Minnesota Golden Gophers Basketball

Saturday in Glendale at Arizona's Stadium Shootout (2:00 EST tip-off, Fox Sports Net), the Louisville Cardinals will face a hard-nosed, fundamentally sound, Tubby Smith coached team. And it's déjà vu all over again.

In less than two seasons, what the former Kentucky coach has done at a school more known for college hockey has been nothing short of amazing.

After a disastrous 2007 season which saw the Gophers win only nine games and coach Dan Monson quit at midseason, Smith has led Minnesota to a 30-14 record and a 10-0 start to this campaign.

Cardinal fans who expect to see the usual star power of Prince, Bogans, and Rondo will be mistaken. But what the Gophers lack in superstars, they make up for with the usual Tubby Smith trademarks: defense and rebounding.

For the season Smith's club is holding opponents to 38 percent shooting, 31 percent three-point shooting, out-rebounding opponents by a margin of four boards, averaging six blocked shots, and forcing 15 turnovers a game.

The interior strength for the Gophers comes from a three-pronged attack led by junior forward Damien Johnson and a pair of freshmen big men, Colton Iverson and Ralph Sampson III.

Adding to Minnesota's strength on the boards is the play of point guard Al Nolan, who is the team's second leading rebounder with 4.2 boards a game. The Minnesota offense is led by athletic two guard Lawrence Westbrook, who averages 14 points a game while shooting 42 percent from the field.

Louisville comes into the contest with only a 40-hour turn around after its late Thursday evening contest in Cincinnati against Ole Miss in the Big East-SEC Showdown.

Possible fatigue aside, Louisville needs three attributes, which have been missing at times this season, in order to secure a victory in the desert on Saturday: intensity, patience, and rebounding.

Intensity

Often this season, the Cards have felt they could turn up the intensity when needed. At times this strategy has worked (Austin Peay); at times it has not (Western Kentucky).

From this game forward there are no more easy games for the Cards and it is time for the team—and in particular junior forward Earl Clark—to step up their intensity and play an entire 40 minutes the way they played the last 10 against Austin Peay.

Patience

When you face a Tubby Smith-led team, you can always expect to see his infamous ball-line defense at work. The Gophers will make an attempt to take away the Cardinals' outside shooting threats, which includes Jerry Smith, a streaking Preston Knowles, and a rejuvenated Terrence Williams (3-6 3PT against Austin Peay).

For the Cards to be successful they must play an inside-out game, working the ball inside to Samardo Samuels and Earl Clark, then reversing for open looks or taking whatever the defense gives them in the paint. Contested three's early in the shot clock is a recipe for disaster against any Tubby Smith coached team.

Rebounding

The Gophers rebound from all five positions on the floor and their second leading rebounder is a point guard. If the Cardinals simply rely on Clark and Williams to do most of the board work they might be in for a long evening.

Louisville needs improved rebounding from star center Samardo Samuels and the guards as well. If the Cardinals can win the battle of the boards it may be a long afternoon for Smith's team.

Neither Minnesota or Louisville has faced a team this season as talented or disciplined as the one they will face Saturday afternoon.

Gophers fans will see a Rick Pitino-coached team full of athletes that will want to play an open floor game and create chaos with their defense.

Louisville fans will see a fundamentally sound Tubby Smith-coached team attempt to force the Cards to grind out a half-court game with its stout defense.

Déjà vu all over again.

Ralph Sampson III is five inches shorter than his famous father, at a mere 6’11’’, and chose not to be the second coming at his dad’s C’ville alma mater.

Sampson plays for Tubby Smith at the University of Minnesota. The freshman from Duluth, GA is averaging six points and four rebounds in just under 16 minutes per game this season. Last night Sampson had one rebound, one assist and two blocked shots in 17 minutes.

According the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Sampson is unfazed by his hoop pedigree. According to Ralph3, last night’s home matchup in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge against dad’s Virginia Cavaliers was "just another game."

This Game Should Have Been Better

Two minutes. Jon Scheyer made a three-pointer after two fast paced, hard-fought minutes. Two minutes later, Purdue finally scored when Chris Kramer hit a jumper to make the game 7-2. It would seem the Boilermakers were a little too hyped to play Duke Tuesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

In the second half, Purdue had another scoring drought of over four minutes. If JaJuan Johnson had not scored eight points in a row, Purdue would have not scored until 10:48 left in the game when E’Twaun Moore hit a jumper.

