Northwestern Beats Lethargic Gophers, 57-49
Saturday, January 7, 2006

Holding Vincent Grier scoreless in the first half, Northwestern’s defensive-minded Wildcats built a 13-point lead, expanded it to 19 in the second half, and held on to defeat the Gophers, 57-49, at Williams Arena.

Northwestern coach Bill Carmody’s 1-3-1 zone defense befuddled early on, and by the time Minnesota adjusted, the closest the team could come to the Wildcats was 53-47 with only 36 seconds remaining in the game. As it turned out, this was way too late.

Senior Vedran Vukusic led all scorers with 17 points, most of which were made at critical moments in what was a low-scoring tussle.

“Their style and the way they wanted to play beat us today,” said Gophers coach Dan Monson. On offense, Northwestern relied on the same deliberate, patterned offense used by Carmody in his five previous years with the Wildcats and four seasons before that at Princeton, where he was a disciple of the intricate attacking style employed by “Back Door” Pete Carril.

Although he indicated his Gophers were not surprised by what Northwestern threw against them, Monson admitted his team was “just not good enough yet to be where we want to be.” Northwestern, he said, “really exposed a team [the Gophers] that has not been together enough and not able to make basketball decisions that need to be made.”

Minnesota has not been able to field a consistent starting lineup all year due to (1) illness, (2) injury, (3) academic deficiencies, and (4) disciplinary reasons.

The Wildcats achieved victory despite the absence of senior guard Mohamed Hachad, out after a December 28 appendectomy. Hachad had scored in double figures in the last three games in which he appeared.

In addition to Vukusic’s 17 points, freshmen Sterling Williams and Craig Moore each tallied 15 points. Moore was especially effective behind the arc, making five of seven three-point attempts, most off screens designed to free Northwestern’s shooters.

As for the Gophers, Monson indicated he failed to see early rhythm in their offense. Northwestern’s defense clogged the passing lanes and, in particular, shut down Grier. His first field goal came at the 17:25 mark of the second half. He didn’t score again for nearly 10 minutes, when his three-pointer cut the Wildcats’ lead to 47-32. Grier finished with 15 points, but the last six came after the outcome had been decided.

The only other Minnesota player to finish in double figures was Dan Coleman with 11. J’son Stamper did not make an appearance due to a leg injury, and Spencer Tollackson, suffering the after-effects of the flu, played only in spurts and was ineffective in his 21 minutes on the court.

Monson indicated that the Gophers needed defensive improvement, although scoring 49 points in a major college basketball game is hardly a tribute to offensive prowess. “I’ve got to do a better job to help them be a better basketball team,” he said.