Defense Leads To Thrilling Overtime Victory

It wasn’t supposed to happen like it did tonight. The Gophers haven’t won in Columbus since 1997. They have never won at Value City Arena. The Buckeyes were 10-0 at home this year. The Gophers were double digit underdogs. Their big man who is a big part of the heart and soul of the team went down with an injury and missed the game’s last 27 minutes. They got down by six points twice in the second half and Ohio State had all of the momentum. Yet despite all of that, the Minnesota Gophers found a way to fight back and pulled out an amazing 60-56 win in overtime.

Heading into the game, Ohio State led the Big Ten in three-point percentage and set a conference record just four nights prior when it hit 18 three-pointers and scored an impressive 101 points at LSU. It was a much different tone on Wednesday night, however, as the Gopher defense shut down the Buckeyes outside game limiting them to 2/21 (9.5%) from behind the arc and just 38.3% from the field overall.

It was not entirely defense for the Gophers tonight, as Vincent Grier put on a one-man show keeping the Gophers in the game after Ohio State opened their biggest lead of the game, 49-43 with just under five minutes remaining. Grier hit a barrage of floaters in the lane and matched it on the defensive end with a couple of steals. Grier scored eight straight points, giving Minnesota a two-point lead, 51-49 with 2:50 remaining.

Trailing by two points with :54 seconds remaining in regulation, the Buckeyes called a time-out and Coach Thad Matta drew up a perfect in-bounds play for a Matt Sylvester lay-up, tying the game at 51-51. Grier missed a jumper with :36 seconds remaining giving Ohio State one last shot in regulation to win the game, but Brandon Fuss-Cheatham’s floater hit the front of the rim sending the game into overtime.

In OT, the Gophers came out strong as Dan Coleman hit a big three-pointer, giving Minnesota a 54-51 lead. J.J. Sullinger tied the game with the Buckeyes second three-pointer of the game (16 less than last game), but Grier came right back as he split a double team and nailed a floater in the lane, giving the Gophers a 56-54 lead.

Aaron Robinson stole the ball from Terence Dials out of a time-out in-bounds play, but the Gophers could not convert on the turnover as Robinson turned the ball right back over to the Buckeyes with 1:11 remaining in overtime. Dials put back a Je’Kel Foster jumper to tie the game at 56-56.

With under 30 seconds remaining, Coleman took the ball baseline and missed a lay-up, but stuck with the play and had the put back to give the Gophers a 58-56 lead. Robinson came up with a big rebound off a Dials miss and converted on both free throws after being fouled with under four seconds remaining, giving Minnesota the 60-56 win.

The Gophers had the lead for most of the game, including an 11-point lead, 19-8, about halfway through the first half. The Gophers used its inside game of Jeff Hagen, Spencer Tollackson and Colmean to build the early lead, but suffered a major blow with a few minutes remaining in the first half when Hagen went down a sprained knee.

With Hagen out, Coleman, Tollackson and J’Son Stamper took turns guarding big man Dials and received great double teams from the guards every time Dials touched the ball.

Grier, who had 22 points and 12 rebounds, was very quiet in the first half (only scoring three points) but he did a great job of staying patient and playing within the offense. When he found his groove in the second half, he absolutely took over the game. Grier again displayed his athleticism and incredible body control in a crowded lane. He came up with some big steals and hit big free throws down the stretch.

This was a huge win for the Gophers as it improved them to 13-4 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten. More importantly, the win showed the Gophers that they can come-from-behind down the stretch in a hostile environment and can rely on tough defense on an off shooting night (the Gophers shot 38.3% from the field and 25% from behind the arc).

Minnesota, which has now won 11 of its last 12 games, will battle #16/19 Michigan State at The Barn on Saturday at 3:30.