Michigan State Outmuscles Minnesota
December 31, 2008

“We wanted to improve on our toughness. And rebounding is an area of toughness we didn’t do very well today,” said Minnesota coach Tubby Smith after a 70-58 loss to Michigan State in the Big Ten opener for both teams.

The Spartans survived a day of shooting barely 40 percent from the field by getting 23 offensive rebounds, part of an overall 49 to 27 rebounding edge against the Gophers. Senior center Goran Suton, playing his fourth game after having missed six with a knee injury, led the way with 12 rebounds. Junior forward Raymar Morgan—held to 10 points in scoring, five below his season average—came through with 10 rebounds. Both Suton and Morgan had five offensive boards.

A 22-14 advantage in rebounding helped Michigan State in the first half as did the play of sophomore Chris Allen off the bench. Allen, in addition to two offensive rebounds, hit four shots from the outside for 11 points. The Spartans made only 12 of 34 shots from the field (35.3 percent) in the first half, but second-chance points helped them to build a 23-14 lead. The Gophers finished the half strong, however, and cut Michigan State’s lead to 30-29 at intermission.

Freshman Colton Iverson made one of two free throws to start the second half, wiping out a lead that the Spartans had held since early in the game. But the other two members of the Gophers front line, Ralph Sampson and Damian Johnson, picked up fouls and had to come out of the game. Johnson finished the game with three points and two assists and Sampson with zeros in both categories (as well as many others).

Iverson tried to carry the rebounding load and finished the game with seven, but Smith said they need more help in clearing the boards, including from their guards. “They were more physical in getting position,” said Smith, noting that the Gophers were particularly poor in weak-side rebounding.

The starting backcourt of Al Nolen and Lawrence Westbrook were the only Gophers in double-figures in scoring with 14 and 11, respectively. Nolen added seven assists.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo called the performance of sophomore guard Kalin Lucas one of the keys to the win. Lucas slashed and weaved his way to 24 points, 15 in the second half. “He controlled the game,” said Izzo. The Spartans, ranked 10th in the country in the Associated Press poll, came into Big Ten play with a 9-2 record, with one of the losses to top-ranked North Carolina. Another game against a top-ten opponent, against number-five Texas, resulted in a 67-63 win, and Izzo said he thought the Spartans played better against the Gophers than they had against Texas. “To say I’m ecstatic would be an understatement.”

The Gophers, who were 12-0 through their nonconference schedule, came into the game ranked 21st in the country. However, they found themselves overmatched against the quicker and stronger Spartans.

Notes: The game, originally scheduled for 5 p.m., was moved to 11 a.m. to avoid a conflict with the Minnesota football team’s game in the Insight Bowl. . . . Isaiah Dahlman, a former Minnesota Mr.Basketball, played his first game against for the Spartans at Williams Arena. A junior, Dahlman has not started a game since he was a freshman and did not play in the previous season’s game at Minnesota. Dahlman played nearly three minutes midway through the first half and entered late in the second half after the Spartans had a 19-point lead. The Gophers student section demonstrated a lack of class by booing Dahlman each time he entered the game and each time he touched the ball.

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