All season, the dynamic duo of Daniel Oturu and Marcus Carr has carried the Gophers. Despite playing a large volume of minutes, Minnesota’s top players continue to fight. The trend continued during Sunday’s game in Madison. Oturu scored 26 points and snatched 12 rebounds in a 71-69 loss to Wisconsin. The Gophers led by one point with 47 seconds remaining, but couldn’t find a way to win.
Minnesota has now lost its past two games by a combined three points. In each of those matchups, the Gophers held second half leads and came up short. In Sunday’s game, missed free throws and poor late game execution again impacted the outcome.
Despite late miscues, the Gophers fought and even trailed by 12 points with 12:43 remaining. Carr and Oturu’s ball screen and pick and roll action was causing headaches for Wisconsin. Carr scored 21 points and stressed the Badgers’ defense with frequent dribble penetration. In addition, Oturu consistently received post touches and was occasionally isolated off the dribble. The efficiency of Minnesota’s ball screen action was tremendous, but the Gophers simply didn’t make critical plays when it mattered most.
The Breakdown
The Gophers quickly attacked the Badgers with post touches and dribble penetration. Oturu drilled a mid-range jumper and Carr finished a tough shot in traffic. Minnesota made five of its first eight shots and grabbed a 10-3 lead. The Badgers answered with an 11-0 run, including a long jumper by Micah Potter. Wisconsin started to push the tempo and moved the basketball well. On the other end, the Gophers’ possessions became inefficient. Minnesota forced jump shots and struggled to move the ball.
In the second half, Wisconsin’s lead eventually stretched to seven points, but Isaiah Ihnen answered with a deep 3-pointer. During a 12-0 run, Oturu and Alihan Demir each drove to the basket and tied the game at 49 with 9:21 remaining. The Gophers started aggressively driving and allowed Oturu to attack off the dribble. He also received touches in the post, which created ball movement opportunities for Minnesota. Prior to Ihnen’s key 3-pointer, the Gophers were shooting just 2-for-15 from downtown. Once shots started to fall, court spacing improved and offensive efficiency increased.
A Payton Willis 3-pointer gave the Gophers their first lead since the 4:27 mark of the first half. The Gophers were doing an excellent job of setting screens at the top of the key, dribbling penetrating and finding shots around the perimeter. Carr was particularly difficult to defend because of his hard attacks.
Again, Wisconsin responded with a deep trey by Trice. The game was tied at 62 when Oturu set a high pick and roll for Carr. He attacked hard off the dribble and finished through contact. Minnesota grabbed a 64-62 lead with 2:49 remaining. Out of a timeout, Kalscheur hit a shot in the paint and gave the Gophers their largest lead of the night (66-62).
A few possessions later, the Badgers snatched a long rebound and found Brevin Pritzl for a corner 3-pointer. Pritzl threatened Minnesota off the dribble and had 15 points, including two critical treys.
Not only that, but during a critical moment of the game, Minnesota made a defensive mistake. Aleem Ford slipped down the baseline and D’Mitrik Trice found him for an easy dunk. Ihnen got turned around defensively and Ford snuck behind him. At that point, the Badgers grabbed a 69-68 lead with 29.7 seconds remaining.
The Gophers had opportunties to equalize the game at the free throw line, but again missed shots. Overall, Minnesota made just 56.5 percent (13-for-23) of its free throw attempts
The Gophers trailed by three points with 12 seconds remaining and Pitino drew up a special play for Oturu out of a timeout. Minnesota’s big man was isolated in the post and dribbled against Nate Reuvers. He walled up hard, altered Oturu’s shot and made the winning play.
The Gophers have now lost five of their last six games, including three heartbreaking home contests. Throughout each of those matchups, missed free throws, critical turnovers and late game mistakes were costly.