Gophers defeat Northwestern 66-53: As it happened

Posted on 12. Mar, 2009 by JF in 2008-2009

Like just about everyone else, I spent a good part of the lunch hour listening to the game on the radio while also trying to follow it on line. Thankfully, the Big Ten Network decided to replay the game, giving me a chance to see what happened without the Gopher radio announcers constantly badgering the referees. For those of you who missed the game, and were looking for something a little more in-depth than a box score and with more logical sequencing than your average Associated Press story, I watched the game, and have provided my own observations. Enjoy.

First Half:

20:00 Jamal Abu-Shamala, the Northwestern killer, gets the start after a big game on Senior Day. Joining him are Nolen, Westbrook, Johnson, and Sampson III. Iverson, still resting the shoulder, will play.

19:42 Nolen drives to his left for the lay-up and the foul. He missed the free throw, but showed decisiveness near the rim that has been missing far too often.

19:00 Three shots, two bad misses and a long two that misses with the shot clock running down. The offensive rebounding is great, but making an outside shot for once would be better

17:53 Kevin Coble with a Westbrook like floater with the right hand. For Coble, uglier is often better.

17:15 Another bad miss from the outside, this time Abu-Shamala.

16:53 Damian Johnson wants to dance so badly that he switches pivot feet.

16:33 Northwestern is ice cold

16:16 Ralph Sampson powers over three wildcats for the lay-in

15:53 Kevin Coble knocks down a wide-open three pointer, and the Gophers are double-teaming Kyle Rowley…why?

15:24 Sampson shuffles his feet, and the 1:1 field goal to turnover ratio continues. Gophers trail 5-4.

15:23 Line change! Joseph, Hoffarber, Carter, Johnson, and Iverson all check in.

15:01 Moore misses from 30 feet, not a high percentage shot.

14:02 Hoffarber with the saves the bad outlet pass under his own basket, Joseph races in and misses the lay-up, but Paul Carter on the tertiary break has the easy put back

13:50 Coble beats the Gophers down the court and hits a wide open three pointer from the corner, and taunts the Gopher bench to add insult to inury. This does not bode well for the Michigan State game.

13:19 Devron Bostick nails a three pointer in the defenders face.

12:45 Another turnover, and that turnover to field goal ratio stays even. Don’t most teams worry about the assist to turnover ratio?

12:02 Iverson with the over the shoulder not quite a hook shot.

11:41 Iverson with the block. Is there any doubt the Gophers would have beat Michigan if he was in?

11:15 Hoffarber misses but Bostick follows with the floater off the glass from ten feet.

10:49 Iverson tips the ball out to mid-court and super man’s after the ball and is fouled. That can’t be good for the possibly injured shoulder.

10:32 Bostick drives the base line and is fouled. The Gophers have a much better idea than usual as to how to attack the 1-3-1 zone.

10:03 Bostick misses a long three, and the outside shooting woes

9:50 Eddie Hightower is enthusiastic!

9:29 Hoffarber with the steal, outlet pass to Joseph, and a big three.

9:07 Colton Iverson picks Rowley and goes coast to coast for the huge dunk, one step in from the free throw line. Colton, there are no bonus points for distance. Gophers lead 18-8.

8:44 Hoffarber with the steal, and gets kneed in the head going for the lay-up. Hoffarber knocks down two free throws. Craig Moore grabs Rowley to get him fired up. Perhaps Moore needs to worry about himself.

8:36 Shouldn’t Bill Carmody wear a tie?

8:18 Sampson with the block, Joseph leads the break, and Bostick finishes.The Gophers are on a 16-0 run. The dunk inspires Tubby to apologize for his lack of playing time. “Devron Bostick was the hero Thursday. His 11 points sparked a big first-half run that led to a big lead that Minnesota eventually lost. Still, without that start, the finish would have been a moot point. Minnesota coach Tubby Smith said that he had to apologize to Bostick recently for not playing him more often. Smith said he’s been so focused on Bostick’s defensive lapses that he’s sometimes failed to realize how much his offense could help the team. We’ll see if he gets some more minutes against Michigan State Friday”

7:52 Shurna hits the long three. How good would these Gophers be if they played in 1984 (pre-three point line).

7:22 Travis Busch finally shaves.

7:03 Busch’s new-found aerodynamicness is no match for Coble.

6:12 Hoffarber curls around the screen for a floater a step inside the free throw line.

5:18 Coble works Busch, and heads to the free throw line.

4:57 Nolen quasi-drives, forgets his plan, and gets tied up. Michael Thompson fouls Nolen on the in-bounds, and leaves the game with three quick fouls.

4:40 Busch knocks down a long two after the drive by Nolen.

3:41 Coble beats the Gophers down court again for the lay-up. Raymar Morgan Smiles.

3:12 Devron Bostick cleans up the mess after two long and ugly three from Al Nolen and Blake Hoffarber.

3:02 Jonathan Williams wants more room on the bench and starts to nudge Bostick to get some elbow room and uses imminent domain as his reasoning.

