Gophers Get by Indiana
February 10, 2009

For the second time this season, the Minnesota Gophers struggled but beat the Indiana Hoosiers, a team that has struggled but not beaten many teams in the Big Ten this season. Beset by turnovers, poor rebounding, and bad shooting, the Hoosiers dropped to 1-10 in conference play with a 62-54 loss to the Gophers, who upped their Big Ten record to 7-5.

Minnesota had beaten the Hoosiers by four points in Indiana on January 25 and should have handled the return meeting with greater ease, particularly with Devan Dumes, the Hoosiers’ leading scorer, out because of a suspension by Indiana coach Tom Crean.

Indiana had four freshmen in its starting lineup, including all three guards, and Minnesota took advantage of turnovers, many unforced, to build an early lead. The Hoosiers didn’t help themselves by missing five of their first six free throws. In the first half, Indiana had 15 turnovers and shot only 35.3 percent from the field. The field-goal percentage included only 1-of-7 three-point attempts, after the Hoosiers had averaged 47.4 percent from beyond the arc in their last five games.

Nevertheless, the Gophers could manage only a 27-20 lead at the intermission. The Hoosiers heated up a bit from the field in the second half, and Matt Roth connected on three three-pointers, the last of which gave Indiana a 34-33 lead with 12:47 left in the second half.

However, the Gophers responded with a lay up by Paul Carter to retake the lead and start an 11-point run that put them in control. Coming off the bench, Carter scored 19 of his game-high 22 points in the second half. The only Minnesota player in double figures in scoring, Carter added six rebounds, second to Ralph Sampson, who had seven. In the game, the Gophers outrebounded Indiana 34-25 with 18 of Minnesota’s rebounds coming off the offensive boards. Led by Al Nolen with four, the Gophers had 14 steals in the game. Nolen also topped the Gophers with five assists.

All of the Indiana scoring was done by freshmen. The backcourt of Verdell Jones, Nick Williams, and Roth accounted for most of the Hoosiers scoring with 18, 13, and 11 points respectively. Reserves Malik Story and Daniel Moore had scored 9 and 1, respectively.

Notes: At halftime, the Gophers retired the number 32 in honor of Trent Tucker, who played for Minnesota from 1978 to 1982. The 1982 team won the Big Ten title. Before the game, Tucker recalled his first year when he was part of an outstanding freshmen group that included Gary Holmes, Darryl Mitchell, and Leo Rautins. Tucker said a close loss at Michigan State early in the Big Ten season stood out in his mind. The Spartans pulled away at the end, led by Earvin Johnson, and Tucker recalled that Johnson showed “why they called him the Magic man.”