Gopher Men at First Glance: In Search of a 3-Point Shot

It was a game of runs. It would be too much to say the game was in doubt. In fact you could say that the Gophers were in command...sometimes. But Bemidji State was in command sometimes, too. It was a game of runs. And Tubby Smith's Gophers got the 1st one and they got the last one, and so they survived the Beavers 71-58.

Minnesota took an early 8-0 lead and then (after Bemidji closed within 14-12) had another early 8-0 run to lead 22-12. Bemidji got back within 26-21 but then the Gophers led 30-21 at the half.

The early second half was just about the only time that the two teams played evenly. The Gophers stretched their lead to 39-26 but Bemidji came back within 47-40. A 12-2 Gopher run pretty much put the game away at 59-42 at 8:01. But the Beavers came back again to within 65-56 at 4:21 and 67-58, but they failed to score in the final 3:09.

Statistically, the Gophers won the possession game. The turnovers were even at 14, but Minnesota got 16 offensive boards to Bemidji's 6, and as a result got 59 FGA and 19 FTA. The Beavers had 54 FGA and just 9 FTA. Overall the rebounds were Minnesota 45 Bemidji 23.

But statistically, let's be honest. The Gophers lost the shooting contest. Bemidji hit 10-of-25 3 pointers, and considering that one of the Gophers chief weaknesses last year was 3-point defense, this is not a good sign. David Berthene, who scored 5 ppg last year, led the Beavers with 5-of-11 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc. Overall, Bemidji hit 10-0f-25 3s.

The Gophers, whom Tubby described just the day before this game as one of his best shooting groups, made 1-of-7 3s and 12-of-19 FT. They made 28-of-52 2-point FG, however, as Trevor Mbakwe and Ralph Sampson III dominated inside. They made 7-of-8 between them in the 1st half and 8-of-14 in the 2nd. Mbakwe finished with 17 points and 11 boards, Sampson 15 and 4 boards. Rodney Williams scored 10 (mostly on a shocking 6-of-6 from the FT line) and added 4 boards.

During that decisive 12-2 run, Mbakwe (twice) and Sampson scored off the offensive glass.

Back out on the perimeter, Tubby decided to start Andre and Austin Hollins. Andre, the freshman, had 8 assists and no turnovers, but shot just 2-of-7 for 6 points. Austin, the sophomore, shot 3-of-6 for 7 points, with 3 assists and 1 turnover. These may very well be your starting guards the entire way.

Freshman guard Joe Coleman added 7 points but shot 1-of-4 FT and had 2 turnovers and no assists. Chip Armelin had 2 points and 4 turnovers. Maverick Ahanmisi, Elliott Eliason and Oto Oseniaks played 10 to 13 minutes and didn't do a whole lot either good or bad (5 points on 2-for-10 shooting among them).

So, in summary: I said the game was never really in doubt. But, think about it this way. The Gophers spotted their opponent a 30-3 lead on 3-point shots. Minnesota got 10 more offensive boards and converted their opportunities smartly from 2-point range (54 percent) and outscored Bemidji 56-24 on 2-pointers. Plus the Gophers got to the FT line 10 extra times and converted 8 more FT than Bemidji. Add it all together and it was enough to overcome that 30-3 deficit against a team that went 11-15 last year in D2.

But, let me ask you this: Does this sound like a winning formula in the Big 10?