In the match-up of star 6’8” sophomore forwards, Duke’s Kyle Singler out-played Purdue’s preseason Big Ten player of the Year candidate, Robbie Hummel. Even if the stat lines don’t look as such.

I must admit, even as a Dukie, I did not buy into Singler until a few games into the season. Working hard over the summer to add 10 pounds of muscle, Singler looks the part of a McDonald's All-American. And the game at Purdue furthered my belief—he can lead and make plays in big games when needed. 

Coaches will say no game is more important than any other. That's crap. And you could see the evidence all over the court Tuesday night. Players were diving for loose balls, attempting to take charges, and giving hard fouls from the beginning of the game.

Even Singler seemed to be amped up for Duke's first real test of the season.

Singler finished the evening with 20 points and 12 rebounds—six offensive—and hit shots when his team needed them.  Singler was all over the place with hustle plays, guarded Hummel, and did not allow any east shots.

Hummel was completely invisible until halfway through the second half and then he ended with 15 points and eight rebounds. But his play did not affect the game nearly as much as Singler. For that matter, none of the Purdue players affected the outcome as much as Singler, as Purdue looked rushed on offense and over-matched on defense.

I have never been one to believe stats alone can tell the whole story of a game. Well, Tuesday night it certainly did. Two key stats showed how lopsided this game truly was; Duke out rebounded Purdue 43-26.  And the Boilermakers shot 2-13 from the 3-point line, as Duke went 8-22. Jon Scheyer also finished with 20 points.

Colt - 45

Ralph Sampson’s kid is coming to Minnesota. Tubby Smith had instantly proved his importance to the Gopher Nation as Sampson highlighted the 23rd best recruiting class in the country, but there was another tall post player who was a part of the recruiting class. That player has started all seven games, and Tuesday night in the Gophers' toughest game this season, he had the best game of his short career.

The 6’10”, 235-pound Colton Iverson came into his senior season under the radar in Yankton, South Dakota. Not many people knew who he was, much less knew anything about his game.

Iverson's stock rose to be ranked among the top 150 recruits after a strong senior season when he averaged 17.5 ppg, 12.9 rpg, 2.7 blocks, and a summer where his AAU team won the Hoosier Shootout—he won the tourney's MVP. His stock rose so high, even Billy Donovan and the Florida Gators were interested.

In Minnesota’s win against Virginia, the Gophers looked for Iverson on offense, and Iverson responded, finishing 5-6 from the floor and 4-6 from the foul line, scoring 14 points. He also grabbed seven rebounds—four offensive.

Iverson didn't block any shots, but altered several. Along with Ralph Sampson III and Damian Johnson, the Gophers' frontcourt finished with seven blocks, 14 rebounds, and 20 points—compared to the four best Cavalier post players, who had 11 points, 16 rebounds, and two blocks.

Quick Hits

• What was Miami’s Jack McClinton’s best shot of the night?  After starting off the game 4-4 from distance, McClinton took a shot at Ohio States guard Anthony Carter and slapped Carter in the face.  After a quick conference with the refs, McClinton was ejected.  Ohio State won 73-68.
• The Memphis Tigers blew out  the Marist Red Foxes 100-61.  Here is the stat-line for Memphis guard Tyreke Evans: 10-13 from the floor, 2-4 from behind the arc, 2-6 from the charity stripe—weak. Six rebounds, four assists, three steals, and 24 points. Marist was tough.
• In the same “why the hell are you playing each other” vein, Notre Dame beat South Dakota 102-76. Notre Dame’s Randy Ayers finished with 35 points, six rebounds, shot 9-14 from distance, and 12-20 from the field.
• New Jersey Institute of Technology lost again. Stony Brook outscored the Highlanders, 60-39.
• By the end of Tuesday's games, the ACC/Big Ten Challenge was all tied-up at 3-3.

In Tubby Smith’s first season coaching the Golden Gophers, they won 20 games. With his first recruiting class, they almost cracked the top 20 (25 on ESPN.com). Can anyone say Immediate Impact?

In his first full year at the University of Minnesota, Smith changed the culture of college basketball and the players bought in from the beginning. Winning 20 games was even more proof that hiring Smith was the greatest coaching hire in U of MN history.

Moving into the 2008-09 season, the natural step in this Smith revolution is higher expectations. Minnesota is the new “it pick” in the Big Ten with many experts picking them in the top third of the league and making the NCAA Tournament.

