Gophers stop long losing streak against Illini

February 3, 1999 marked the last time Minnesota defeated Illinois in men's basketball competition--and that win was later vacated due to NCAA sanctions. A full decade later, the Golden Gophers not only solved their nemesis, but destroyed the Illini so thoroughly that the weight of a 20-game losing streak lifted from the shoulders of the men from Minneapolis.
 
It was one of those games Thursday night at Williams Arena. Even though the current Minnesota team was in grade school the last time the Gophers topped the sons of Champaign (and in preschool when the Gophers registered their last official win over Illinois, in 1993), it felt as though every player in a gold jersey wanted to unleash 10 years of pent-up frustrations on the blue-shirted visitors. Smothering Illinois with flawless lock-down defense at all spots on the floor, UM rolled to a 59-36 victory that solidified the Gophers' place in the upper division of the conference. 

One didn't need to do a lot of guesswork or careful calculation to understand how Minnesota ran away with this crucial contest. Yes, the big key to this game was that Gopher coach Tubby Smith wore his jacket for the entire 40-minute duration. Any observant college basketball fan knows that Smith regularly sheds his jacket in the second half of a close game, when the national champion bench boss feels the need to encourage his team in a physically active manner. But as long as his team is cruising, Smith stays mellow, with a fine set of threads draped over his back. As his squad squashed Bruce Weber's bunch and pulled away late, a jacket with his new school's maroon color remained on Smith's shoulders. The rare sight on the sideline matched the equally unusual events that took place on the 94-foot hardwood slab.
 
In all seriousness, Smith's jacket naturally had nothing to do with the outcome; instead, it was the ability of Minnesota to put Illinois' offense in a straitjacket. Possession after possession, the Illini ran their halfcourt sets, only to have UM defenders waiting for them at the end of a curl move, a cut, a flare, or any other movement designed to free up an open shooter. In the backcourt and in the low blocks, the Gophers had a defender with appreciable length who could neutralize one of Weber's more potent scorers. Demetri McCamey (3-of-10 shooting) and Alex Legion (2-of-8) were erased by Al Nolen, Paul Carter, and the rest of the Gophers' rangy perimeter players. In the paint, Ralph Sampson III bothered Illinois center Mike Tisdale into a 2-of-9 performance from the floor. When all was said and done, the Illini made just 15 total shots (out of 51), 2 3-point field goals (out of 16), and a mere 4 free throws (out of only 7 attempts). 

In the days before the shot clock came to college basketball, a team could score 36 points, stall, and find itself in the thick of the fight until a game's final seconds. In the shot clock era, however, 36 points spell certain defeat. The Gophers were able to cruise on a night when they didn't even crack the 60-point mark in their own right--their defense was that dominating, their determination that evident on a night when Tubby Smith's offense hardly lit up the scoreboard.
 
Go ahead, tell Minnesota that it's struggling at the offensive end and has been skating by in Big Ten play. The Gophers can defend at a high level, and that's why the league's most surprising program has a 6-3 record and sole possession of third place. With more defensive outings such as this one, Tubby's troops will march to the Madness, a Dance card firmly lodged in their hands.
 

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