-bounds play was unsuccessful, Damian Johnson was called for a possibly-fictional foul, his fourth at the other end, and the momentum had swung. What could have been a six point lead was down to two, and Minnesota’s best defender was out of the game.

With Minnesota’s offensive deficiencies on full display, Michigan was able to build a five point lead behind Sims, Lucas Perry, and Harris, the only three Wolverines to score in the second half. The Gophers still had a chance with six seconds left after Michigan missed their final shot of the game. Lawrence Westbrook raced up the court, not particularly in control as usual, and launched a running three pointer that somehow found the bottom of the net, but just as Westbrook prepared to release the ball, Tubby Smith took a time out, a horrible decision not just because it negated the game tying three pointer, but because strategically it was absolutely the wrong decision.

Calling a time out allowed Michigan’s defense to set up. It also forced the Gophers to inbound the ball, something that has been mysteriously complicated for them since November. Finally, it gave Michigan an opportunity to foul and force the Gophers to make the first free throw and tip-in the second intentionally missed shot. Ultimately, the in bounds play was ugly, Westbrook’s second attempt at a game winning three pointer was even worse, missing by about five feet, and the Gophers are left needing at least one win in the Big Ten tournament on Wednesday against Northwestern.

Who did what?

• Colton Iverson did not play. Tubby Smith was non-specific and non-committal regarding the reason. During the post game show he briefly and off-handedly mentioned that Colton Iverson had banged his shoulder in practice on Friday, but in the next breath said he could have played and he was being rested for the next game. Iverson looked fine during warm-ups, and I have hard time believing that even an injured Iverson wouldn’t have been more productive than Jonathan Williams. Maybe Tubby Smith is confident that the Gophers have already done enough to make the NCAA tournament. If not, he is excruciatingly close to ensuring that he has an energized team for the NIT.
• Jonathan Williams played about as well as he could have. He held his own during the first few minutes, but that is when his Senior Day should have ended. He committed three turnovers, and deserved an assist on each of DeShawn Sims eight baskets, the vast majority of which were scored against the Gopher center. Even more mind boggling was Williams rebounding woes. On a day when the Gophers out-rebounded the Wolverine 30-13, Williams had only 3 despite being by far the largest player on the court.
• Damian Johnson did about all that he could, making 5-7 shots to go with three rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and four steals. His three turnovers were rough, but almost  every Gopher who played had turnover problems.
• Devoe Joseph played 23 minutes and hit Minnesota’s only outside shot during the final thirteen minutes of the game when the Gophers only scored 13 points.
• Blake Hoffarber played his typical game, which this year was 1-4 shooting from behind the three point line.
• Jamal Abu-Shamala made the most of his Senior Day start, and played his best game of the year, with 10 points and five rebounds. When he wasn’t driving to the basket he was making spin moves and hitting  jump shots from the baseline.
• Al Nolen didn’t score in his second game as the back-up point guard. He had two assists and three rebounds. He again struggled running the offense, and could have had at least three more assists with even average court vision.
• Paul Carter never found much of a role on either end of the court and scored only two points to go with three rebounds and three turnovers.
• Lawrence Westbrook did most of his damage at the free throw line (9-9) and was one coach away from being the hero for the second game in a row. He led the Gophers with 16 points on 3-6 shooting from the field.
• Ralph Sampson III dominated the smaller Wolverines scoring 13 points on 6-9 shooting.

Related posts:

1. Gophers win “tournament” of the absurd
2. Gophers bounce back big over Buckeyes
3. So much to be thankful for in Tubby Smith’s first recruiting class.
4. Gophers chew up, spit out Big Red with huge second half run
5. A win to get in

Tags: Damian Johnson, DeShawn Sims, Jamal Abu-Shamala, John Belein, Laval Lucas-Perry, Lawrence Westbrook, Manny Harris, Ralph Sampson III, Tubby Smith