Coach Tubby Smith is watching his Gophers team to not allow “selfishness to rear its ugly head.”  Leading scorer Lawrence Westbrook said “nothing really concerns” him about Purdue.

Whatever the mindsets of coaches and players, tonight’s game at Williams Arena against No. 3 ranked Purdue is an extraordinary challenge and opportunity for the Gophers.  Minnesota (7-7 in the Big Ten, 16-10 overall) played impressively in home victories last week over Wisconsin (68-52) and Indiana (81-58) and created momentum toward a possible, though unlikely, season ending run of wins that could boost the Gophers’ resume enough to receive an NCAA tournament invitation.

Starting with Purdue, Minnesota might have to win three of its last four Big Ten regular season games and then earn one or two more victories in the conference tournament.  Not likely since Purdue (11-3 in the Big Ten and 23-3 overall) will come ready to play tonight, and then the Gophers have road games at Illinois and Michigan before ending the season at home against Iowa on March 7.  The Gophers’ road record in conference games is 2-5.

Smith said on Saturday night after his team defeated Indiana that he likes how the Gophers are playing including their defense, togetherness and relaxed nature.  This has been a team with distractions on and off the court, but it is accepting coaching now including the coach’s mantra not to be selfish in attitude and execution.  “That’s always a struggle,” Smith said. “That’s the demon within us.  That’s what we have to guard against all the time.”

The Gophers have used a zone defense effectively in recent games.  Westbrook said the team has spent considerable time practicing the zone and a reason for the success is 6-11 center Ralph Sampson III and 6-7 forward Damian Johnson.  “We’ve got two of the best shot blockers in the country in Ralph and Damian so they help a lot,” Westbrook said.

Purdue had an easy time with the Gophers in a game at West Lafayette in January, winning 79-60. The Boilermakers had 36 free throw attempts in the game to Minnesota’s 25, and Purdue had 11 more points at the free throw line. Westbrook suggested his team can’t expect a favorable outcome on fouls playing at Purdue.

The confident senior guard predicted last fall the Gophers could be a Final Four team so it wasn’t surprising to hear him say this a few days ago when discussion turned to Purdue: “We have a good chance to beat anybody.”

The Boilermakers’ big three makes this a special team.  Guard E’Twaun Moore (18.3 average in the Big Ten), forward Robbie Hummel (16.6) and center JaJuan Johnson (14.4) are among the top 12 conference scorers in league games.  In conference play Purdue leads the Big Ten in points per game at 69.6 and is fourth best defensively, 62.3.

The Boilermakers, who have won nine straight including two recent road wins at Michigan State and Ohio State, are experienced with a roster that includes the junior threesome of Moore, Hummel and Johnson, plus senior guard Chris Kramer, a physical defender.  Purdue entered this season with six players having two or more years in the program. The Gophers had four.

The Boilermakers’ star power and experience could be a difference maker in a close game. If Minnesota can build a second half lead, the ability to close out the game will no doubt be the storyline of the evening.

The Gophers led nationally ranked Michigan State at home in January by 11 points with 10:53 remaining in the game.  The Spartans rallied to win 65-64.   A week ago Sunday in Evanston the Gophers blew a 13 point lead with about eight minutes to go and eventually lost to an ordinary Northwestern team in overtime.

Those losses and a couple others like an overtime defeat in Bloomington against lowly Indiana (3-11, 9-17 overall) have demonized a Gophers season.  Tonight we find out how the exorcism is going.

Westbrook is confident: “Nothing really concerns me about Purdue. …They’re basketball players like we are, so go out and play.”

Comments Welcome

A new exhibit paying tribute to African-American baseball history in Minnesota opens tomorrow at the Landmark Center in St. Paul and continues through August 20.  The public is invited to hear opening remarks at 6 p.m. by exhibit curator Frank White who is also a manager for Richfield Recreation Services.  Although Minnesota never had a Negro League team, the state has an interesting African-American baseball history that includes such baseball pioneers as the great Willie Mays who played for the Minneapolis Millers in 1951 before going to the big leagues to star for the New York Giants.  There is no admission charge to see the exhibit.

This is Black History month and a significant time to recall that almost 50 years ago Sandy Stephens helped lead the 1960 Gophers to a national championship.  He was among college football’s first black quarterbacks.  In 1961 he became the first major college African-American All-American quarterback.

Harvey Mackay, the New York Times bestselling author and former Gopher golfer, will have a book signing from 3 to 8 p.m. tomorrow night at Barnes & Noble located at 801 Nicollet Mall.  His newest business book is Use Your Head to Get Your Foot in the Door: Job Search Secrets No One Else Will Tell You.  Not only will Mackay be autographing books, he will offer some wisdom during a talk from 7 to 7:15 p.m.  Mackay said all royalties for the books sold at the event will be donated to the Salvation Army.

The St. Thomas men’s basketball team, which won a fifth straight MIAC regular season championship, plays in the semifinals of the conference playoffs tomorrow night against Carleton.  Tommies coach Steve Fritz told Sports Headliners he will wait until the playoffs are over before comparing this team with others he has coached during his 30 years as head coach at St. Thomas.  Fritz, who has been the school’s athletic director for 18 years, expects to return in both roles next school year.

Fritz said senior guard Joe Scott, who was a third team All-American last year, would like to play professional basketball, perhaps overseas, after graduation.  Scott, who attended DeLaSalle High School, averaged 11.3 points in conference games and is a solid all around player.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will continue to receive plenty of comment about allowing his league to shut down for the Olympics.  The lost playing time costs the NHL a marketing window between the Super Bowl and baseball spring training, and compacting the league schedule can be stressful physically and mentally on players.

Comments Welcome

This is a big week for Augsburg senior hockey forward Chris Johnson, and not just because his dad Mark Johnson is coaching the U.S. women’s team in the Winter Olympics to a possible gold medal.  Augsburg has an MIAC playoff game against St. Olaf on Friday and the winner plays No. 1 seeded Gustavus on Saturday.  In 25 games Johnson led Augsburg with 16 assists and was third in total points, 26.

Johnson’s grandfather, Bob Johnson, was born in Minneapolis, played for the Gophers and coached at Roosevelt High School before winning national championships at Wisconsin and coaching the 1976 men’s Olympic team.

Freshman point guard Bryant Allen, a wide receiver and punt returner on the football team, played in his third basketball game for the Gophers on Saturday night against Indiana, scoring three points in seven minutes.  Football coach Tim Brewster told Sports Headliners he will allow Allen to play basketball in future seasons if it doesn’t “detract” from football and Allen is making an impact.  Brewster told Allen during recruiting that he could play basketball at Minnesota.

Brewster said wide receiver Eric Decker continues his rehabilitation from last fall’s surgery on his left foot and expects him to be drafted by an NFL team in April.  Decker missed the last four games of the season, plus the Gophers bowl game.  Brewster said he’s talked to several NFL representatives who are “excited” about Decker.  He also said Decker would have been a “cinch” late first round or second round draft choice if not for the injury.

The Gophers begin spring football practice on March 23 and the spring game in TCF Bank Stadium will be April 24.  Brewster said his quarterback depth chart looks like this: Adam Weber, MarQueis Gray, Moses Alipate and Adam Lueck.  Tom Parish, from Hartland, Wisconsin, will join the team as a freshman in August.  “The future is very good at the position,” Brewster said.

Air Force coach Troy Calhoun will be the headline speaker at the Minnesota Football Coaches Clinic March 25-27 at the Doubletree Hotel in St. Louis Park and on the University of Minnesota campus.  The annual clinic will have over 35 speakers and 70 sessions.  More at www.mnfootballclinic.com.

Comments Welcome