Gophers Shut Down No. 14 Wisconsin 68-52
February 18, 2010

The Minnesota Gophers broke a two-game losing streak with a 68-52 win at over the Wisconsin Badgers, who were ranked 14th in the country by Associated Press. “That was a good game, a good win,” said Minnesota coach Tubby Smith. “Our guys did a fantastic job. They maintained their poise throughout the game. We’ve kind of struggled in our losses with not being able to finish the games. Tonight we showed some real solidarity, some real teamwork. I thought certainly Blake [Hoffarber] did a great job for us. Ralph [Sampson III] and Colton [Iverson] really played well for us as well. Any time we beat a Bo Ryan coached team we've had to earn it, and we did that tonight.”

The Badgers took an early 6-0 lead on three-pointers by senior guards Jason Bohannon and Trévon Hughes, the latter a finalist for the Cousy Award for the nation’s top point guard. Wisconsin held an 8-5 edge before the Gophers started popping from the outside. Hoffarber connected on a three-pointer to tie the score and Devoe Joseph followed with a bomb for an 11-8 lead. Another three-pointer by Hoffarber caused Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan to call a time out with just under 13 minutes to play in the half.

Wisconsin later tied the score at 16-16 on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Jordan Taylor, a graduate of Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School in St. Louis Park, after an offensive rebound by and pass from Keaton Nankivil, but Iverson put Minnesota ahead to stay with a three-point play.

The Gophers gradually built the lead and were helped when Ryan was assessed a technical foul by Eric Curry (filling in for Ed Hightower, who was injured in a game the night before) after Ryan Evans was called for a foul fighting for a loose ball with Minnesota’s Justin Cobbs after a bad pass by Hughes. Blake Hoffarber made two free throws on the technical, and Cobbs, shooting one-and-one, made both of his for a 35-26 lead, which the Gophers took into the locker room. The Wisconsin coach, shortly before the technical, had been serenaded by the not-so-classy student section at Williams Arena with a chant of “F**k Bo Ryan.”

The Gophers, alternating between a zone and man-to-man defense, held the Badgers to 31 percent shooting from the floor and allowed Wisconsin to get to the free-throw line only twice in the half. Taylor, who came into the game leading the nation with a 3.3 assist-to-turnover ratio, had three assists and one turnover, but Hughes had no assists in the half to go with two turnovers.

Strong rebounding and stifling defense helped the Gophers maintain the lead through the second half, although Wisconsin briefly countered the Minnesota zone with some outside shooting. The Gophers had the ball to begin the half but nearly ran out of time on the shot clock before Joseph took an off-balance shot that barely hit the rim; however, Hoffarber rebounded in a crowd and kept the possession alive, and Sampson sank a hook shot to extend the lead to double-digits. A few minutes later, Wisconsin’s Jon Leuer, a graduate of Orono High School, finally shook off the rust from a layoff since January 9 after surgery for a fractured left wrist, connecting from the top of the key for his first basket after six misses, and Bohannon popped a pair of three-pointers to bring the Badgers to within 41-37. Bohannon connected again from long range a few minutes later to bring the score to 45-42 for Minnesota. That was as close as the Badgers got as the Gophers then ran off 13 straight points before Hughes hit a three-pointer with 1:48 to play. “We clawed back to 41-37 then to 45-42,” said Ryan. “Then we get three straight wide open looks off of two offensive rebounds. Then somebody is going to tell me that we go eight minutes without hitting a shot in there, I just thought that we were in great shape up to that point. We had survived some things early and then we could not buy one.”

Minnesota outrebounded the Badgers 26-13 in the second half for an overall edge of 41-28 on the boards. Although Minnesota turned the ball over 11 times in the game to just 5 for Wisconsin (including only one in the second half), the Gophers, for the game made 23 of 28 free throws to just 5 of 7 for Wisconsin. The Badgers made only 9 of 30 shots in the second half, including 5 of 19 three-pointers after connecting for 6 of 11 from long range in the first half, and finished the game with a 30.5 percent field-goal percentage, making 18 of 59. The Gophers shot less but made more, finishing with 20 field goals in 42 attempts for 47.6 for the game.

Hoffarber led the Gophers with 16 points and nine rebounds. For Wisconsin, Hughes had 19 points and Bohannon 18. Taylor had six assists and two turnovers.

Gopher Holes: In support of Paul Carter and his sister, who has cancer, the Gophers came out with shaved heads other than Hoffarber, who left a layer on top after a buzz cut, and reserve Bryant Allen, who retained his dreadlocks. After the game, Joseph said he thought the headshaving brought the team together. “Just everyone coming and getting their hair cut, everyone has the same look. Guys were excited about it. We’re doing it for a reason, for Paul Carter, just to support him. He’s like our brother so we want to support him and his family, just as much as he tries to support his family.”

Minnesota went with only eight players in the game with reserves Iverson, Cobbs, and Carter dividing playing time with starters Hoffarber, Joseph, Sampson, Lawrence Westbrook, and Damian Johnson. For Wisconsin, freshman Mike Bruesewitz, a graduate of Henry Sibley High School, joined Minnesota natives Taylor and Leuer playing for the Badgers. Another Minnesota grad, red-shirt freshman Jared Berggren of Princeton, did not play in the game.