With a good core of returning players with; sophomore guards Al Nolen and Blake Hoffarber, juniors forward Damian Johnson, and guard Lawrence Westbrook, the Gophers had added a talented recruiting class that adds quality depth, something lacking in previous seasons.

Record: 20-14 (8-10 in Big Ten)

Key Players Out:

Lawrence McKenzie, Guard (11.8 ppg and 2.6 apg)
Dan Coleman, Forward/Center (11.3 ppg and 5.8 rpg)
Spencer Tollackson, Forward/Center (9.3 ppg and 3.7 rpg)

Key Returning Players:

Al Nolen, Guard Soph. (4.3 ppg, 1.9 steals pg, and 3.5 assist pg)
Blake Hoffarber, Guard Soph. (8.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, and 42% 3 point shooting)
Damian Johnson, Forward Jr. (7.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg, and 1.4 blocks pg)
Lawrence Westbrook, Guard Jr. (8.5 ppg, 1.9 steals pg, and 3.5 assist pg)

Key Players In:

Devron Bostick, Guard Fr. 6-5 210 Racine, Wis./Southwestern Illinois CC
Devoe Joseph, Guard Fr. 6-3 170 Ajax, Ontario, Canada/Pickering
Colton Iverson, Forward Fr. 6-10 235 Yankton, S.D./Yankton
Ralph Sampson III, Forward Fr. 6-11 220 Duluth, Ga./Northview
Paul Carter, Forward So. 6’8” 195 Little Rock, Ar./Missouri State-West Plains JC

FRONTCOURT

The only player returning from last season that is over 6'7" is the 6’9” center Jonathan Williams. While he is a senior, he has not been off the bench to often, averaging only 13.1 minutes and 3.0 points per game.

Johnson is the most experienced and athletic forward on the squad. While only standing 6’7”, Johnson averaged 1.4 blocks and 1.7 steals per game, saw most of his minutes last season at power forward. Incoming sophomore Carter, who is an athletic slasher with a decent perimeter game, will have a hard time finding time and but if he is on the court, it will be at PF.

Sampson, Iverson, Williams, and Johnson will be competing for the PF and C starting spots.

If Hoffarber never makes another basket in his life, he would still be a Minnesota basketball legend. As a sophomore in high school, Hoffarber hit a last second shot while sitting on the three-point line, not only did it send the state championship game into a second overtime - which his team went onto win - he also won an ESPY. In his first season in college, he again hit an important last second shot in the Big Ten tourney that won the game for the Gophers—click here to see both highlighted on ESPN.

Last season saw Hoffarber receive more playing time than many expected, as he was used mostly as a 3-point specialist. But he needs to expand his game of the dribble if he wants to see more playing time.  Bostick will come in a provide help in scoring and could potentially make the starting line-up at SF.

Joseph will add even more outside shooting plus the ability to get to the rim but majority of his minutes - at least early in the year - will be off the bench. Junior Jamal Abu-Shamla contributed 13.1 minutes and 3.4 point a game last year, but might be hard-pressed to get off the bench unless he improved his game while playing the Jordon National team, if he did, he will add depth at SF.

STARTING LINE-UP

G Nolen, SG Westbrook, SF Bostick, PF Johnson, C Sampson III

FIRST OFF THE BENCH

G Hoffarber,G Joseph, F/C Iverson, F Abu-Shamla, C Williams, F Carter

Check out my preview of the Duke Blue Devils:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/68320-duke-blue-devils-mens-basketball-2008-09-preview

Every day I will give a new reason to be pumped for the upcoming college basketball season. Here's the 74th reason to be excited for college basketball season.

The Big Ten cellar has been the Golden Gophers home for a very long time, but finally that's changed, and changed in a big way.

Stud coach Tubby Smith left Kentucky at the end of 2007 season and took over a Minnesota team that's wallowed in a 1000 lakes worth of tears of pity.

But Smith came with a vision, a vision to take one of the laughing stocks of the Big 10 and turn them into winners with teamwork and tough defense.

In 2008, Minnesota had its best season since 2005, compiling a 20-14 record and a NIT berth. The Golden Gophers finished in the top 80 in offense and defense according to Ken Pomeroy's statistic website.

Coach Smith did it with a combination of senior leadership and underclassmen depth. The two leading scorers have graduated, but Minnesota returns six players who played at least 13 minutes a game.

