Its summer, its Minnesota, regardless or the hail, the rain, the tornadoes, and inevitable mosquito induced mayhem, it is better to be outside than in front of a computer. Though I am barely able to muster enough anguish and regret, I do apologize for the lack of updates, though nothing newsworthy has really taken place.

To make up for it, and in the spirit of the political season, and in the spirit of that, I present to you all the news you may or may not care about, but you may have missed. But unlike a certain document dump, I’ll give you more than an hour to sort through it all.

It may not be the Friday before a holiday weekend, but it is a slow day at work. 

Now with categories!

 Recruiting

 Congratulations to Minnesota’s four seniors, all of whom graduated recently. Just another sign that the program is going in the right direction.

With their chance to go the NCAA tournament this year all but dashed, Dan Coleman, Spencer Tollackson, and Lawrence McKenzie are in real danger of being known more for what they did not do than what they accomplished.

They did make it the NCAA tournament three years ago on a team actually led by seniors that understood it was their last time to shine. That team, led by previously woeful Aaron Robinson, previosly underutilized Jeff Hagen, and previous overlooked Brent Lawson consistently improved and overachieved throughout their careers. This year’s seniors have done neither.

Other things they have not done include:

• Beating Illinois
• Winning at Michigan State
• Winning at Iowa
• Winning at Wisconsin
• Beating an NCAA team on the road

Because of the Big Ten’s uneven scheduling, winning at Iowa is impossible, but the other four are very possible. Numbers four and five on the list could disappear as soon as tomorrow, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

I still don’t know what happened the other night at The Barn. One would think that a supposedly senior led team, still with a chance, albeit not a great one) of making the NCAA tournament would be able to handle one of the worst teams in the conference. Maybe they had already given up on the season. Maybe Illinois is a lot better than their record indicates (probably true) or maybe the Gophers were looking ahead to the Wisconsin game. I have no idea why the Gophers would think they are good enough to look past anyone, but assuming that was the case, they better be prepared for the Badgers.

Other than the Gophers falling out of contention for consequential post-season play and Wisconsin losing again to Purdue, there aren’t any big differences between Saturday’s game and the last time the two rivals played each other. Wisconsin is still a favorite to win the Big Ten, and Minnesota still hasn’t beat any non-terrible teams.

Two weeks ago the Badgers beat the Gophers from the opening tip, in the first of Minnesota’s completely uninspiring performances. In that game the Gophers were able to contain Wisconsin’s front court, but in doing so left the Badger back court wide open. Trevon Hughes scored 20 points and Brian Butch and Marcus Landry each added 11. The Badgers outshot Minnesota by 13%, and got to the free throw line twice as often as the Gophers.

Expect more of the same tomorrow. Minnesota was blitzed by Illinois on Tuesday, the same Illini that until then were one of the worst shooting teams in the country. Minnesota once vaunted turnover creating defense has gone into hibernation as the winter has worn on. And, I don’t think I need to write much about the free throw disparity that the Badgers regularly enjoy at the Kohl Center.

After Minnesota’s surprising loss to Illinois, they have shown that the odds makers can’t pick all their games right, and  win at Wisconsin would be just as much of an aberration as their worst home loss since 1992, but I just don’t see it happening.

Expect Tubby to give his underachieving seniors a chance, but also expect them to see very little playing time if they aren’t getting the job done. With Minnesota all but eliminated from NCAA Tournament contention, the future is now, and Minnesota’s underclassmen need all the court time they can get, especially in a hostile environment.

Prediction: Wisconsin 65 - Minnesota 48

So much for that freshman wall. Led by the speed and defense of Al Nolen and a small line-up, the Gophers blew open a close game to beat Iowa 63-50.

Nolen, who recently had been spending more time on the bench than on the court, energized Minnesota in the second half by playing his typical outstanding defense and adding a much improved offensive game. During an 18-5 run that allowed the Gophers to expand a three point lead to the game ending 13 point win, the freshman point guard scored 6 points and pulled down 3 rebounds. Most importantly, he limited his turnovers that had been negating the impact of the turnovers he so often forces.

Saturday’s game felt like a blow out. Minnesota controlled the pace of the game, and on many occasions was unable to take a shot before they turned the ball over or the shot clock expired. The Gopher coaching staff must have stressed the importance of playing defense for a full 35 seconds. A week earlier against Wisconsin, Minnesota either got bored, lazy, or both after 30 seconds, and repeatedly gave up open shots to the Badgers. Saturday, during the final 5 seconds of the shot clock, the Gopher defense became even more intense, much to the delight of the Williams Arena crowd.

