FanNation - The Republic of Sport

So if you hadn't heard, and I'm guessing you hadn't, Sixth seeded Minnesota had to come back from 13 down at the half to defeat 11th seeded Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament.

This was an incredibly well played game, especially by Northwestern, but there was no excuse for the Gophers to only hold the lead once in the first half, (in the first minute, a 2-0 lead) and then not agian until there were four minutes remaining. This is a team that just beat Northwestern 92-72 a few weeks ago, and now they were in jeopardy of losing to a team that went 1-17 in conference play.

Though, credit should be given to the Minnesota team, they came back against a very resilient, disciplined Northwestern team, coached by a guy who is very hard to come back against in Bill Carmody. Lawrence Westbrook, NOT Lawrence McKenzie had a career day, which helped to quell the response by the Wildcats, who went completely ice cold in the second half. 

Another place where "props" should be given is that the Gopher team responded in the second half, without Spencer Tollackson, their senior center, who put up 19 on Northwestern last time, and absolutely dominated the Wildcats in the low post.

Both teams relied on three guys, and in the end, Minnesota's made the shots when it mattered, and they led the Gophers to the victory.

The problem with the Tollackson injury will show up tonight, when Minnesota takes on a slumping Indiana team. They have a severe drought in depth down low, and that showed last time the Gophers took on Indiana, on 3-5, when DJ White destroyed the Gophers with 17 points, and Eric Gordon dropped 20. The Gophers learned then that Dan Coleman, Jonathan Williams, and Damian Johnson cannot stop White, and without Tollackson, the Gophers will have a tough time with Indiana tonight.

If the Gophers want to win tonight, they need to do several things. They need to shut down White and Gordon, one of whom may (Gordon) may be easier to control than the other, due to Minnesota having quick guards (Al Nolen, Lawrence McKenzie) who they can plant on Gordon all night.

Second, they need to spread the wealth. In the last game against Indiana, they had two in double figures (Coleman, McKenzie) and then none with over 8. If they want any shot at this game, they need to get Hoffarber, Westbrook, and Abu-Shamala involved as well.

Lastly, they need to make their shots. I know this sounds dumb, but they did not hit consistently yesterday, and that was what killed them against a ball-control offense like Northwestern, but it will do the same against a team like Indiana, only much, much faster. On March 5, they hit 19-49 shots. That won't cut it against a team like the Hoosiers, who can hit quickly and deadly.

Squirrel