Minnesota suffers first loss of season 67-75 in Big Ten opener against Michigan State

By: Tony Liebert |

Dec. 8, 2021: After a remarkable 7-0 start Minnesota suffered its first loss of the Ben Johnson era, falling 67-75 to Michigan State in its Big Ten opener.

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Full Game Recap:

  • First Half: It was a physical start from both sides to begin the game. A 3-15 combined start shooting from the field, set up for a classic Big Ten rock fight. The physically only ramped up more, when the Gophers brought both Charlie Daniels and Sean Sutherlin off the bench. Payton Willis took Minnesota’s first first half free throws since Nov. 24 against Jacksonville, but an 0-6 start from three-point range gave Sparty an early 16-8 lead about 10 minutes into the game. A very physical stretch from both Daniel and Eric Curry helped the Gophers bring it within as few as two points. Michigan State began to flex its muscles going on a quick 7-0 run near the end of the half pulling ahead 30-19. 10 first half points from Eric Curry weren’t enough as the Gophers trailed 37-24 heading into the half.

  • Second Half: The Gophers came out of the locker room fighting, but they were not able to make a significant dent into the Michgan State lead. Eric Curry continued be the only offense that they could find, getting up to a career-high 16 points, but unfortunately that was about the only offense they could find. Jamison Battle did his best to spark a run with his second big three of the game, but nothing came about. Minnesota’s shooting struggles continued well into the half, while Michigan State took advantage. Battle went on another 5-0 run with about 7 minutes to go, brining the game with 14 points. The Gophers were finally able to get going on offense, knocking down five of six shots at one point, but it was too little too late. Getting the lead down to six points was about as good as Minnesota could do. Michigan State forward Gabe Brown was too much for the Gophers to handle, ultimately falling 67-75.

Instant Reaction & Takeaways:

It is very easy for a team that has a first year head coach, as well as being thoroughly out-matched in the talent department to get “punked” by a Hall of Fame head coach like Tom Izzo, and fall to an early deficit, but the Gophers didn’t. Michigan State is consistently one of the most physical teams in the country, and the undersized Gophers never looked intimidated, and I think that is huge for the future of the team and more importantly the program, under Ben Johnson.

With that being said, the Gophers were terrible offensively for about 33 minutes of this game. There is no way around it. You’re not going to win many Big Ten games shooting 6-23 from three point range and only 7-9 from the free throw line. They struggled to get going offensively, until it was too late. I belive that Eric Curry had his best game in a Gophers uniform with a career-high 18 points, but that was about the only bright spot for them offensively. When your two best offensive options Battle and Willis combine to shoot 12-27 from the field, it will be very tough to win games. Ultimately, I don’t think there is much more to say than this team but itself in too much of a hole early, and when they finally got it going it was too late. It was great to see them not fold when they easily could’ve, at the end of the day, they just ran up against a more talented basketball team.

What is Next?:

The Gophers’ daunting four game stretch will end Saturday, when they travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan to take on the preseason conference favorite Wolvernies. The will finish their non-conference slate with three “cupcake” games against Texas A&M Corpus-Christi, Wisconsin Green Bay and Alcorn State over the holidays, before officially starting Big Ten play Jan. 2 at home against Illinois.

If you take a step back and look at the Gophers 7-1 start, I think any righ-minded fan would be thrilled. Even more in-depth if you look at their current four game stretch of Pitt, Mississippi State, Michigan State and Michigan and look at a 2-2 record or possibly 3-1, I think that is great for this team and program. Michigan will be another huge opportunity, but this team should have every chance to be 10-2 heading into Big Ten play, which is a terrific start in my book. Eventhough this might’ve been their first “dud” of the season, this team continues to shock me, and we’ll see how much more they can. This program is still heading in the right direction.

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