University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Fall to Spartans in Big Ten Opener
12/31/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Minnesota men’s basketball team suffered its first loss of the 2008-09 season Wednesday afternoon at Williams Arena, falling to 10th-ranked Michigan State 70-58 in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
The 21st-ranked Gophers (12-1, 0-1 Big Ten) were led by point guard Al Nolen, who finished with 14 points and seven assists in 33 minutes of action. Guard Lawrence Westbrook added 11 points in the loss.
Michigan State point guard Kalin Lucas went 9-of-18 from the field and led all scorers with a game-high 24 points. Chris Allen hit 3-of-8 three-point attempts and added 13 points for the Spartans. Meanwhile, Raymar Morgan posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds for Tom Izzo’s squad.
Above all, one statistical category led to Minnesota’s defeat on New Year’s Eve: rebounding.
With Michigan State's big men imposing their will in the paint, the Gophers struggled all day on the glass. The Gophers gave up 13 offensive rebounds in the first half, 10 more in the second half and gave up a combined total of 23 offensive rebounds. For the game, Minnesota was outrebounded a whopping 49-27.
“Coach told us they were probably one of the best rebounding teams in the Big Ten,” Nolen said.
Said Colton Iverson, who led the Gophers with seven rebounds: “They (were) obviously a lot more physical than we were.”
Another factor in Minnesota’s loss was the Gophers’ inability to find a groove offensively.
From the onset, the Gophers struggled from the field. Minnesota shot 8-of 20 in the first half, 13-of-33 in the second half and finished the game shooting 39.6 percent (21-of-53). Michigan State didn’t shoot much better from the field finishing the game at 40.6 percent but when you outrebound your opponent by 22, you can afford a lower percentage from the field, something the Gophers could not.
“Rebounding is an area of toughness that we didn’t do a very good job of today," Coach Tubby Smith said. "When a team beats you by 22 on the glass, you have no chance of winning.”
With both teams struggling to find an offensive rhythm early, the game started as a defensive tilt. The first field goal of the game wasn’t scored until Nolen hit a jumper 2:08 into the contest and at the first TV timeout the score was tied 2-2.
While the Gophers continued to struggle to find a way to score Minnesota missed 11 of its first 13 shots from the field - the Spartans began to heat up. After back-to-back three-pointers by Allen, Michigan State built a 10-2 lead eight minutes into the game.
From there, the Spartans controlled most of the first half until a late run by the Gophers got the Maroon and Gold back into the game.
As Michigan State dominated the boards outrebounding Minnesota 13-5 on the offensive glass over the first 20 minutes of play - Michigan State built a nine-point first-half advantage and led 30-22 with less than two minutes left in the first stanza. But Nolen connected on two free throws, shooting guard Blake Hoffarber hit a three-pointer in front of the Spartans’ bench with 36 seconds left in the stanza and forward Damian Johnson added two free throws with 3.5 seconds left in the half and all of the sudden the Gophers only trailed by one heading into the locker room, down 30-29 at halftime.
But just like the first half, Michigan State quickly flexed its muscles. After a free throw by Iverson seconds into the half tied the game, 30-30, the Spartans went on an 18-6 run and led 48-36 with 11:22 left in regulation.
“We came out and tied the game and then gave up easy baskets, which really killed us,” Nolen said.
The Gophers tried to rally back coming within seven after a three by Nolen made it 52-45 with 9:23 left to go but couldn’t make enough plays down the stretch.
Following Nolen’s basket, Michigan State went on another run, this time 12-2, and built its biggest lead of the day, 64-47, with 4:36 to go; making sure the Spartans headed back to East Lansing with the victory.
The final score had both teams, as expected, with opposite mindsets going forward.
“Saying I’m ecstatic with how we played would be an understatement,“ Izzo said, adding his team may have played its best game of the year. “We told our kids we had to match their intensity ... I thought for the most part we did that. The rebounding was unbelievable.”
The Gophers, on the other hand, will look to regroup.
“It just brings us down to reality,” Nolen said of the loss. “It lets you know you aren’t as good as you think you are, you aren’t as bad as you think you are. We have to regroup, learn from this game. and move on to the next one. “
