Double Dose
December 2015

When the University of Minnesota scheduled a two-game home set with the two Division I schools representing the state of South Dakota, a wise observer indicated it might be likely that the Gophers could lose one of those contests. Never did it cross his mind that Minnesota would go down to defeat in both contests.

Not only did the Gophers lose to South Dakota (in double overtime) on December 5, 85-81, but replicated that feat in an 84-70 defeat on December 8 to South Dakota State. It’s fitting that Pearl Harbor Day fell in between the two games, since both will live in infamy in the history of Golden Gopher basketball. Not since 1922 when Dr. L.J. Cooke’s Gophers lost back-to-back games to Macalester and St. Olaf had Minnesota been so humbled. That team went 2-13 and finished in the Big Ten basement.

An internal audit of the University’s athletic department revealed that former athletic director Norwood Teague was guilty of wrongfully purchasing liquor, gift items, and clothing during his stay in Minneapolis. But perhaps his worst acquisition was that of Richard Pitino as head men’s basketball coach. Not only did Teague fire a competent coach (Tubby Smith) who had taken the Gophers to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but he replaced him with an unqualified young man whose claim to fame was he was the son of a famous coach.

Pitino had some initial success with Smith’s players but soon ran the program into the ground, failing to get a post-season bid in 2014-15. His current team, consisting primarily of Pitino recruits, is woefully inadequate when it comes to rebounding, shooting, and ball-handling skills. The team is destined to duplicate the cellar-dwelling Big Ten performance of Doc Cooke’s 1922-23 gang.

Former Golden Gopher football coach Glen Mason is fond of saying, “You’re either getting better, or you’re getting worse.” After an impressive win over Clemson, Pitino’s boys are tail-spinning downward with no end in sight. To say young Richard is in over his head would be an understatement.

To defeat the Gophers, you don’t have to be the best team in the nation. All you have to be is the best team inside Williams Arena. South Dakota, slated for fifth place in the Summit Conference, was just that. Coyote substitute forward Dan Jech, out of Rochester, Minn., nailed a two-point basket to end the half and give South Dakota a 35-29 lead.

The listless Gophers fell behind by 50 to 40 after a three-point basket by Casey Kasperbauer of Carroll, Iowa, but went on an 11-0 run to take the lead with six-and-one-half minutes remaining in the game. At the end of regulation play, Minnesota could only manage a 59-59 tie. The first overtime ended with both teams knotted at 67.

The Gophers simply ran out of steam in the second overtime, falling behind, 83-80, on a pair of Kasperbauer free throws before crashing to defeat. Out the window went Minnesota’s 47-game home nonconference winning streak.

“We were sluggish coming off the Clemson win,” said Pitino after the game. “South Dakota made plays, and we did not. Our execution was poor in overtime.”

He indicated he was glad that there was little time between the two South Dakota games, so his team couldn’t dwell on the loss. Now they have plenty on which to dwell.

Against SDSU, Pitino’s boys couldn’t get close to the jumping Jackrabbits. Minnesota never led, and by midway in the first half, South Dakota State was up 29-10 thanks to a three-point basket by Reed Tellinghuisen. Courtside Gopher fans sat paralyzed in their chairs. The halftime score was SDSU 45, Minnesota 22. The Gophers were booed off the court.

The second half wasn’t much better. The lifeless Gophers stumbled through a series of missed passes, blown layups, and inattentive defensive sets. The front line of Bakary Konate, Joey King, and Charles Buggs displayed all the finesse and scoring touch of Civil War statues.

The Jackrabbits bolted to a 64-40 lead at the 11:15 mark, and season ticket holders abandoned ship, perhaps on their way to starting a Christmas bonfire with their ticket folders. Few were around to see the Gophers creep within 75-61.

A shaken Pitino faced reporters and threw himself under the bus by repeatedly mumbling, “My fault” and “It’s on me.”

He indicated he “needed to do a better job” of getting the team ready.

“What we’re doing is not working.”