Gophers Get First Big Ten Win
by PJS on Jan 5, 2011 8:57 AM CST
in Gopher Basketball
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PrintIt wasn't pretty. And the Gophers again didn't look like a Top 25 team. But Trevor Mbakwe, Rodney Williams and Al Nolen did just enough Tuesday night to lead Minnesota to its first Big Ten win of the season.
After dropping road games to Wisconsin and Michigan State, winning at home against Indiana was a must for the team's hopes of a successful season. After the news broke in the last two days that junior guard Devoe Joseph is leaning towards transferring after being suspended for a second time, a win was needed for morale. The Gophers were able to get that done, thanks to a second-half flurry where the Gophers played with defensive intensity.
Mbakwe led the Gophers with an 11-16 double-double in the junior's first game against former coach Tom Crean. Mbakwe was occasionally dominant. During the second-half spurt, Williams showed Minnesota fans why scouts believe he's the most talented player in the BIg Ten. He finished with 10 points and 4 rebounds. An Nolen, picking up the slack with Joseph gone / out, took the game into his own hands during various stretches, playing solid defense and taking the ball to the rim. He finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. That's the type of Nolen stat line we've come to love.
But once again things weren't easy for Minnesota. The Gophers sputtered during a first half that saw Indiana take a 6 point half-time lead. During the opening frame, the Gophers were complacent. They weren't contesting shots. Their defense was beyond suspect. And outside of an early stretch where Mbakwe dominated the interior, the Gophers couldn't put together any semblance of a consistent offense.
Credit Indiana for coming ready to play. Victor Oladipo was particularly impressive. He finished with 13 points to lead the Hoosiers, most from the line where he went 7-8.
Observations after the jump.
Here are a few things that stuck out to me.
Ralph Sampson III: Once again, RSIII played without any passion. I've never been inclined to take not of his dour expressions to make critiques of his game. But Sampson again played incredibly soft. He had the ball ripped loose from him in the paint on a few possessions. His only post move was (always has been I guess) a slow-developing hook shot. And Sampson managed just 3 rebounds. It might be time to let Colton Iverson crack the starting lineup. Iverson played 12 minutes and finished with 4 points and 3 rebounds. Sampson played 32 minutes and finished with 4 points and 3 rebounds. Free Colton!!!
Dominque Dawson: Tubby Smith decided that no matter what players are dressed, the Gophers will always play 10 men. How else can we explain the first half action for Dominique Dawson? He played just two minutes in the first half, but it was surprising to see him on the floor considering how little he's played as a walk-on in the past couple years.
Playing without Devoe: Many asked who would get the most playing time to eat up Joseph's minutes. We all assumed it would be Chip Armelin or Austin Hollins. But on this night it was Maverick Ahanmisi. Mav played fairly well, hitting a couple clutch 3s late in the first half. He finished with 16 minutes. Hollins played 11. Chip played 7.
Austin Hollins: The freshman is beginning to look a bit over-matched. He's tentative with the ball in his hands, turning the ball over twice in 11 minutes. He doesn't seem able to get his own shot.
Turnovers: The Gophers are turning the ball over far too often, 12 times last night against the Hoosiers.
Perimeter Defense: For one night anyway, the perimeter defense was OK. The Gophers held Indiana to 7-20 beyond the arc. But during a couple stretches, the Gophers didn't contest three point shots when they could have.
Up next: The Gophers have yet another tough road test, this time Saturday at Ohio State. The Buckeyes struggled a bit last night at Iowa. If there's ever a time for the Gophers to put together 40 minutes on the road, this would be the time. I'm very much looking forward to seeing Mbakwe battle with Jared Sullinger. More than anything I want to see how Sullinger handles a physical and athletic power forward.
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Looking closely at the box score
I would say we played poorly for 5 minutes. After Mav hit his second three with 5:05 in the first half we were outscored 15-3 the rest of the way. For half of those last 5 minutes Hoff, Absolute Zero and In-N-Out were on the bench.
But outside of those 5 minutes we won the game 64-48. Runs happen that was just a bad one in a short amount of time. Turnovers bothered me but other than that I am comfortable with how we played.
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I have been saying this all year
But this team is only as good as RSIII plays. I know he is not the best big in the country or even in the top ten, but his skill in the high/low offense is absolutely necessary. Trevor is a 8 feet and in player, Colton has really no moves other than a drop step and lay in (and even those are suspect), and his ability is only in the post. RSIII can play 15 feet and in. He can take the jump shot if they lay off him when he is in the high and when he is the low post he has multiple looks that he can show which gives this team so much more versitlity.
I saw at least 6 possesions last night where Ralph looked 100% disinterested and on those possesions the half court offense stagnated. His presence in the half court will make this team go.
it is more than just Ralph
him playing interested and doing his part are critical but even if he plays well we can still suck if others are not doing their thing.
