Four days after playing their most complete game of the still young season season, the Gophers were bound to have a bit of a let down, and did they every. Playing their worst half of basketball in almost two years, heavily favored Minnesota trailed by 12 points to Cornell. However, they used a 25-2 second half run to turn what could have been a trap game into another impressive blowout.

Nothing seemed to go right in the first half. The Gophers were a step slow on both ends of the court. Their shooting wasn’t bad. They made 43.5% of their first half shots; nothing great but nothing out of the ordinary. The problem was that they couldn’t get shots off without first turning the ball over. Ten first half turnovers led to 10 Cornell points. Cornell didn’t need the extra possessions either. Ryan Wittman, whose father really should be out of a job by now, positively torched the Gophers, especially from behind the three point line where he made  four of seven. Minnesota’s defense, which has specialized in forcing turnovers since Tubby Smith arrived, only forced three turnovers the entire half. Despite the lack of turnovers and none-too-special offense, the Gophers were within one point with 6:45 left in the half, then the wheels that had gradually been loosening all day completely fell off.

After a win over the ACC on national TV with a crowd gone mad, a let down was all but guaranteed. It is only human after a win like that to not be fired up and ready to take on a school from the Ivy League that are also heavy underdogs. The Gophers sleep walked through much of the first half, didn’t get the crowd into the game, and had been playing like they should have been down much more. Suddenly they were. During the rest of half Travis Busch made a mid-range jumper and two free throws while Lawrence Westbrook made another free throw. During that span Minnesota also turn the ball over four times and missed four field goal attempts. Cornell did just the opposite as Ryan Wittman scored 11 points during the last seven minutes of the half. A Gopher team that had thrived on easy baskets off of turnovers had no points off turnovers and no fast break points in the first half was flailing for a life line and in danger of drowning.

The first four minutes of the first half featured both teams exchanging baskets. The Gopher looked a little better, but as soon as they did Blake Hoffarber landed awkwardly fighting for an offensive rebound and had to leave the game.  His injury initially looked as bad as Paul Carter’s, with Hoffarber being carried off the court, unable to put any weight on his ankle. Fortunately, after about 10 minutes he was able to hobble up the stairs back to the bench, and spent the rest of the game icing his ankle. I wouldn’t be surprised if he misses a game or two, but it was certainly a good sign that he was not whisked away in an ambulance for x-rays. Like Carter’s injury though, it lit a fire under his team.

The Gophers scored the first 13 points after Hoffarber’s injury. This would eventually grow into a  25-2 run that would become a 38-8 drubbing over the final 16 minutes of the game. As always, defense sparked the rally. Ryan Wittman that had so torched the Gophers in the first half was all but shut down in the second half, making only one field goal and turning the ball over twice. Damian Johnson blocked a three pointer. Ralph Sampson III made a soaring interception at half court and kinda, sorta led the fast break and Al Nolen added a few steals as well. The Williams Arena crowd, having remembered how make some noise against Virginia, remembered on Saturday how to make the building shake. With each steal, deflection, and dive for a loose ball the crowd grew louder and louder, once again to the point where a Gophers opponent was so rattled that consistently getting the ball across half court became a challenge.

Perhaps because their confidence was so rattled, or they were just exhausted after finally getting the ball across mid-court, Cornell’s shooting took a major nose-dive in the second half. They made five field goals and shot 19.2% in the second half, and did not make a single three pointer over the final twenty minutes. Aided by more than their fair share of easy baskets, the Gopher offense erupted for 43 second half points including multiple thunderous dunks from the emotionless one, Ralph Sampson III. He may not make any facial expressions, but the way he played made up for it.

The Gophers confirmed once again that they are a defensive explosion waiting to happen, and because of it can never be counted out. Even if their offense had struggled in the second half, they likely would have been able to come back since they only gave 14 points after half time. Saturday’s win was not balanced, and far from a completely dominating performance, but the final 20 minutes did more to the team’s fans and their imaginations than anything so far this season.

Who did what?