The Golden Gophers also add new projected starter Devron Bostick, a JUCO transfer and two freshmen, Ralph Sampson and Devoe Joseph, who are expected to be two of Minnesota's top reserves.

Coach Smith also brought in two more reserve forwards, freshman Colton Iverson and JUCO transfer Paul Carter.

The most recognizable name on Tubby's squad is Blake Hoffarber. He's got two of the most memorable buzzer beaters of the 21st Century.

In high school, Hoffarber won his state championship from the seat of his pants. With time winding down, Hoffarber was on the ground when the ball found its way into his hands. Hoffarber put up a shot from his butt and hit it to win the state title.

In last year's Big 10 Tournament, Hoffarber pulled off a Christian Laettner like shot when off a long inbounds pass he drilled a game winner against Indiana.

Hoffarber and the rest of the Golden Gophers project to finish around fifth in the conference which once again means they could be close to an NCAA tournament bid.

This year's Minnesota team sits in a similar position as the 2008 Baylor team or 2008 Miami team that showed potential in the previous year and broke out to have NCAA tournament caliber seasons.

So reason 74 you should be pumped for basketball season is the steady rise of the Minnesota Golden Gophers under the tutelage of Coach Tubby Smith.

What happens when a 24-year-old lifelong Purdue fan attends part of the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament for the first time?

I’m glad you asked!  This is part analysis, part journal...from someone who attended Friday’s quarterfinals in Indianapolis.  And no, I wasn’t sitting in press row, I was in the corner of the upper deck.  No hospitality room for me...we waited in line for our M&M’s and Diet Pepsi like every other common fan.  So what did I see?

Quarterfinal #1  WISCONSIN 51, MICHIGAN 34

I saw a brilliant defensive performance from Michael Flowers individually and Wisconsin as a whole.  Michigan’s total scoring output (34 points) would be decent for a football team, but not so much when playing hoops.  Flowers locked down stud freshman Manny Harris and held him to 1-12 shooting.  Of course, 1-12 from the floor doesn’t look quite as bad when your team struggles to a 20% showing overall.  Harris couldn’t even get a drink of water without Flowers draped all over him, and they both played exactly the same number of minutes (34).  Coincidence?  Don’t think so.

Random side note: The halftime entertainment was a game of musical chairs featuring three Badger fans and three Wolverine supporters.  Each contestant had to run from midcourt to shoot a layup and hustle back to grab one of the remaining chairs.  The final Michigan fan was eliminated when he and the Wisconsin guy reached the chair at the exact same second.  In a linebacker-worthy collision, they met in mid-air over the chair...and the Michigan fan ended up about four feet away on his back.  Best hit of the day by far.  On Wisconsin!

Quarterfinal #2  MICHIGAN STATE 67, OHIO STATE 60

You’ve all heard that it’s incredibly hard to beat a team three times in the same year.  How about trying to beat the same team twice in five days?  The Buckeyes gave a valiant effort (to be honest, they were more competitive than I expected them to be), but ultimately saw their NCAA bubble popped by a resurgent MSU squad in this rematch of Sunday’s regular-season finale.  Drew Neitzel (my vote for Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, by the way) finally played like a superstar in Indianapolis this weekend, and it was too much for OSU to handle.  Neitzel finished with six triples and 28 points while playing 37 minutes. 

Random side note: if Kosta Koufos sticks around Ohio State for a while, he’s going to turn into quite a player.  Koufos tossed in 19 points to keep the Bucks close, and MSU didn’t have an answer for him on the block. 

View from the cheap seats:  Michigan State had probably three times as many fans as the Buckeyes at this session.  Our seats were in the Spartan corner of the arena, and it was loud over there...although they have one really weird cheer.  The band played some song where all the fans waved their two arms over their head like a touchdown signal and then back down in front of them.  My wife described it as trying to wave an airplane into a parking spot near the runway.  Not sure what it means, but oh well: way to represent, MSU. 

