Gopher Basketball
Iowa played a pretty solid game. They made 7 three-pointers and did a good job on the boards. They also played excellent defense. They made it very difficult for the Gophers to get into any sort of offensive rhythm. The big difference, though, was from the free throw line. The Hawkeyes attempted 40 free throws while the Gophers shot just 14. Ordinarily you might suspect some homecourt officiating, but that wasn’t the case. Iowa was just very aggressive taking the ball to the basket, while Minnesota wasn’t.
It’s hard to say the Gophers played bad, but they definitely didn’t shoot the ball very well. There were 6 or 7 airballs that I can remember, and that’s never a good sign. What was a good sign was the strong play of some of the underclassmen. Ryan Wildenborg played by far his best game as a Gopher. He finished with 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks, which are all probably career highs. Ryan played 21 minutes in his second-consecutive start and looked pretty comfortable out there. He was a big factor on the offensive boards and had at least 3 tip-ins. He also hit both of his free throws, which is always nice to see in a big man. The announcers commented several times on Ryan’s good hands, and I would have to agree. He has the potential to be a pretty solid player in another year or two.
Kevin Burleson finished with a team-high 14 points in a team-high 28 minutes. He hit four 3-pointers and also dished out 5 assists (a couple of which were very nice plays). I still would like to see Kevin drive to the basket more, but he’s still playing quite well for a freshman. Another freshman who has been playing pretty well is Shane Schilling. Shane had an off shooting day and finished with just 8 points, but I thought he played one of his better defensive games. He guarded Rob Griffin quite a bit, and Griffin finished with just 8 points compared to the 29 he put up the first time they played. The three freshman combined to score 32 of the team’s 59 points, and when you add Mike Bauer to the mix this class is looking pretty good.
Now one of the team’s grizzled veterans, sophomore Dusty Rychart scored 10 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Dusty didn’t do too much to stand out, but he had his usual solid game. Mitch Ohnstad and Terrance Simmons really struggled today. Mitch finished with 3 points, and Terrance was held scoreless. Both played just 24 minutes. Getting many of their minutes was walk-on Ryan Keating. Ryan played a career-high 21minutes and was very solid. He didn’t score (mainly because he didn’t shoot), but he only committed one turnover which is pretty impressive since he handled the ball a lot. Ryan’s one of the better shooters on the team, and even though he’s not a scorer, I’d still like to see him take a few shots. Nick Sinville played just 15 minutes but did some solid things. He finished with 6 points and 5 rebounds and had one very nice drive to the hoop as well as one big dunk. Kyle Sanden played just 14 minutes and was in some foul trouble. He scored 7 points on 3 for 5 shooting including a 22-footer early in the game.
The Gophers finish the season with two very difficult games – at Michigan State Wednesday and at home against Ohio State on Saturday. Neither game will be easy, but hopefully Minnesota will at least be able to build up a little confidence heading into the Big Ten Tournament.
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