Purdue vs Minnesota Basketball Recap

Purdue 59, Minnesota 58

It was just another night in the Big Ten. Other than a million different very consequential developments, absolutely nothing happened at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.

It was a very newsworthy Wednesday night inside the building aptly nicknamed "The Barn," because a barn-burner between Purdue and Minnesota just generated enough storylines to last for the rest of the season, on both sides of the aisle. The victorious but physically wounded Boilermakers and the defeated, psychologically crippled Golden Gophers will both look back on this contest and take away manifold meanings about their place in the college basketball world.

The easier story to account for is the narrative authored by Minnesota. The Gophers - in light of all the struggles being endured by NCAA bubble teams - actually had a chance to return to the discussion table after being knocked off by Northwestern a week and a half ago. Coach Tubby Smith's team has never stopped fighting, an admirable trait for a team that's had reason to fold the tent.

One of the reasons Minnesota was barely on the bubble - and not on its good side, either - entering this matchup with Purdue is that the Gophers just haven't been able to close down tight games in 2010. Heading into Wednesday's game, Tubby's troops were 3-6 in games decided by five points or fewer, and the Gophers had endured two one-point losses against Michigan State and Texas A&M. Had Minnesota won just one of those games - especially the one against MSU - this team would have been squarely on the bubble instead of existing as a fringe candidate almost certainly ticketed for the NIT.

Yet, for all their last-second stomach-punch losses, the guys in gold still had a shot to turn around their season at a late date. A signature win over a top 5 team in control of the Big Ten race would have propelled Minnesota back into legitimate NCAA Tournament contention, with a shot at an 11-7 regular-season record in the league. This was a time to take advantage of a Golden (Gopher) opportunity, and with 7:11 left in the first half, Minnesota's chances of winning shot through the Barn roof.

At that precise point in the proceedings, Purdue experienced a living nightmare that may or may not endure for the rest of the season. Boilermaker star Robbie Hummel - an elite college basketball player with a blended all-around game and a work ethic to match - crumpled to the floor after his right knee buckled on a drive to the lane. Hummel returned to the Boilermaker bench in the second half, but he missed the rest of the game and will anxiously await the results of X-rays and other tests on Thursday, after his team returns home.

The event - while sad and terribly unfortunate for fans of college basketball, not just Purdue partisans - did give the Gophers an opening on both tactical and psychological levels. With Purdue losing a very valuable player (just as it did last season), the Boilermakers became a deficient team at both ends of the floor. Yet, what was worse for coach Matt Painter was that his outfit from West Lafayette, Ind., was not ready - and understandably so - to absorb the shock of seeing a team leader go down this close to the postseason. What unfolded over the next 18 minutes of game time should have surprised very few people.

In those next 18 minutes - until the 9:11 mark of the second half - Purdue scored exactly four points. A shaken bunch of Boilermakers didn't score a single point in a span of 10 minutes and 17 seconds. A 19-0 Minnesota run put the Gophers in front, 36-30, and while Purdue continued to grope for nonexistent answers, the hosts built their lead to 44-35 just past the midway point of the second half. It appeared for the entire world that Minnesota was going to get its big win, even though an asterisk would need to be attached to it.

But then, the Gophers' old inability to finish the job resurfaced in a big way... as did Purdue's trademark toughness.

If Robbie Hummel can't return in reasonably good form for the NCAA Tournament, Purdue will simply not be able to advance. Hummel means too much to the Boilermakers. However, if Hummel can recuperate in time for the Big Dance - or at least the second round (Purdue should be able to swat away a low seed in round one without him) - this courageous comeback in Minneapolis could mark the time when a Final Four team truly came of age.

Possession by possession, the Boilers dug in their heels on defense while finding a way to make shots. Keaton Grant - the same guard whose play had been so shaky and disconcertingly disjointed for much of January - hit two 3-pointers and facilitated good ball movement in Purdue's halfcourt sets. As a result of Grant's contributions and the re-emergence of center JaJuan Johnson - who was outplayed for most of the night by Minnesota's Ralph Sampson III (21 points and seven rebounds, in what was by far the best game of the sophomore's young career) - Purdue climbed within a point (56-55) in the final 90 seconds and set up a fantastic finish... well, fantastic for folks other than Gopher fans, who would experience yet more disappointment in a season of acutely agonizing outcomes.

After Purdue's E'Twaun Moore and Minnesota's Lawrence Westbrook traded buckets, the Gophers led, 58-57, with 29 seconds to go. On Purdue's final possession, it was Grant who once again rose above his January struggles, nailing a jump shot with 13 seconds left to put Purdue back in front. Tubby Smith drew up a good play on the Gophers' last go-round, but guard Devoe Joseph - forced to fill in for Al Nolen this season at the point - could not stick an open 14-foot jumper from the right baseline. The horn sounded just before Minnesota's Damian Johnson tipped in the missed shot, and Purdue - despite the absence of Robbie Hummel - had overcome a 19-0 run to battle back and win.

Who knows if Purdue will get a No. 1 seed? Who knows if Purdue will win the Big Ten outright? Who knows if Robbie Hummel will ever be fit enough to play his best basketball in the postseason? Those questions won't be answered for a good long while.

What we do know is that Purdue is terrifically tough and deserving of every accolade. We also know that this has been one miserably painful "missed it by that much" season for a gutted group of Golden Gophers and their heartbroken fans. They'll have to settle for the NIT, one year after tasting the sweet nectar of an NCAA Tournament berth.

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