Quarterfinal #3 ILLINOIS 74, PURDUE 67 (OT)

This was the first time I’d been able to attend a Boilermaker game this year (even though I’ve seen them all on TV – thank you, Big Ten Network!)  Obviously the outcome was disappointing as a fan, but this was actually a great game to attend.  Purdue started slow, made a double-digit run in the first half to take the lead, and really seemed to have the Illini on the ropes throughout.  It was a five-point game with less than a minute to play in regulation, but every time the Boilers needed a stop, Illinois (and specifically star freshman Demetri McCamey) figured out a way to get points.  McCamey was 6-6 from the three-point line, including the shot that sent this game to overtime.  Purdue couldn’t buy a basket in the extra session and the 10th-seeded Illini advanced to the semis.  A quick look at the box score tells the story: Purdue missed its last twelve shots, while Illinois shot a sizzling 61% from the floor against a team that prides itself on tenacious defense.  The Boilermakers had no inside game to speak of and chose instead to live and die with the three.   They finished a respectable 11-25 from distance, but couldn’t get them to drop in overtime...that’ll earn you a quick bus ride back to West Lafayette.

Random side note:  for as many Purdue fans as there were, it was awfully quiet in Conseco.  One big Boilermaker run in the second half would have put this game away, but the crowd didn’t really get involved.  And no, I didn’t see Michael Jordan (but I looked...since his son Jeff plays for Illinois).  If MJ did attend, I don’t think he would have been in the cheap seats.

Quarterfinal #4 MINNESOTA 59, INDIANA 58

When the Hoosiers took the floor in the final game of the day, it felt like Assembly Hall.  Thousands of Indiana fans made their presence felt throughout the game, and it still wasn’t enough for IU.  By now, you all know how this game ended...Blake Hoffarber’s miracle last-second shot....and millions of people will tell you they were in the arena that night.  Just like Laettner in 92.

I’ll be honest.  I WASN’T THERE.  I went back to the hotel at halftime after basically ten straight hours of basketball to play cards with my wife, mom, and dad and watched the ending on TV.  (Thank you, Big Ten Network!)  Of course, as the drama was unfolding, I had second thoughts about leaving early, but hindsight is 20/20, right?  I’ll admit I was cheering for Minnesota throughout (I mean, come on – Purdue fans can’t cheer for the Hoosiers!), but I was especially glad to see the Gophers win after the officials tried to hand IU the game in the last five seconds.  If all you saw was the final shot on ESPN, let me summarize:

Eric Gordon gets to the line with 3.4 seconds to go and Indiana down two.  He had hit eight of his first nine charity tosses, but can’t get the first one here to go down.  Now it’s panic time...which means missing the second on purpose so a teammate can rebound and score the two points.  And amazingly enough, it works!  Gordon gets about nineteen bounces on the rim with his attempt, and DJ White battles inside for the rebound and puts it back up.  Tie game.  But wait, there’s a foul!  Two seconds to play and Indiana has stolen victory from the jaws of defeat.  All White has to do is make the free throw and IU will take the lead.  And he missed it!  There’s a mad scramble for the rebound...White gets his hands on it...and what?  ANOTHER FOUL?  Are you kidding me?  DJ’s got two more chances now to give Indiana the lead.  If you’re counting, that’s five free throw attempts the refs awarded in a three-second span.  White actually missed the first attempt, but hit the second to put Indiana up front by one.  Cue “Mr. ESPY”.  Blake Hoffarber, who helped his high school team win a Minnesota state title with an amazing shot from the seat of his pants, pulls off his best Christian Laettner impersonation...and Minnesota’s season lives on.

WISCONSIN...MICHIGAN STATE...ILLINOIS...MINNESOTA...so what happened in the semifinals? 

I’m glad you asked!  Check back soon for “Commentary from the Cheap Seats: Big Ten Semifinals”.

Geez…the media is already calling it “the buzzer-beater of the year!”

Did that really just happen? Did the Indiana Hoosiers just lose on a full-length of the court pass with 1.5 seconds left?

Ouch.

One of my roommates is shark fishing in Florida and had asked me to send him updates via text messaging so he would know what was going on with the game.

I was furiously trying to update him with all the action of the last eight minutes of the game.  It kind of went something like this…

“Tied 42, 8 left – Dee fouled out, thank God”

Then..

“Down 5, Gordon at line”

“Down 3, 1:30 left”

Followed by..

“Down 2. Ten secs. We got ball”

“Gordon to line. Missed first. Missed 2d – Dj tip in and 1”

Thumbs are starting to blister at this point.

“2 seconds left. DJ missed the and 1. Got rebound. Fouled. Missed first. Made second, up 1”

I didn’t even bother explaining to him what happened next.  I wish I could have seen it live though. I have to thank local broadcasting and the Big Ten Network for blacking out the IU games that aren’t nationally televised on ESPN, but that’s another argument we won’t get into.

I did listen intently to the little clock radio that was sitting beside me on my desk. 

