Sometimes it’s the little things that matter the most in life. The Gophers might have let a ten-point lead dwindle away in a 67-49 loss against Ohio State, but the return of sophomore Amir Coffey was a small silver lining.
Coffey missed five games with a HAGL shoulder injury and scored his first points since Jan. 3 less than two minutes into Saturday morning’s game. He had 11 points, 9 rebounds and two assists, while playing 35 minutes. Coffey’s presence provided a brief energy injection, but things quickly took a drastic turn. The Gophers went more than nine minutes without a field goal during the final 20 minutes of their sixth Big Ten loss.
Early in the game, Minnesota displayed excellent spacing on offense and it opened up the lane for Jordan Murphy to create off the dribble. A 13-2 run, sparked by a Nate Mason three-pointer and a finish by Murphy helped Minnesota claim an early 20-10 lead. The offense was running through Amir Coffey and the Gophers displayed improved flow within their sets. However, things started to get chaotic near the midway point of the first half. Forced shots and careless basketball opened the door for Ohio State. Buckeyes’ guard CJ Jackson drilled a pair of three-pointers and Minnesota committed two turnovers to fuel a 24-2 run by the Buckeyes.
Suddenly, a ten-point Minnesota lead was flipped to a ten-point advantage in favor of Ohio State. The effort and energy slowly reached a downward spiral as the game progressed. It took Minnesota nearly half of the final 20 minutes to hit a field goal.
The Gophers’ main core again struggled as the team scored just 18 points in the second half. It was tough sledding for Minnesota, who shot 21 percent from behind the arc in a lopsided loss.
The Gophers were also outscored 40-20 in the paint. On Thursday night, the theme was similar as the Gophers lost the battle inside, 33-22. Bakary Konate struggled inside, committing two turnovers which led to an easy basket and transition three-pointer. He had just four total rebounds and couldn’t secure loose balls under the basket. The Gophers simply don’t have an answer for the low-post presence of Big Ten teams. Freshman Kaleb Wesson had 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting and dominated the first half. CJ Jackson also knocked down three three-pointers to help the Buckeyes take advantage of Minnesota’s poor first half sequences.
The Gophers opened the second half shooting 1-for-5 with two quick turnovers, which allowed the Buckeyes to extend their lead to 13 points. Another 9-0 run created a 20-point Ohio State advantage and they never looked back.
The Buckeyes improved to 8-0 in the Big Ten as the Gophers dropped their sixth conference game.
Other Notes:
Jordan Murphy was doing an excellent job contesting jumpers and held Keita Bates-Diop to 1-for-5 shooting during the first 12 minutes. Murphy caused a scare near the midway point of the second half. He stumbled into Gaston Diedhiou under the basket and stepped on his foot, twisting his ankle awkwardly. He left the game for a few minutes, but returned after heading to the locker room. He’s one of many Gophers who have suffered injuries in the past few games, including guard Nate Mason. The depth issues have required the Gophers’ main core to play a substantially higher amount of minutes. This could prove costly down the stretch as bodies continue to break down later in the year.
Minnesota will finally return home after a three-game east coast road trip when they Northwestern Tuesday night at Williams Arena.