This team is a collection of good pieces and they are missing the one go-to guy. Nolen is a defensive PG who can penetrate and dish, Hoffarber is a great shooter, Sampson can play the high-low like you pointed out, Williams is an athletic burst, Mbakwe is a rebounding machine who scores on put-backs and dunks. They all have to do their thing and do it together. When they do that they are efficient and dangerous. When things are not working in harmony or when one of the pieces isn’t working right they struggle.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
I hear you, but...
Blake is going to find it tough to get a shot if RS III isn’t a threat in the paint. Teams are going to double Trevor if Ralph isn’t a threat in the paint. Al will have no one to drive and dish to if Ralph isn’t a threat in the paint. Teams will drop off Ralph to cut off Rodney’s drives if he isn’t a threat in the paint. Since they don’t have a true, breakdown a defense one-on-one offensive player they desperately need to have a serious post presence or nothing else works, IMO.
Ralph wasn't a threat in the paint last night
Trevor got his
Al was able to drive a lot in the 2nd half
Hoffarber got his, though it was often off the dribble
Rodney had a great game offensively
Obviously things are easier for everyone if Ralph plays well, but I don’t think his piece is any more important that anyone else’s.
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by GopherNation on Jan 5, 2011 10:04 AM CST up reply actions
Indiana is a terrible team
those players should be able to get there’s against a team like that. Against, MSU, OSU, Ill, Purdue, those players will need Ralph. If Ralph plays well we win by 25.
I'm not saying Ralph isn't important
but things all work both ways. Ralph playing with assertiveness and being a factor helps everyone else, but so does Hoff hitting his shots or Nolen finishing on penetration.
RSIII had a solid game at Wisconsin (14 and 7) but that didn’t help enough to win the game. Perimeter turnovers, Nolen not scoring, Williams not being assertive were the primary factors in the loss.
No doubt he needs to play well but he is a piece of the puzzle, not the cornerstone.
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by GopherNation on Jan 5, 2011 10:25 AM CST up reply actions
Ralph
I agree that Ralph is pretty good as the passer in the high-low, but just because he takes outside shots and makes a few doesn’t mean he’s particularly good at it. I’d venture a guess that he’s around 25 percent or lower from the perimeter. He’s often off-balanced when taking those jumpers. And he rarely catches and shoots with confidence.
I might prefer Colton in the paint. That drop step is better than anything Ralph and Trevor can do with their backs to the basket.
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the move is top notch
but as soon as he gets to the hoop he trips over his shoelace, a 6 foot guard knocks the ball out of his hands, or instead of dunking he tries a 1 foot bunny and bricks it. I like colton and he is a pretty good player, but he just doesn’t finish well enough around the hoop to be a good low post option.
I'd argue
In-N-Out is our serious post presence. He is the guy that teams key on and RSIII needs to play off him, not the other way around.
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by GopherNation on Jan 5, 2011 10:05 AM CST up reply actions
right now he is
But because he has no range temas will force him above the free throw line and than back off and force him to hit the jump shot.
Well ..
I’d agree but Mbakwe can’t score on the block. He’s not a serious post presence until he can. Right now he’s a great rebounder. Offensively, not so much.
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I think he's been pretty good with back to basket
he doesn’t have great up and under or hook shot moves but he has shown that he can get around guys and get to the basket. I recall a few times he got it on the block and used a spin move or a quick step to the other side of the lane for a dunk or lay-in.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
He's quick.
But his footwork is well below where it needs to be. I’d prefer, say, Tyler Zeller on the block.
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by PJS on Jan 6, 2011 4:06 PM CST up reply actions
Tapping the Colt
Iverson definitely deserves more minutes than Ahanmisi, Hollins, Armelin, etc. Use Blake as the backup point if you need to, but getting Iverson at least 20 minutes/game is especially important with Mo out for the year. I want Ralph to get his act together, but if he’s slacking like he was last night, Tubby needs to tap Colt-45. I’m hoping Sampson was feeling less than 100% (winter flu-bug?) because it was ridiculous how lackadaisical he looked on the court).
By the way, Mbakwe was a beast. You know he was playing with a little extra against Crean.
Journalism. Enhanced.
Crean
Did he transfer because of Crean? I assumed he transferred because Crean left and would rather go back home (Minnesota) than Indiana where there were a lot of question marks.
I admit that I know nothing of his transfer situation out of Marquette, it is just conjecture on my part.
I think that's right Rencito ..
…. but I also think anytime you’re playing your former coach it adds an extra bit of motivation.
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My Dad keeps talking about this, and it drives me nuts
He keeps wondering what it would be like if Royce and Trevor could have played together. I tell him that it is impossible to know so why worry yourself, but i have to admit that i wonder about it myself all the time. Why oh Why did ne feel the need to rip off a sweater from the Macy’s?
In other news...
…how funny would it be if Michigan has to hire Brady Hoke as their next football HC? I admit that I was on the Hoke bandwagon, but it would be funny to hear the reaction if that is who ends up as Michigan’s coach. I am hearing his name often mentioned for the job.
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