I almost sent my roommate a text saying IU won, thinking there was no way Minnesota could concoct some heroic last second, full-length of the court play to win.

Good thing I didn’t take the Hoosier money-line tonight.

A Gopher player heaved it down the court where it’s caught in traffic by Blake Hoffarber, who proceeds to spin right, throw the ball up left-handed and cash it.

Gosh. This really did just happen.

Instead of relaying the bad news through the wire, I called my buddy instead.  He didn’t seem too upset about it. Then again, he is currently in Florida deep-sea fishing.

For all the Indiana faithful out there, it could always be worse, trust me.

You could be a fan of Maryland, for instance. (Cough)

They yet again blew a double-digit lead and lost yesterday, ending any hope of a trip to the Big Dance.

Indiana is lucky to even have had the opportunity to win the game late.  Late issed free-throws and poor shooting throughout the game had the Hoosiers fighting an uphill battle just to keep within striking distance. 

Oh yeah, 1-14 from behind-the-ack isn’t too good either.

Eric Gordon was 0-6 from downtown. He finished 4-13 from the field for 16 points, once again getting the majority of them from the charity stripe. 

DJ White finished with 23 points, 4 blocks and 13 rebounds. 

If you are wondering how our Ju-Co friends did:

Lance Stemler played 3 minutes and scored 0 points.

Mike White played 3 minutes and scored 0 points.

DeAndre Thomas played 17 minutes and scored 2 points.

Jamarcus Ellis played 16 minutes and scored 0 points.

Needless to say Indiana got no contributions from its role players. Go figure.

Hey DJ, how's your back feeling bud?

At-large bid, here comes IU.

One and done anybody?

Tubby Smith was all smiles during warm-ups in his first visit to Value City Arena. 

Evan Turner didn’t wait long to turn those smiles into the Tubby scowl we are all accustomed to seeing.  

Turner scored eight of the Buckeyes first 11 points to get the Buckeyes off to a 11–0 start. 

Turner was also getting it done on the defensive end, with four rebounds in the first six minutes. 

A Jamar Butler three-pointer, a steal by Butler, and a no-look assist on a David Lighty three-pointer made the score 17–2, and Tubby was forced to call a timeout at the 12:43 mark of the first half.

Minnesota settled down after the poor start, and closed the half trailing 35–25. After the Gophers started the half shooting one for 15 from the field, they managed to stay within striking distance by taking advantage of 10 Buckeye turnovers and 11 offensive rebounds. 

The Gophers finished the half shooting nine for 18 from the field after their horrible start.  The Buckeyes shot 13 for 27 from the field and were five for 12 from long distance for a 48-percent clip.

Minnesota came out swinging in the second half and cut the lead to 44–41 in the first seven minutes.  A key play in the game came at the 10:20 mark of the second half.  Matt Terwilliger and Butler ran a perfect pick and roll, and Terwilliger brought the crowd to its feet with a sports center slam off the Butler lob. 

On OSU's next possession, John Diebler missed a three-point attempt, and Travis Busch secured the rebound for Minnesota.  Matt Terwilliger ran into Busch going for the offensive rebound and Busch slid across the baseline and was called for traveling.  Tubby got a technical foul and had to be restrained by his coaching staff. 

Butler made his 37th and 38th consecutive free throws, and the Buckeye lead was back to eight points.  A Terwilliger steal and a behind-the-back pass by Turner to a streaking Diebler led to another Buckeye dunk.  Another turnover by Minnesota led to a Turner dunk, and the Buckeyes led 54–42 with nine minutes to play.

Ohio State did a good job finishing the game off and cruised to a 76–60 win.  OSU shot 50 percent from the field.  OSU also went eight for 24 from long range for a respectable 33 percent.  OSU was 16–22 from the free throw line for 72%.

Minnesota never recovered from their poor shooting at the beginning of the game and shot 36.5 percent from the field.  The Gophers also struggled from long range, making only six threes on 27-percent shooting.  The Gophers were not impressive from the free throw line either, going eight for 14.

Dan Coleman led the Gophers in scoring with 14 points.  Coleman also had six rebounds, but his four turnovers hurt the Gophers. 

Minnesota is 12–6 and drops to 2–4 in conference play.  This is the Gophers third straight loss and Tubby Smith is still stuck on 399 wins.  The Gophers next game is at Michigan on Thursday night.  Minnesota is home against Wisconsin on Sunday, Feb. 3.