Even though Minnesota was in control, they couldn’t build a signficant lead. On several occasions they were up by nine points, but each time the lead hit 9, the Hawkeyes came roaring back, but not necessarily on their own accord. Once again, Spencer Tollackson struggled mightily against a larger center. Just as the Gophers have been able to beat bad teams and consistently are outplayed by losing teams, Tollackson is able to dominate against shorter players but looks absolutely against taller players. He repeatedly had shots blocked, was out of position on rebounds, and for whatever reason insisted on attempting bank shots that would make his geometry teacher shudder in disbelief. It wasn’t until Tollackson was benched after around the mid-point of the second half that the Gophers were finally able to pull away.

With Tollackson on the bench and Jonathan Williams out for the second straight game with one of the many viruses that afflict Minnesotans in the mid-winter, the Gophers went small. The line-up of Dan Coleman, Damian Johnson, Lawrence McKenzie, Blake Hoffarber, and the aforementioned Al Nolen was too much quickness for the Hawkeyes could handle. In something resembling Duke’s spread offense in the last several minutes, the Gophers spread the floor for Nolen and McKenzie, who were able to penetrate and score, drop off passes to Coleman and Johnson for easy dunks, or kick the ball out to Hoffarber who actually made a mid-range jump-shot.

Despite the smaller line-up, Minnesota did not suffer on the boards. Minnesota enjoyed a huge rebounding advantage for most of the game, and finished with 30 rebounds compared to 22 for the Hawkeyes. On the defensive end, Minnesota was outrebounded by only two even though they missed 10 more shots than the Hawkeyes. The Gophers have been repeatedly outrebounded on the offensive glass this season, but they only gave up two on Saturday while Damian Johnson pulled down 6 of his own.

As has become the norm for this years Gopher basketball team, even the wins leave a little to be desired. It was great to see Minnesota blow open a close game, but Iowa actually led in the second half even though Minnesota was up by 9 points in the half. Minnesota should have been able to put the game away, especially because Iowa only scored 6 points in the first 6 minutes of the second half. Against a better opponent, Minnesota could have easily seen their 9 point lead turn into a 9 point deficit.

Of course, last year Minnesota would not have been able to bounce back from losing a lead. Even more impressive was the fact that the Gophers put the game away with players who will be around for a while. Other than Tollackson, the Gopher upper classman were solid, but not spectacular, but it was the youngest Gophers that propelled their team to victory.

Who did what?

• Jamal Abu-Shamala started, made an open 3 pointers, and demonstrated great hustle on the boards. He wouldn’t start for most Big Ten teams, but in his second straight start, he once again did more to help than hurt his team.
• Dan Coleman could have had a monster game if his team mates could have found him. Especially in the early going, he was repeatedly wide open on the weak side of the court, no one within several feet of him, but the Gophers just could not give him the ball. When he did get the ball though, he was unstoppable. He finished with 10 points on 5-6 shooting. The Gopher guards will be kicking themselves when they see the game film.
• Spencer Tollackson should keep starting, simply on the off chance that he will play well. But as has been the case all season, it is evident right away what kind of game he will have, and if he is having one of those days, he shouldn’t be anywhere close to the court. He finished with 11 points and 4 rebounds on 3-10 shooting. However, his free throw shooting is starting to become spectacular. Spencer shot 5-6 from the line, and his miss actually had a chance to go in.
• Blake Hoffarber was solid if not spectacular. He had 8 points, 4 rebounds, and maybe the most bone headed turnover of the season. A 3/4 court bounce pass is rarely a good idea.
• Lawrence Westbrook struggled with his shooting, and only played 16 minutes, mostly because Al Nolen was playing so well. Other than his shooting, he played a very good game, providing 4 assists, 2 rebounds, a steal, and an amazing block (that was probably goal tending) to swat away a break away lay-up.
• Damian Johnson is unbelievable. The stats speak for themselves. Nine points, 7 rebounds (6 offensive), 2 assists, a block, and 2 steals.
• Lawrence McKenzie’s decision to blow off a study session may have been the best thing to happen to the Gophers so far this season. The Gophers continue to play well when he isn’t starting, and McKenzie continues to play well coming off the bench. He scored 11 points (3-6 three pointers), had 3 assists, two rebounds, and a steal.
• Jonathan Williams was out sick, but I am beginning to wonder if his lack of playing time has more to do with his stubborn insistance to shoot one handed shots than a head cold.
• Travi s Busch didn’t play either.
• Ryan Saunders now has a cheering section. I’d like to be able to take some credit for that.

Highlights from the Big Ten Network

Talk about drastic changes, I certainly didn’t expect that to be the headline.

Led by recently under-achieving players and a new starting line-up, Minnesota beat the Wildcats in energetic and high scoring fashion. If only anyone would have been able to see it. The Evanston, Illinois area was pounded by a blizzard throughout the game which apparently interfered with the satellite signal, and  even the few hearty souls who still care about Northwestern basketball generally avoided the snowy and icy mess outside. Don’t believe me?

