Minnesota outlasts shorthanded Iowa

Entering their first Big Ten road game of 2009, the Minnesota Golden Gophers needed to produce a strong showing in a hostile environment. Tubby Smith’s team failed in that regard, yet still managed to pull out an ugly victory that looks pretty in the conference standings.

Doctor James Naismith would not have been very impressed by Minnesota’s 52-49 win over Iowa Thursday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Without a typical late-game parade of free throws, this tilt would have remained in the 40s on both sides. Iowa scored seven of its last 10 points at the charity stripe, but even then, Todd Lickliter’s undermanned squad couldn’t crack 50 in a familiar shooting environment. Neither team accumulated 20 made field goals on the evening, as the Gophers and Hawkeyes fell in love with the three-point shot to the exclusion of better offensive options. A 12-of-45 performance behind the arc—good for just under 27 percent—turned this game into a brick-fest, and the only reason Minnesota left town with a victory—and a 2-1 mark in league play—was that Iowa’s premier post player wasn’t around for the stretch run.

In a more immediate sense, the night’s biggest play came when Gopher swingman Travis Busch hit a driving layup with 45 seconds left in regulation to give Minnesota a 48-44 lead, stopping a 5-0 Hawkeye run that chipped UM’s lead to two. But on a larger level, the night’s most significant development came early in the first half.

With 12:06 left before halftime, Iowa forward Cyrus Tate—the Hawkeyes’ one starting senior and the most polished post player on the floor—suffered an all-too-familiar basketball injury. After jumping for a rebound, Tate suffered a rolled ankle that resulted from falling on the foot of Minnesota center Colton Iverson. With Tate unable to return, the Hawkeyes lost something more than a veteran presence. Lickliter’s team no longer had the powerful force who could take advantage of Iverson and Ralph Sampson III, the Gophers’ pair of tall trees who are projects at this point in time. With Tate, Iowa could have done a considerable amount of damage on the offensive glass and forced Minnesota’s defense to collapse into the paint, freeing up the Hawkeyes’ perimeter shooters for cleaner, more open looks. But without their dependable big man, the Hawks looked lost.

Even though Minnesota scored just 10 points in the game’s first 15 minutes, the Gophers were able to stay within six points (26-20) by halftime, because the Hawkeyes couldn’t ring up big offensive numbers in their own right. After the break, Tubby Smith threw his guards into the fray, unleashing the same full-court pressure that proved to be so effective for Minnesota last Saturday against Ohio State. Despite a lack of offensive production—no Gopher scored more than 10 points (Busch and guard Russell Westbrook)—Tubby’s troops forged an advantage because they were able to lock down on defense to an even greater degree. Iowa scored only two points in a 12-minute span of the second half (17:00 to 5:00), and that dry spell—with Cyrus Tate in the locker room nursing his injury—enabled the Gophers to win without playing particularly artful basketball.

Yes, Minnesota won, but it’s instructive to note that even without Iowa’s only quality big man on the floor, the Colton-Sampson combo could only tally 6 points and 5 rebounds for the Gophers. If this game proved anything, it showed just how much work Tubby Smith has to do with his two shaky centers.

The Gophers will always take a win, but after barely scraping by against an Iowa team that lacked its most important player, these Minnesota men have told the rest of the Big Ten that their 14-1 record is more of a mirage than an indicator of excellence

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