Jamar Butler was the star of the game with 27 points, nine assists, and three steals.  His ability to penetrate the Minnesota pressure defense really caused fits for the Gophers all night long. 

Kosta Koufos had 15 points, eight rebounds, and was 90 percent from the charity stripe.  Evan Turner continued his consistent play with 17 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.  Othello Hunter had six points and eight rebounds.

Ohio State is 14-6 and improves to 5–2 in the conference.  Ohio State travels to Penn State on Tuesday night.  They also play at Iowa next Saturday. 

1. Indiana

They have a prolific scorer in Eric Gordon scoring 23.5 ppg. They also have a great rebounder and inside scorer in DJ White pulling in 10.9 rpg and tacking on 16.7 ppg. Jordan Crawford scoring 13.5 ppg, Jamarcus Ellis with 8.3 ppg,  7.7 rpg, and 4.6 apg, and Armon Bassett putting up 10.3 ppg, make a great supporting cast. Deandre Thomas is also a helpful as a backup, averaging 5.9 ppg and 2.3 rpg while subbing in for White when he needs a breather. This year's Hoosier squad is looking at the Final Four if not a National Championship. There are high hopes in Bloomington once again. 

2. Michigan State

At 18.1 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game, Raymar Morgan is a dominant force this year. If he can't do it Neitzel can! Drew Neitzel averages 13.4 ppg, 4.8 apg, and 2.7 rpg. The freshman guards also have the ability to put up some big points as well. Kalin Lucas averages about 9.8 ppg and Durrell Summers averages about 7.5 ppg. Don't forget about the sleeping giant. Goran Suton is a beast down low but has touch on the outside. He can score, averaging 9.3 points a game, but he can also rebound averaging 8.4 rpg. This team has a lot of offensive firepower and they are well-coached by none other than Tom Izzo. Their glaring weakness is turnovers. If they can minimize that then they have a good look at going deep in this tournament. 

3. Wisconsin

Trevon Hughes leads this Badger squad with 14.2 points per game. Brian Butch is putting up top numbers in the rebound column with 7.7 per game. He also puts up some good points at 13.9 ppg. This is another very strong squad put together by Bo Ryan. Expect to see them go at least two rounds when it comes tourney time.

4. Ohio State

Losing Greg Oden and Michael Conley Jr. can never be a good thing. The Buckeyes are still making the best out of it as they try to get back to the championship game that they lost under Thad Matta a year ago. Jamar Butler is carrying his team with just a little help from Kosta Koufos. This crew should be an at-large bid in the tourney.

5. Minnesota

Tubby Smith finds himself skipping the typical rebuilding year and skipping to the success. Smith and the Golden Gophers have a good team built led by Dan Coleman, Spencer Tollackson, Blake Hoffarber, and Lawrence Mackenzie. This bunch could be looking at an NCAA tourney bid.

6. Penn State

Geary Claxton leads the team with 18.7 ppg and 8.9 rpg. Jamelle Cornley isn't far behind scoring 12 per game and pulling in 6.5 rpg. If the Nittany Lions can get a signature win against one of the higher teams in the conference then they could possibly be playing in March.

7. Illinois

The Illini really couold have used Eric Gordon right about now. Shaun Pruitt is the leading scorer and rebounder with 12.5 ppg and 7.9 rpg. After that there isn't much scoring power other than Trent Meachem. This team is very shallow and should be in the NIT at season's end.

8. Purdue

There are three players on this team scoring about 10 points per game. After that there is not much depth. They are a team that lacks defense. They do have a signature win over Ohio State  but that still may not be enough to get them anywhere other than the NIT.

9. Iowa

They have two kids scoring about 14.5 ppg. They have a signature win over Michigan State. The problem is that they have lost a few games that they shouldn't have and so they look a lot worse than they could. They could make a strong case for the NIT with one more big win and a strong finish.

10. Michigan

Manny Harris scores 16.9 ppg. DeShawn Sims scores 13.6 ppg. After that the next highest scorer is at around 6.7 ppg. They have no offense if you can shut down those two guys. It's as simplpe as that. They are going to have a very long year. I don't see any postseason action in the near future for the Wolverines. Maybe you should be a MSU fan for a year or two?

11. Northwestern 

The Wildcats have always been the doormat of the conference and, unfortunately for the few fans they have, I don't see that changing very quickly. Sorry 'Cats. Maybe next year.