Stop the Presses! Gophers Beat Wildcats!!!

Thanks to a career night from Jamal Abu-Shamala, another strong outing by Dan Coleman, and solid team play, Minnesota has finally ended its six-game losing streak to Northwestern and has built a two-game winning streak in Big Ten play. The Gophers put this back-and-forth game away in the final minutes and beat the Wildcats 62-55 in Evanston.

It’s amazing the difference that hot shooting and a little confidence can make. Just 11 days ago, the Gophers got blown out at home by Northwestern. Today, they won on the road even though their defense and rebounding weren’t anything to write home about. The difference? Tonight they made 10 of 25 three-pointers and shot 48% from the field overall. The ball movement on offense was a little better than it was 11 days ago, but the big difference was some shots dropping and the confidence that came from it (and from Saturday’s victory over Penn State).

Jamal finished with a career-high 19 points on 5 for 8 shooting from three-point range. It’s great to have him back to shooting the ball like he did last year. Coleman had 17 points and 6 rebounds in a very solid performance. Lawrence McKenzie was ice-cold in the first half but caught fire long enough in the second half to score 11 points and really jumpstart the Gophers’ final run. Kevin Payton was solid again with 5 points and 7 assists, and Jonathan Williams again found some openings inside and finished with 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

While it’s going to be hard to keep the winning streak alive at Illinois Saturday night, it’s great to see the Gophers playing with confidence and having some fun. And if their shots are falling again in Champaign”¦well”¦you just never know”¦.

Here’s the box score.

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