• Jamal Abu-Shamala got plenty of chances on Saturday, but each time he seemed to get torched on defense. I don’t have any statitistcs to show it, but I think the majority of Wittman’s points came when Abu-Shamala should have been in the general vicinity.
• Damian Johnson again did just about everything, again. He sparked the Gophers big second half rally with a three pointer as the shot clock expired, did everything on defense, and had 4 more assists (part of his game that I did not anticipate but am thrilled about). The only complaint is his troubling free-throw shooting. He missed all four of his attempts and has dropped his season percentage 37.5%. I know your hand is wrapped Damian, but seriously…
• Colton Iverson struggled mightily with fouls most of the day playing only 12 minutes. He did make two of two free throws and pulled down 5 rebounds. The foul trouble isn’t encouraging, but the game was bizarrely officiated and seems to be more of an anomaly than part of a trend.
• Al Nolen also struggled with fouls, one of which he breathed, coughed, sneezed, comitted an Orwellian thought crime, or maybe glared a little too hard. He did manage seven points and four assists and three turnovers, and two steals before he fouled out.
• Blake Hoffarber made two three pointers before his ankle injury.
• Kevin Payton got his minute.
• Travis Busch played his role perfectly. He took only three shots, all of which were wide open, and he made them all. He also secured five hustle rebounds and was flying after loose balls all day long.
• Devoe Joseph’s offensive numbers aren’t eye popping. He scored eight points six points and had two assists and two turnovers. What the numbers don’t show is how under control he played. The freshman guard who had been all motor and no brakes made smart decisions, didn’t force anything, and was a steadying presence as he played his most minutes of the season.
• Jonathan Williams eased his way into the season with three rebounds in seven minutes.
• Lawrence Westbrook continues to excel off the bench. He led the team in scoring again with 17, made five of nine field goals including three of five three pointers. Especially encouraging was his team leading five assists and only turnovers. Somehow he also had a block. The guy is 5′11” on a tall day.
• Devron Bostick had two rebounds and two turnovers. For that he received a generous 10 minutes of playing time.
• Ralph Sampson had ten points, six rebounds including three offensive, and two steals. The guy is 6′11” on a short day. He isn’t the most expressive sort, but neither was Greg Oden, Tim Duncan, or Ralph Sampson Jr.

As I walked out of Williams Arena on Wednesday night, I was thinking my first paragraph of my game review would be spent trying to convince myself that the Gophers would be ok even if Paul Carter would miss several weeks. Fortunately, I won’t have to, as what looked like a very severe ankle injury that took place when Ralph Sampson III fell into Paul Carter’s ankle is only a sprain, and Carter should probably be able to play if absolutely needed as soon as Saturday. Luckily, nothing was able to tarnish the Gophers’ dismantling of Eastern Washington.

Led by Colton Iverson’s career high (I’m not quite sure when career highs become relevant for freshman) 21 points and an err of confidence from the entire team, the Gophers defeated Eastern Washington by a score of 88-67. The team’s best game of the season came despite Lawrence Westbrook, the Gophers’ leading scorer, not playing a single minute, and their second leading scorer, Al Nolen, scoring only two points. But when five players score 11 or more points, there are plenty of people to pick up the slack.

Minnesota’s victory was their most impressive of the season by far. The offense was outstanding, and reverted the familiar stagnancy on one or two possessions. The Gophers shot 58.6% for the game, and an even more impressive 63.3% in the first half. The three point shooting was much better than against Colorado State, a respectable 43% without any poorly timed or particularly forced shots. Most impressive of all were Minnesota’s 22 assists on 34 made field goals, all while committing only 9 turnovers. The previous season high for assists was 16 against Bowling Green, and the season low for turnovers was 13 against Georgia State.

On the defensive end, the Gophers were unfortunately a bit suspect. The Gophers forced a season low number of turnovers, and gave up 53% shooting in the first half despite the Eagles losing the services of their best interior player, Brandon Moore, for most of the first half with a cut above his eyebrow that required stitches. It certainly didn’t help the Benny Valentine, an allegedly 5′7” guard who is closer to 5′3” played the best game of his life. Valentine scored a game high 29 points (on 21 shots, so it is slightly less impressive) on a series of ridiculous flailing drives, deep falling down threes, and ridiculous runners that had no business going in. Eastern Washington eventually cooled down in the second half, but it was still the second best shooting showing by a Gopher opponent this year.

As you might expect against a team that is just plain short, the Gophers out rebounded the Eagles. They pulled in ten offensive rebounds, the same number as Eastern Washington, even though the Eagles missed seven more shots, and had 5 rebound advantage on the defensive end.

When review the keys to the game, Minnesota did everything they needed to to come away with blow out win. The Gophers didn’t run, run, run, but they ran enough to keep the Eagles of balance and made good decisions on the fast break. As evidenced by the impressive assist total and low number of turnovers, the Gophers passed extremely well, and it led to plenty of points on the inside. Their free throw shooting, which had been dreadful couldn’t have been much better as they made 14 of 16.

But confidence was the deciding factor. The Gophers who have looked tentative and rattled at times as they continue to learn to play together were aggressive on both ends of the court and took the game over early on. Eastern Washington did manage a nice run in the second half getting within 10 points, were quickly repelled as the Gophers won going away. On Wednesday night we got our first glimpse of this team’s potential. In the next week, we will see if they can sustain their success.