Like just about everyone else, I was also unable to watch the game. I did however listen to the game, and managed to not throw my radio out the window. Due to the um…lack of descriptiveness from Mike Grimm and Kevin Lynch, this won’t be the most informative game review I have ever written. Though, I can tell you that the Gopher radio announcers spoke often of throat stomping and describing a Northwestern fan they may or may not have been Ray Romano. Very useful when you can’t see what they are talking about.

On to the game, something Mike Grimm and Kevin Lynch should focus on…

Tubby Smith’s changes started on Tuesday in practice. In a typical practice, the majority of time is spent focusing on the opponent, but this time, the majority of the practice consisted of scrimmaging and working on the Gopher’s weaknesses. As Minnesota had demonstrated throughout the season, preventing an opponent from carrying out their game plan will not get you very far if you are not prepared execute your own.

For the first time this season, Tubby Smith instituted major changes in his starting line up. Previously, minor changes were made because of Lawrence McKenzie’s groin injury, and recently Damian Johnson took Jamal Abu-Shamala’s place in the starting line-up. Since the Wisconsin disaster I had been advocating that the Gophers should go small and fast, and to try to run their opponents out of the gym. Instead, Tubby went slow and moderately sized. While I would still like to see small ball, slow ball worked. It should be obvious by now why Tubby Smith is a future hall of fame coach and I write an occasionally read blog.

The new starting line-up consisted of Spencer Tollackson, Damian Johnson, Jamal Abu-Shamala, Lawrence Westbrook, and Blake Hoffarber and point guard. Eager to show that they were ready to make the most of the opportunity, the Gophers came out fast and furious, quickly jumping out to an 8-2 lead led by Blake Hoffarber from long distance and the unstoppable low-post presence of Spencer Tollackson. Northwestern was able to claw back and was within three points with three minutes left in the half, but then the wheels came off.

In the last three minutes of the half the Gophers went on a 12-2 run, led by 8 points in that stretch from Jamal Abu-Shamla to take a 14 point half time lead. Abu-Shamala, as he always seems to do at Northwestern, played his best game of the season. He finished the game with 16 points, 5 rebound, and three assists. It was by far his best game of the season, but doesn’t come close to matching his other dominating performances in Evanston, where he has made 12-16 three pointers in his career.

The hot outside shooting of Abu-Shamala and Hoffarber opened up the middle of Northwestern’s zone for Spencer Tollackson. The nearly always maligned senior center was perfect on the night scoring 19 points (7-7 from the floor and 5-5 from the free throw line). Undoubtedly Tollackson benefited from the unathletic and undersized Northwestern front court, and was probably very close to the basket on all of his field goal attempts, but regardless, he displayed tremendous improvement over his previous efforts.

The individual performances were tremendous, but the team statistics were even more impressive. The Gophers outrebounded 38-17, shot 58% from the field, 52% from the free throw line, and made 76% of their free throws. On Saturday when the Gophers take on Iowa at Williams Arena, they almost certainly will not  put up numbers like this, but for a team needing a confidence boost, a blow-out win on the road, regardless of how bad the opponent is, is a step in the right direction.

Who did what? 

• Dan Coleman was largely on non-factor on both ends of the court. He scored 10 points, one of six Gophers in double figures, and had 8 rebounds. However, he shot poorly and committed four turnovers.
• Jamal Abu-Shamala made the most of his first substantive playing time in several games. He scored 16 points and forced Northwestern to extend their zone more than they wanted to.
• Spencer Tollackson was perfect, except he still hasn’t found a way to rebound. He finished with 19 points and three rebounds, despite being the tallest player on the court.
• Lawrence Westbrook continues to get better and better. He was three rebounds short of a triple-double, and added 12 points and 10 assists with only one turnover.
• Blake Hoffarber started at point guard. While he is far from a typical point guard, he ensured that the Gophers did not simply stand around on the offensive end, and was consistently able to get the ball to Lawrence Westbrook in a position where Westbrook could make an assist. Hoffarber had 15 points, 4 assists (though he would have many more if they handed them out like in hockey) and no turnovers.
• Al Nolen as of yet has not climbed over the freshman wall. He played only 10 minutes and 2 turnovers.
• Despite not starting (has he ever really started playing before halftime?) Lawrence McKenzie scored 16 points on 5-8 shooting.
• Damian Johnson was in foul trouble most of the night.
• Travis Busch played briefly.
• Thanks to not being able to watch the game, there will be no Ryan Saunders update tonight. But I can tell you that Tubby Smith decided to dress like Bob Huggins for a night: mock turtle neck and sport coat. Thank you Kevin Lynch for this important information.