I have to agree that this game was fun to watch, especially the last 5 minutes or so. I was personally very angry at around the 8 minute mark or so when MSU had held the lead for awhile and it appeared we were seeing the same terrible Gopher/Tubby team we'd seen in the past (terrible turnovers, long periods without scoring, etc) and then the last 5 minutes happened. For once in a critical game, the Gophers decided to TAKE the game with a great combination of toughness, energy and execution down the stretch. The team wasn't tentative and bounced back from a couple tough breaks (Austin missing an easy shot in the lane that could have put them up 5, then the next possession Joe missed a similar shot) that in the past would have certainly spelled the end for a Gopher/Tubby team in the final minutes of a close game. I LOVED the decision to push in transition late that lead to a dunk and then to two free throws by Rodney. If we see the team who played the first 10-12 minutes of the game and the last 5 or so minutes of the game more consistently, this team can win exceed 11-12 win type expectations.
A few other thoughts:
This was as close to a must win as it gets- Yes, it was a big game for the conference standings, but it was a bigger game for Minnesota basketball. You get that type of crowd in Williams arena putting that type of energy in to a game for team that's coming off back to back 6-12 seasons and you had better win the game. If that crowd left disappointed, it would have taken a lot to create that environment again. With a win, I think you will see full houses and loud crowds for the foreseeable future.
Travis Trice's brick of a 3 that went in was huge. It was probably good long term to have to win this game late, but that Trice 3 from the top that had no business going in was such a huge momentum shift in the first half. It cut the lead from 6 to 3 and the Gophers really played poorly for a stretch after that and couldn't take advantage of having MSU's starting PG on the bench.
I think a lot of what the color guy had to say on ESPN was true, the Gophers needed to prove they were there to win the game. In some ways, I think getting the first win over a team with a name like MSU (even though they may be down a bit, I thought they still looked tough) is going to be harder than getting wins going forward. The Gophers needed to prove to themselves that they could beat a team like that in conference play and this should be huge for their confidence going forward.
Oto's play was a nice lift from his dunk, to his pass inside to Trevor, to his buzzer beating jumper, he made a number of notable positive plays today. On the flip side was Mav who had a tough night and continued with a major pet peeve of mine- fouling a guy on a transition layup and allowing a 3 point play. Mav and Julian (Mav especially) have been guilty of this a ton in their careers and their is no excuse for it-foul the guy hard enough/smart enough to prevent the layup or don't foul him at all.
Trevor was really good today and looks to be getting even closer to 100%. Goodman really jumped the gun with his article questioning Trevor's athleticism. It was also very nice to see Andre Hollins continue to be willing to take big shots.
