Incremental Progress
December 2008

Members of the University of Minnesota men’s basketball team continued to advance over obstacles and continue their 2008-2009 season progression with wins over Virginia and Cornell.

On December 2, the Gophers led Virginia at halftime and increased the lead for a 66-56 victory over the Cavaliers at Williams Arena. The following Saturday, also at Williams Arena, Minnesota stumbled against defending Ivy League champion Cornell and trailed the Big Red at halftime by 40-28 before utilizing a stifling defense to rumble back in the second half to outscore their opponents by 43-14.

Each game this season has been marked by steady improvement using a variety of player combinations while overcoming key injuries. Forward Paul Carter has not played since being injured during the Eastern Washington State game on November 24. Against Cornell, starting guard Blake Hoffarber was felled by an ankle injury similar to the one Carter endured. He, too, is out indefinitely. Earlier in the season, Jonathan Williams, Damian Johnson, and Lawrence Westbrook were lost to injury. All three have since returned, but Williams was restricted to seven minutes of play, all against Cornell.

The Gophers came out of the gate flat against Cornell and soon found themselves trailing 5-0 before deadlocking the game at eight with a Hoffarber three-point basket. The game stayed close until six minutes remained in the half when Cornell, led by Eden Prairie, Minn., high school graduate Ryan Wittman, the Big Red took a 12-point lead. Wittman, son of former Minnesota Timberwolves coach Randy Wittman, had 16 points and was four-for-seven from beyond the three-point line.

“Cornell was a very tough opponent,” Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith said following the game. “I would not say that we were not ready for them, but we got into some foul trouble, then Blake Hoffarber turned his ankle.

“In the second half, we were able to trap the ball,” he said. “We were working harder. Our kids have shown that type of resilience and adaptability. Sometimes concentration can be an issue with our young players, and it can even be a problem with me.”

Smith felt that in the second half, his team “started getting some energy, and the fans were unbelievably supportive. Travis Busch came off the bench and gave us a big lift with his hustle and toughness and making shots as well. Once you start making shots and getting turnovers, you have a little more energy.” Busch played nine minutes in the second half. He finished with eight points.

With starting center Colton Iverson in foul trouble, 6-11 Ralph Sampson III provided a key second-half spark with a slam dunk. “The thing that lit me on fire was when I saw Ralph get that slam dunk,” Johnson said. The majority of crowd members also were ignited and elevated the noise level in the arena to Big Ten levels. The crowd was announced at 12,615

“I trust our kids will come in to the game and give us a good effort,” said Smith. “Ralph Sampson played extremely well. He was a big part of setting the tone with a steal at half court. To have a 6-11 kid who can steal, tap balls in, and keep the ball alive is impressive.”

Sampson was less effective against Virginia (his father’s alma mater) earlier in the week. Although he recorded 17 minutes of playing time, he was 0-2 from the field and had only one rebound. Iverson led all scorers against the Cavaliers with 14 points. He also pulled down seven rebounds.

A national television audience watched the game, part of the annual Atlantic Coast Conference/Big Ten Challenge series. Virginia was the pre-season pick to finish 12th in the 12-team ACC but quickly showed that assessment to be premature. The Cavaliers arrived at Williams Arena with a trio of sharpshooters led by freshman guard Sylven Landesberg, who was averaging 20.8 points per game. Other Virginia standouts were sophomore Mike Scott (12 ppg) and freshman Sammy Zeglinski (13.8 ppg). The Cavaliers arrived in Minneapolis fresh on the heels of a narrow 73-70 loss to highly-ranked Syracuse.

Virginia grabbed a 16-11 lead on a resounding dunk shot by 6-5 forward Mamadi Diane. A pair of free throws by Westbrook pushed Minnesota into an 19-18 lead, and the Gophers held on for a 32-29 halftime advantage. Neither team had a scorer in double figures in the first half.

The second half saw Minnesota capitalizing on Virginia turnovers that led to an 11-4 run and a 10-point lead. The Cavaliers did cut the lead to four with a little more than 10 minutes left in the contest, but Hoffarber’s fourth three-pointer of the game sealed Virginia’s fate. The high-scoring Landesberg was held to 10 points, four in the second half. Reserve Jamil Tucker hit on four three-pointers for Virginia.

“It was a good win for us against a quality team,” said Smith. “They are a very young team similar to us. We did the things we had to do to get the win. We passed this test. We didn’t shoot the ball very well, but we were consistent with our defense and were able to make adjustments. We were quick to the ball and trapped well. We were able to get second shots [after] taking it to the basket.”