Gopher Basketball
For two-thirds of this game, I was feeling good. Iowa State had gotten out to an early lead, but after that they weren’t able to get any good looks at all thanks to tight Minnesota defense. And offensively, the Gophers were noticeably sharper than they had been all season. This game was truly shaping up to be a big step in the right direction. Then Taylor caught fire after being cold for most of the game, Minnesota tightened up a bit, and the rest is history.
This would have been a big win for the Gophers. Instead it’s an even bigger win for the Cyclones. For most of the game, Minnesota looked like the better team and the better coached team. Iowa State threw up bad shot after bad shot. They made some early, but then their shooting percentage quickly dropped into the 30s, as we’ve gotten used to seeing from Gopher opponents this season. But then Taylor and a few others started knocking down the shots again. They weren’t easy shots (outside of a few second chances), but they went in. On the other end, Minnesota got pretty good shots all night but missed too many easy ones including a couple of critical misses late.
As mentioned, Tollackson had a career night and also shot a very welcome 10 for 12 from the free throw line. He was aggressive with the ball, and Iowa State had no answer for him. Lawrence McKenzie also had a very nice game. He finished with 15 points and also had 4 assists, including several beautiful passes inside. He really played within himself rather than trying to get into a shootout with Taylor. Limar Wilson finished with 7 points and was pretty solid other than a few late turnovers. But beyond that the Gophers didn’t get quite enough contributions for the win.
Up next is Marist in a Thanksgiving Day matinee in Orlando.
Here’s the box score.
Talk about the game on our Gopher Basketball message board.