Gopher Basketball
The Gophers didn’t display the sharpness and poise that they had against Indiana last Friday, and they didn’t quite seem to have the confidence that they did against Illinois. Iowa State certainly deserves credit for winning and being the better team on this day, but it’s always hard to avoid asking the what-ifs.
Minnesota certainly didn’t play one of its better games of the season. The Cyclones were given way too many opportunities to crash the boards and get second-chance points. Their trapping press was very effective, but the Gophers helped them out greatly by picking up their dribble in inopportune places and throwing ill-advised passes. Iowa State’s perimeter defense was solid, but most of Minnesota’s 23 three-point attempts were open looks; they made just 5 of them. And misses on the front end of three one-and-ones in the first half certainly didn’t help.
Still, the Gophers gave it their all. In this season in particular, that’s all we can really ask for.
Brent Lawson turned in a solid performance in the final game of his career, finishing with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal before fouling out. Vincent Grier also scored 14 points. He struggled from the field at times in his hometown, but he had his usual strong all-around game with 9 rebounds and 4 steals.
Aaron Robinson finished with 11 points, 4 steals, and 3 assists, but never quite found his shooting touch. Jeff Hagen had 7 points and 10 rebounds in 36 minutes had to work hard for everything against impressive Iowa State center Jared Homan (14 pts, 13 reb). Freshman Dan Coleman scored 5 quick points but was shut out the rest of the way.
And with that, another season of Golden Gopher [men’s] Basketball has ended. While I’m always sorry to see it go, I’m typically glad to be finished writing 50+ previews and recaps. This year, that’s not completely true. The 2004-05 Gophers have been a lot of fun to cover, and I was really looking forward to writing one more preview [against North Carolina].
Oh well, there’s always next year. And unlike 12 months ago, Minnesota fans have plenty of reasons to believe the Gophers will be playing in the NCAA Tournament next year. The season has only been over for a few hours, but Midnight Madness can’t come soon enough.
Here’s the box score.
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