Gopher Basketball
Illinois came out fired up and red-hot, and that meant this game was basically over from the start. The Illini took an early 10-1 lead and stretched it to 26-12, thanks to a 4 for 5 start from three-point range. Gopher freshmen Rico Tucker and Spencer Tollackson combined for 7 points to get back within 29-19, but Illinois caught fire again and pulled away to a 47-26 halftime lead.
Besides their 9 turnovers, the Gophers didn’t play all that poorly in the first half. They were aggressive on offense and earned 9 free throw attempts, which helped to offset their 35% shooting (much of which was due to Illinois’ defense). Illinois shot 60% from the field and 7 for 11 from 3-point range though, despite decent defense by Minnesota, and that was simply too much to overcome.
The good news is, Minnesota came out aggressive again in the second half, even though the game was already out of reach. Vincent Grier and Jeff Hagen scored early, and a Dan Coleman 3-pointer at the 14:00 mark got the Gophers back within 16 at 58-42. Illinois answered with another run though and made sure their fans would have a relaxing afternoon.
The Gophers committed just two turnovers in the second half, and they actually played the Illini to a near draw at 42-40. Freshmen Coleman and Tucker and newcomer J’son Stamper were especially impressive with their aggressiveness and confidence on offense. Tollackson also did some good things before leaving the game with a knee injury in the second half (post-game reports indicated that it wasn’t serious). If you’re looking for the silver lining in a (expected) blowout loss, it’s that experience and confidence gained by the young guys in the most difficult game of their basketball lives. That should pay dividends in the future.
Vincent Grier led Minnesota with 17 points. He shot just 5 for 17 from the field, but he did a good job getting to the free throw line for 10 attempts and also had a game-high 8 rebounds. Rico Tucker scored 12 points and had 4 assists (and just one turnover) in a very impressive 26-minute performance off the bench. Dan Coleman scored 11 points and had some impressive moments, although he did have a hard time guarding senior Roger Powell, Jr.
Jeff Hagen had 10 points and 6 rebounds in a solid outing, although Illinois’ swarming defense limited him to just 6 shot attempts and zero assists. J’son Stamper scored 7 points in 21 minutes before fouling out.
As I said, I had no expectations for a win or even for a close game heading into today. My biggest fear was that the Gophers might lose the confidence and momentum gained in Wednesday’s win against Indiana. With a critical game against Michigan coming up, that would have been bad news.
Fortunately, I see no reason why the Gophers should have lost any of that. If anything, they should be better prepared for the trip to Ann Arbor. They played hard, and for the most part they played with confidence. Their defense was pretty good, their rebounding wasn’t too bad (except late in the game), and they had several young guys step up with solid performances. If they play like this against Michigan, they’ll have a chance to win. And if they play like this and shoot the ball a little bit better, I think they will win.
Here’s the box score.
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