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Home Court No Help for Gophers
January 6, 2015

When Ohio State forward Marc Loving scored with six seconds left in overtime at Williams Arena on January 6, it gave the Buckeyes a 74-72 lead, one that could not be overcome and thus dug a hole for the University of Minnesota basketball program in the 2015 Big Ten standings.

The loss to Ohio State marked the third consecutive defeat for the Gophers in Big Ten play and left Minnesota winless in the conference. The Gophers seldom do well against the Buckeyes, who now lead the all-time series between the two by 84 to 50. Though not as dominant as Ohio State is over Minnesota in football, the basketball Buckeyes are nearly as efficient.

For no sane reason, Minnesota front-office brain wizards forced the team to wear black and gold uniforms, allowing television viewers to think the Iowa Hawkeyes had replaced the home team at Williams Arena. It was billed as a “blackout” event, and it proved to be appropriate as the Gophers stumbled around the court in the first half, and it seemed as if some players were ready to suddenly black out on the floor. A Sam Thompson layup basket gave the Bucks a 17-9 lead with thirteen minutes left in the half, and the less-than-capacity crowd of 13,138 fell silent. The Artic weather outside the building was mirrored by the cold attitude of the fans toward their team.

In order to defeat the Buckeyes, the Gophers needed a fast start and did not get one. Ohio State led at the half 41-29 chiefly as the result of the strong play of D’Angelo Russell, a 6-5 guard who reminded Williams Arena veterans of another Russell, Cazzie. Minnesota in the first half employed the unique strategy of only guarding four players while letting the fifth run free. That fifth man, Russell, went off for five three-point baskets and five of the two-point variety for 25 points.

During the break, Minnesota coach Richard Pitino made defensive adjustments. “We wanted to deny [Russell] the ball. Don’t let him catch it,” said Pitino.

The coach called for three guards—Nate Mason, DeAndre Mathieu, and Andre Hollins to dog every move the talented Buckeye made. The result was Russell was held scoreless in the next 20 minutes of regulation play. This move, however, allowed his teammates to hit open shots, and they spread it around. In the second half, Shannon Scott scored seven points, Loving five, Amir Williams four, and reserve Ja’Sean Tate four.

“That’s life in the Big Ten,” Pitino philosophized. “It’s disappointing. Ohio State was tough and well-coached. We couldn’t get stops. It’s a possession league. We just didn’t make the plays we needed to make.”

The Gophers were, however, good enough to send the game into overtime and energize the crowd. A Joey King three-point basket made it 60-60 at the end of regulation play. The overtime period, however, belonged to the Buckeyes.

Pitino remained optimistic. “I liked our effort,” he said. “We showed a lot of heart. Ohio State just made one more play than we did.”

The 0-3 Gophers thus placed themselves in a perfect position to defend their NIT championship.

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