Category: Gophers Basketball

How real are Tubby Smith’s revitalized Gophers?  Before the clock strikes midnight tonight the college basketball world will have an answer.

After opening the Big Ten season with four losses by a combined 29 points, the Gophers have won three straight including two games on the road.  Minnesota defeated No. 7 ranked Indiana in Bloomington, beat Penn State by 14 points in State College and last Sunday took apart Northwestern, 75-52 at Williams Arena.

No. 10 ranked Michigan State will offer the Gophers more than a cushy pop quiz tonight.  The Spartans, 16-4 overall and 5-2 in the conference, could stop Minnesota’s momentum inEast Lansing.

The guess here is the Spartans will win but somehow coach Tom Izzo’s team managed to lose at Northwestern (2-5) by seven points and more understandably lost by one at nationally ranked Michigan (5-2).  The conference schedule isn’t even halfway over and already every team in the league has at least two losses and two wins.

The Spartans are among the favorites to win the Big Ten title but the Gophers have a revised lineup that has been a foundation for their winning streak.  Beginning with the Indiana game Smith assigned Julian Welch to point guard and Joe Coleman to one of the team’s two shooting guard spots.  Maverick Ahanmisi, who had been starting at point guard, was benched.  Coleman took Welch’s position at off-guard, while center Ralph Sampson III, power forward Rodney Williams and guard Austin Hollins remained starters.

Neither Ahanmisi, a sophomore, nor freshman Andre Hollins had shown they were effective as Big Ten point guards.  Welch played point guard as a junior college player last season.  His experience, strength and court awareness are superior to his two teammates.

Welch has scored 29 points for the Gophers in the three wins.  He provides stability handling the ball and had five assists in the Northwestern game.  “I love to create for my teammates and see them put the ball in the hoop,” he said.

Coleman has been a catalyst, according to Smith.  “We’ve added some toughness to our lineup when we inserted Joe Coleman,” Smith said.  “It’s been huge for us.  I think it’s been contagious.  Ralph is more aggressive.  Rodney has been more aggressive taking the ball to the basket.  So I think our entire team has certainly benefitted.”

Coleman was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week last week after averaging 15.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in the Indiana and Penn State wins.  Against Northwestern he had 16 points and five rebounds.

If Welch, Coleman and their teammates produce a win tonight, it could indicate that despite the slow start this team intends to have plenty to say about the Big Ten race all the way to the end.

The Gophers have lost 14 of their last 15 Big Ten games but athletic director Joel Maturi expressed strong support for coach Tubby Smith in an interview last week with Sports Headliners.

Minnesota is 0-4 in conference games after last night’s 79-66 loss to Purdue at Williams Arena.  The Gophers closed last season by losing 10 of their final 11 league  games including one in the Big Ten Tournament.  Minnesota has also lost 10 consecutive games against Big Ten opponents.  The streak is the longest since the 2007 and 2008 seasons when the Gophers also had a combined 10 game losing streak.  Nine of the defeats were in 2007.

“I think we’re very lucky to have Tubby Smith as our basketball coach here,” Maturi said.  “I think it’s a situation where we’ve had some unfortunate things happen to the program.  …You tell me the players that have been injured.  You tell me the players that have left.

“We all take responsibility for some of those actions including Joel Maturi.  But it does have an impact — sometimes immediately — as to wins and losses.”

Maturi decided two years ago that high impact forwards Trevor Mbakwe and Royce White couldn’t play until their legal entanglements were resolved.  Since then Maturi and Smith have seen several players leave the program including White, guards Devoe Joseph and Justin Cobbs, and center Colton Iverson.

Joseph, Cobbs and Iverson, along with Mbakwe, whose season ended with a knee injury on November 27, could all be playing at Minnesota now.  Not only was Mbakwe a difficult injury loss, but last season senior point guard Al Nolen missed most of the Big Ten schedule with a foot injury and the Gophers collapsed without him.  And also last season Gophers freshman center Maurice Walker was injured in late December and hasn’t played since.

Maturi hired Smith in 2007 after the coach had been at Kentucky for 10 seasons.   He won a national championship in 1998 and had 10 tournament teams.  His worst record at Kentucky was 22-13.

Not only are the Gophers losing games, but many of the defeats are frustratingly close.  Two of the conference losses this winter have been by a combined seven points, and another defeat was a nine point double overtime loss at Illinois.  The situation has left not only Smith and the Gophers frustrated but also fans including season ticket holders who have been informed they will pay more for their seats next season.

An expanded donation program will have most season ticket holders paying more than just the cost of their season tickets as in the past.  Maturi said he believes Minnesota and Northwestern are the only conference schools without such a fundraising policy.

On court losses and more expenses will give season ticket holders pause about renewing but Maturi said the policy will become reality.  “We’re going ahead with the policy we put together,” he said. “It’s the right thing for the long term health of Gopher basketball and Gopher athletics.  And that program has been four years in the making.  We already delayed it one year.  We’ll go forward with it.”