MINNEAPOLIS -- As the Indiana Hoosiers knocked down 3-pointer after 3-pointer against the Gophers on Sunday, it seemed as if there was nothing Minnesota could do to stop it. That was evident by Indiana sinking a school-record 18 3s in its lopsided 90-71 win.
It was deja vu three days later for Richard Pitino's Gophers. Northwestern kept launching up shots from downtown, and they kept falling. The Wildcats finished 15 of 32 from long distance Wednesday to sink Minnesota -- as well as the Gophers' faint NCAA tournament hopes.
After Wednesday's loss, Minnesota ranks second-to-last in the Big Ten in 3-point field goal defense. Opponents have connected on 35.8 percent from long range against the Gophers, although the Hoosiers and Wildcats shot at an even better rate.
Indiana did its damage mostly against Minnesota's zone defense. Hoping to have better results, the Gophers switched to a man-to-man defense against Northwestern.
It was the same story anyway.
"You give up 18 3s last game, you've got to try something else," Pitino said after Wednesday's game. "Obviously it didn't work, because (Northwestern) hit some tough, tough 3s."
Northwestern hit 3-pointers at crucial times in Wednesday's 72-66 win over Minnesota. One of the biggest came when sophomore forward Nathan Taphorn silenced the raucous Williams Arena crowd when he buried a 3-pointer at the top of the key to halt a mini Gophers run and put the Wildcats back up by nine at 63-54. Earlier in the game, Northwestern hit four straight 3s to go from a seven-point deficit to a five-point lead. And Wildcats freshman Vic Law connected on three straight triples early in the second half. In all, six different players hit at least one 3-pointer for Northwestern, with Bryant McIntosh leading the way with four.
No matter what the Gophers did defensively, it didn't seem to matter. Northwestern was able to find the open shot, whether it be off a screen or via ball rotation. The end result left Minnesota scratching its head for a second straight game, wondering how to go about slowing down the other team's long-distance attack.
"I don't know what we can do," Gophers senior guard DeAndre Mathieu said Wednesday. "I guess we've got to do a better job of contesting. Earlier in the year we were doing a really good job of getting to guys and contesting shots. I don't think we're doing that as well lately."
Minnesota better figure it out in a hurry. The Gophers' next three games will be tough enough without having to worry about limiting 3-pointers. Pitino and his team head to Madison for a date with the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday before another road game next week against Michigan State, and then back home for another game against Wisconsin.
The Badgers are in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten in terms of 3-point shooting, hitting 35.1 percent of their shots from downtown this season -- slightly below Northwestern's season average. The Spartans, however, are one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the conference. Michigan State trails only Indiana in that category, with a 3-point percentage of 39.8.
On the flip side, only Northwestern (37.5 percent) has had a harder time of stopping opponents from long range than Minnesota.
"We're just not communicating on defense," said Gophers freshman guard Nate Mason. "We worked at it in practice and we got here and we lost it. We just need to get back in the gym, get better and find a way to communicate on the court."
Communication was a big problem Wednesday for the Gophers defensively, but it was far from the only issue. Minnesota also allowed Northwestern to grab 11 offensive rebounds and cash in 20 points off those rebounds. A handful of those shots were 3-pointers. Doing a better job on the boards could help the Gophers shore up their struggles to contest the long-range shots.
As Northwestern started to heat up from 3-point distance Wednesday, that sense of deja vu crept into the minds of the Gophers players. The Wildcats were 9 of 17 at halftime and were on pace to match the 18 3-pointers Minnesota allowed just a few days earlier.
Northwestern finished with 15 makes from downtown, which was enough to hand the Gophers another tough loss. There might be more losses on the horizon if Minnesota continues to surrender as many 3-pointers as it has over the last two games.
"It has to get in their minds. It is deflating," Pitino said. "You've got to get mentally tougher, and that's the reality of it."
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