Gophers suffer 8th loss in 9 games 71-59 to Iowa

By: Tony Liebert |
Feb. 6, 2021: A putrid final 12 minutes, resulted in a 71-59 defeat for the Golden Gophers against their rival Iowa Hawkeyes.

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Full Game Recap:

  • First Half: The Gophers came to Iowa City ready to play. Jumping out to a 7-0 lead it looked like they were hunting for an upset. It was a very balanced offensive attack to start the game, with all five starters getting on the board early and Minnesota led 17-15 heading into the under 12 media timeout. It continued to go back and forth, while Payton Willis began to settle in. His six points, four rebounds, and two assists led the way for the Maroon & Gold early. It continued to be a great offensive first half for Minnesota, carrying a 30-27 lead into the final media timeout of the first half. Thanks to a buzzer-beating halfcourt make from Luke Loewe and 11 first-half points, the Gophers led 38-34 heading into the locker room.

  • Second Half: Loewe continued to ball out in the second half. He quickly hit two threes, and the Gophers led 47-42 heading into the first media timeout of the half. Iowa responded with a 7-0 run of its own, taking a 49-47 lead. All-Big Ten big man Keegan Murray began to take over the game on both ends of the floor. Totaling 21 and 12 on the offensive end, and holding Jamison Battle to 1 of 7 shooting the other end. The Gophers could not buy a bucket for 5+ minutes and Iowa took advantage, jumping out to a 64-51 lead with about 6 minutes to go. Minnesota just could not get anything going offensively, and trailed 68-54 heading into the final media timeout of the game. They didn’t have any heroics in them falling 71-59. Good teams win, great team’s cover (+13).

Instant Reaction & Takeaways:

This was a game the Gophers needed to win, plain and simple. I had been leading the charge of “moral victories”, but this was by far the most disappointing loss of the Ben Johnson era. They were controlling this game for 28ish minutes, and then they looked completely lost for the final 12. Jamison Battle not scoring in double figures for the first time this season certainly did not help, but there is no excuse for how poorly they played down the stretch of that game.
Iowa’s defense was killer in the second half of the game, holding Minnesota to 7 of 30 shooting (23.3%), but it just seemed like the Gophers forgot how to play basketball. Everything that was working in the first half completely went out the window, resulting in by far the most frustrating loss of the season. Minnesota thoroughly out-played Iowa for 25 minutes, making this result even more disappointing.

What is Next?:

The next two weeks will determine what type of momentum this Gophers program will have going into next season. With games against Nebraska, Penn State, Ohio State, Penn State (again), and Northwestern, it is by far the easiest stretch of their Big Ten season. Anything less than two wins will be a major disappointment and anything more than three can give Gophers fans something to be happy about going into March.

I still believe in Ben Johnson and I still believe in this program, and everyone reading this should too, but you sometimes have to call it how you see it. This game stunk.

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