By Chris Monter
FOXSportsNorth.com
February 22, 2011
Minnesota's NCAA Tournament hopes took a punch to the gut as they blew an eight-point lead with 4:31 left to fall to Michigan State 53-48 Tuesday night at Williams Arena. The Golden Gophers' postseason chances were already wobbly after losing to Penn State last Thursday and they now need to win their final three games just to finish .500 in conference action.
Minnesota fell to 17-10 overall and 6-9 in conference action as they have won just once in their last seven games. The team continues to struggle without senior point guard Al Nolen, who was also their top defender. Michigan State, which was also in a must-win situation, kept their NCAA Tournament chances alive as they improved to 8-7 in the conference and 16-11 overall.
Minnesota led 21-19 halftime as both teams shot a woeful eight of 24 (33.3 percent) from the field. The Spartans, who are ninth in the Big Ten in 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage, attempted 13 shots from beyond the arc in the first half, making just three.
Their reliance on the 3-point shot against the bigger Minnesota frontline and the Golden Gopher zone defense meant that they did not attempt a free throw in the first half, despite being fourth in the Big Ten in free throw attempted.
The Spartans went on an 16-8 to start the second half. However, the Golden Gophers freshmen keyed nine to two run as Austin Hollins went coast to coast with a steal and layup and had an assist on a Trevor Mbakwe baseline jumper and Chip Armelin scored a lay-up after a Maverick Ahanmisi steal and 3-pointer to put Minnesota up 38-37.
However, the inexperience showed when Ahanmisi's lazy pass led to a steal and dunk on the other end by Durrell Summers.
Armelin hit another 3-pointer and layup to put Minnesota up 47-39 with 4:31 to go, the biggest lead of the game.
The Golden Gophers tried to use some clock, but their lack of a true point guard hurt them as they had several critical turnovers and scored just one point the remainder of the game.
Summers, who was just three of 11 from the field, hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 47-46. Armelin made one of two shots from the charity stripe, but freshman guard Keith Appling made both free throws after Hollins fouled him after his 3-pointers with the shot clock running out missed to knot the score at 48-48.
Delvon Roe kept the ball alive and Appling sank both free throws. Armelin missed a step-back 3-pointer and the Golden Gophers were forced to foul as the Spartnas made three more free throws to seal the victory.
Trevor Mbakwe led Minnesota with 13 points and 10 rebounds, his 16th double-double of the season, which is tops in the Big Ten. Armelin scored 11 of his 12 points in the second half. Mbakwe and Armelin scored 19 of the team's 27 points in the second half. Ralph Sampson III added 10 points, seven caroms and three blocked shots. Blake Hoffarber, who leads the team in scoring with 14.0 points per game, was scoreless in the second half as he was held to just five points. He was just one of eight from the field.
Kalin Lucas was the lone double figure scorer as he finished with a game-high 18 points. He added four steals and helped slow the sharpshooting Hoffarber.
NOTES:
Minnesota faces Michigan next Saturday at 3:30 pm at home in the latest must-win game for the Golden Gophers. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network. Minnesota defeated the Wolverines 69-64 on the road January 22nd. Al Nolen was injured in the game and hasn't played since.
The Wolverines are 17-11 overall and 7-8 in Big Ten Conference play, having won four of their last five contests and six of their last eight.
Michigan is led by sophomore Darius Morris, who is averaging a team-best 15.4 points per game and is shooting 50 percent from the field. He leads the Big Ten in assists and is fourth in the country in that category. Freshman guard Tim Hardaway Jr. is adding 13.2 points per game. The son of former NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway considered Minnesota before picking Michigan and had 20 points in their earlier game versus the Golden Gophers and scored a career-high 30 points in a 75-72 overtime win over Iowa Saturday.
Zach Novak is a rarity for the Wolverines. He leads the team in rebounding with 5.9 caroms per game and free throw percentage (84.4 percent).
The Wolverines rely heavily on their outside shooting as they rank second in the conference in 3-point shooting. However, their 66.8 points per game ranks tenth in the Big Ten.
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Senior Guard Blake Hoffarber was named to the
Capital One Academic All-America University Division second team. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Hoffarber has a 3.5 GPA and is a Finance major.
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Minnesota signee Andre Hollins, a 6-foot-2 guard