2:37 Moore hits a three.

2:08 Travis Busch steals Craig Moore’s pass from far under the Wildcat basket. Northwestern has already committed nine turnovers.

1:18 Coble beats the Gophers down court again and is fouled. Will Raymar Morgan sleep tonight?

0:05.3 Bostick with an incredible behind the back pass after catching the pass from Busch at the free throw line. Bostick gets fouled going in for the lay-up and makes both free throws.

0:00 Were the Gophers the only people in the building that didn’t know that Kevin Coble would beat the buzzer with a three pointer. The Gophers lead Kevin Coble 31-19 and the Wildcats 31-25.

Second Half

20:00 Bostick takes Abu-Shamala’s place in the starting line-up.

19:38 Sampson dumps it into Johnson for the pirrouting lay-up and the foul directly under the basket. Johnson is fouled and makes the free throw. His free throw shooting has improved as the season has gone on. The bad shooting must have been due to the broken hand

19:17 Craig Moore hits a long three, and the Gophers are getting nervous.

19:05 Westbrook elbows Moore to the floor, seconds later Moore is mouthing off at Westbrook, but from a safe distance. Both players are called for a technical foul. The Gophers have always been at their best when they are annoying the other team, and they haven’t done that for months.

18:29 Westbrook knocks down the 14 footer off the dribble.

17:56 The first Ralph Sampson II sighting of the game.

17:39 Kyle Rowley brings it weak, Damian Johnson brings it strong.

17:13 Craig Moore shoot a 23 footer only 18 feet.

16:54 Craig Moore gets his rejected shot and puts it back in.

16:32 Westbrook hits the three after curling around a Sampson III screen.

16:16 Craig Moore whines more than Jordan Taylor, and most Europeans soccer players.

16:00 Johnson hits a three pointer from the top of the key. Yes, they really did make three pointers on back to back possessions. Gophers lead 42-29.

13:52 Jeremy Nash hits a three pointer, and the lead is slipping away, 42-35. Bostick was busy trying out his karate moves.

13:28 Eddie Hightower waves off the Bostick three so emphatically that Eddie Hightower Enterprises receives a federal grant for a wind farm.

13:14 Lawrence Westbrook now has two tattoos of himself.

12:12 NU goes to the 1-3-1, but Joseph powers in a bank shot from the block.

11:35 Murkovic on the back cut. for two, 45-39 Gophers.

11:06 Joseph settles for the three pointer and misses.

10:19 Westbrook with the floater as the shot clock runs out. Gophers still lead 47-39.

9:34 Iverson blocks Thompson’s shot right back to Northwestern, and Thompson cuts the lead to four with a base line jumper.

8:57 Nash steals the ball from Joseph and drives the length of the court for the lay-up to cut the lead to two.

8:40 Joseph takes the quick three and misses. Iverson gets called for the foul on the rebound, only because Michael Thompson is tiny. It is his fourth. Thompson ties the game with two free throws.

8:18 Johnson flails and loses the ball.

7:59 Craig Moore looks girly.

7:45 Michael Thompson makes a Tyus Edney type shot as the shot clock expires, and the Wildcats lead 49-47.

7:11 Nash blocks Bostick’s three point attempt.

5:47 Sampson and Johnson are switching on Coble, and he can’t get a shot off.

5:11 Johnson to Sampson and the three point play. Ralph Jr. is excited. Coble picks up his fourth foul.

4:11 Moore is still ice cold from the outside.

3:45 Johnson blocks Sterling Williams, saves the ball, but Northwestern ties it up.

3:10 Westbrook slashes through the defense to put the Gophers up 52-49.

2:10 Westbrook barrels through the defense, and gets bailed out by a foul with three seconds on the shot clock. He makes both free throws, and the Gophers lead by 6.

1:45 Coble misses the high kick fade away, and the Gophers can put the game away.

1:23 Johnson drives and hits a cutting Sampson for the alley-oop dunk. Blake Hoffarber is Kevin Payton excited.

1:11 Westbrook is fouled and makes one of two free throws.

0:50 Wildcats miss again, and Johnson is fouled. He makes both free throws for the 12 point lead.

0:43 Jeremy Nash makes a three pointer, too little too late.

0:40.3 Westbrook makes another of two free throws to push the lead back to ten.

0:27.8 Al Nolen makes two free throws.

0:12.3 Sampson knocks down two more free throws

0:00 Are the Gophers dancing?

The Gophers picked up the win, and may have done enough to get into the tournament. If the conference tournaments play-out the way they are expected, and the Gophers don’t look like seventh graders on Friday against Michigan State, they should be fine. The Bubble is a fluid place though, and if the Gophers don’t beat the Spartans, there NCAA future could still be out of their control. Minnesota probably doesn’t need to be nervous anymore, but with one more win they can put on their dancing shoes.

Tags: Big Ten Tournament, Devron Bostick, Game Review, Kevin Coble, Lawrence Westbrook, Northwestern Wildcats, Ralph Sampson III