Gophers Disappoint Again
February 19, 2014

Despite a coaching change, the University of Minnesota men’s basketball team found itself in approximately the same position in 2014 than it did in 2013 when the Gophers took the floor against Illinois on February 19.

Just as in last season, the Gophers needed a win to stay in contention for a NCAA tourney bid. And, just as in last season, they lost. This year, it was Illinois who thumped Minnesota, 62-49. Last year, on February 20, 2013, it was Ohio State who won over the Gophers in Columbus, 71-45. That team, coached by Tubby Smith, eventually made the tournament and finished with a 21-13 record. This year, Tubby’s replacement, Richard Pitino, will have to pull a rabbit out of his hat to duplicate what Tubby did.

Remember, athletic director Norwood Teague indicated that Tubby was not good enough to keep his job. The myth that Tubby left the cupboard bare is just that, a myth. True, Pitino’s team doesn’t have a rebounder like Trevor Mbakwe, but Smith didn’t have a point guard equal to the talents of DeAndre Mathieu. If the Gophers don’t get in the NCAA tournament this year, the failure is on Pitino’s head.

Against Illinois, Pitino’s Gophers came unglued against a team that carried a 3-10 Big Ten record into the Barn. Minnesota jumped off to leads of 14-3, 16-6, and 21-11, then went numb. The Gophers stood around and watched the Illini climb to within 27-24 at halftime.

Whatever Pitino told the Gophers during the break didn’t work. Minnesota fell behind 40-35, then it was 47-37. Illinois freshman guard Kendrick Nunn was shooting the lights out with five 3-point baskets and finished with 19 points. He had been averaging five points per game entering the contest. Illinois had the worst three-point average in the league going into the contest, but canned eight of 13 attempts against the stunned Gophers. Meanwhile, Minnesota was making only four of 25 shots from behind the three-point arc. The Gophers’ three-point specialist Malik Smith missed all six of his attempts, much to the dismay of the less-than-sellout crowd of 12,221.

Those that did attend spent the rest of the evening sitting on their hands in silence. Perhaps those who did not show up were cross-town watching the Timberwolves defeat the Indiana Pacers. Most of the noticeable Williams Arena cheering came from orange-clad Illinois fans scattered throughout the building.

Any Gopher attempts to mount a comeback were thwarted by wild shots, unforced turnovers, and leaky defensive maneuvering. After the early leads, Minnesota apparently put their game on cruise control, but the vehicle promptly spun off the road.

“In the second half,” a flushed Pitino said after the game, “we did some unthinkable things. We played pretty bad basketball tonight. We missed a lot of open looks.”

Adding to the Gopher woes was a monster game from Illinois’ 6-11 center Nnanna Egwu, out of Chicago. Egwu had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Minnesota centers Elliot Eliason and Mo Walker could only stand back and admire.

“We never catch anybody on an off-night,” Pitino observed. “Being a first-year Big Ten coach, you feel like a rookie. We’re not very confident now.”

The rookie was taken to school by Illinois coach John Groce, who said, “This was our best defensive effort. We got big stops, and Egwu was great on the glass. We played with poise and composure.”

Poise and composure were lacking in a Gopher team that is unraveling faster than a Walmart sweater. Pitino, like Tubby Smith before him, is learning that early season wins are a poor indicator of what a group of guys in maroon and gold will do as March Madness approaches. Right now the only madness in Minnesota’s future will occur in the NIT.

But, what else can be expected from a program that hangs banners feebly celebrating championships in 1902, 1906, 1907, 1911, and 1917? The game in those days is a mere facsimile of today’s basketball. A closer look at the undefeated “Helms Athletic Foundation National Champions” Gophers of 1902 shows victories over South Minneapolis, Minneapolis Central, and Fargo high schools. Apparently the Faribault School for the Blind was unavailable.

The best team the men’s program ever had was the 1996-97 team that lost to Kentucky in the Final Four, but there is no banner for that. Widespread academic fraud torpedoed that team as well as those of 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1997-98, 1998-99 thanks to coach Clem Haskins, who lied about his involvement. The records of those teams and the guilty parties have been erased by the NCAA. The 1995 and 1999 teams also made it to the Big Dance coached by the notorious Clem, but that, we are now told, never happened.