Who did what?

• Blake Hoffarber struggled from the outside, making only 1-5 three pointers, but showing how far he has come since last year, made 4-5 two point shots. All of these came as he cut to the basket or finished on the fast break. He won’t break anyone’s ankles in the half court yet, but he is no longer a one dimensional scoring threat.
• Al Nolen got run ragged on the defensive end by Benny Valentine, but had 7 assists and no turnovers to go along with 2 points and two steals. Whether he can score and pass in the same game is still a mystery.
• Jamal Abu-Shamala continues to have his best season as Gopher, scoring 11 points on 4-5 shooting. His three point shot is there, and like Hoffarber, is much better finishing close to the basket.
• Colton Iverson was dominant. Tubby Smith mandated that the perimeter players give him the ball, and they did, and made the most of his many opportunities. He scored 20 points on 10-13 shooting. If that wasn’t enough to impress, he added 5 rebounds (4 offensive), 4 assists, a block, with no fouls and no turnovers. Don’t mess with Yankton.
• Devron Bostick may finally have his confidence back, and the Gopher might have another dangerous weapon. Bostick didn’t miss a shot, making three three-pointers along with a dunk. He also added four rebounds and two steals with only one turnover.
• Ralph Sampson III played well as well, cleaning up the garbage on the offensive end. He scored nine points, nearly all on put backs, as he collected 7 rebounds *4 offensive) and managed to stay out of foul trouble.
• Travis Busch thinks he is Michael Jordan after his first come back. With Sampson cleaning up the garbage, Busch decided it was a good opportunity to take fall away turnaround jumpers. It wasn’t pretty, but he did make 5 free throws.
• Devoe Joseph had an average game with 5 points, but added three turnovers. It would have been nice to see him have more chances with Westbrook missing the game.
• Damian Johnson is the same old Damian Johnson, and I couldn’t be happier. He scored 11 points on 5-6 shooting. He had only one rebound, but made up for that with 2 assists, 2 steals and two blocks.
• Paul Carter sprained his ankle and only played nine minutes, but he should be back soon.
• Kevin Payton, more fouls than shot attempts.

Highlights from the Big Ten Network

With about 10 minutes left in their win over Eastern Washington, Minnesota’s season almost took a turn for the terrible. Ralph Sampson took a charge, fell back against Paul Cater’s ankle, and Carter hit the deck in agony. He was down for several minutes, and was eventually carried off the court, unable to put any weight on his right ankle. It looked bad, very bad, but thankfully it was not.

According to Marcus Fuller, Carter is only day to day after what easily could have been a seson ending injury.  His injury, diagnosed as an ankle sprain of undetermined severity (so far), should allow him to be back before the Louisville game. It will also give Devron Bostick a chance to get more playing time, and more confidence.

Lawrence Westbrook dressed but did not play last night as well, due to a shin injury. He should be 100% on Saturday.

I’ll have more on last night’s game either tonight or tomorrow depending on the turkey, but until then have a very happy Thanksgiving!

With strep throat. Developing…

It is never good to lose a starting forward and best defense player, but if it had to happen, now is not the worst time. Johnson’s injury is coming early in the season, and if his recovery stays on schedule, he could be back as early as the Colorado State road game. He would miss games against Georgia State and Bowling Green, which should could be challenging in his absence but still very winnable, and he would be back for the Virginia and Louisville games, by far the two toughest challenges on the non-conference schedule.

Johnson’s style of play also lends itself to a quick return with not too many last affects. Johnson’s main asset is his length and his speed. Unless the reports of broken hand mean his hand broke off, he will still have his length, and since he will still be able to just about everything other than handle a ball with his non-shooting hand, he should remain in game shape. If Johnson was a shooter who would need time to get his rhythm back, his injury would be more problematic, but hand injuries just don’t hurt runners and jumpers as much as shooters.

Finally, this could all be a blessing in disguise. Johnson is a known quantity. Tubby Smith knows what to do with him, where to play him, and when. There are five new players who, while certainly not mysteries, still need to be vetted (it is still election season). Johnson’s injury will give the coaching staff more time to evaluate players. Ralph Sampson and Colton Iverson will get significant minutes together. Paul Carter will get a chance to see how he stacks up as an interior player. Jonathan Williams will get one last chance to prove himself.

If the Gophers get through the first part of the season without Johnson, and win every game, which they should do, they will be a much better team because of it. If, God forbid, his injury costs the team a game, it will be a very different story.