With no postseason tourney, Gophers underachieved in Pitino's second year
MINNEAPOLIS -- After winning the NIT tournament last year, the Gophers men's basketball team didn't know how to feel. It was nice to win it, sure, but an NIT banner isn't something teams normally brag about.
With the championship in hand as head coach Richard Pitino entered his second season, the expectations -- at least from those outside the program -- were raised. Many expected Minnesota to make a push for the NCAA tournament in 2015. Yet as the season wore on, that dream faded away as conference losses piled up.
Now, the Gophers won't even have the chance to defend their NIT title.
Minnesota finished 6-12 in the Big Ten and missed out on the 32-team field for the NIT, which was announced Sunday night after the 68-team NCAA tournament field was set. The Gophers entered the Big Ten tournament on the NIT bubble, but a win over Rutgers and a loss to Ohio State didn't do enough to bolster Minnesota's resume. After that loss to the Buckeyes, Pitino said the Gophers wouldn't accept an invitation to any tournaments below the NIT, meaning their season is now over.
So what went wrong for Minnesota this season? That's a question with many answers.
For starters, the Gophers simply couldn't close out games late. That's evidenced by the fact that they lost seven Big Ten games by two possessions or fewer while winning just three close games of six points or less. Those losses included an overtime defeat against Ohio State back in early January that seemed to get the ball rolling in the wrong direction. That loss, which came thanks to a late shot by OSU's Marc Loving, dropped the Gophers to 0-3 in the Big Ten. They went on to lose two more before finally getting in the win column by beating Rutgers.
Those close losses plagued Minnesota all year, and bad luck was only a small factor. Perhaps the most unlucky of those narrow defeats came in the last game of the regular season against a Penn State team that entered that game at Williams Arena with just three Big Ten wins. A buzzer-beating 3-pointer by PSU's D.J. Newbill stunned the Gophers on Senior Night.
It could be argued, though, that Minnesota should have never been in position to lose some of those close games, such as the Penn State defeat. This year's Gophers club had a penchant for starting slow in the first half before finding a rhythm after halftime. Oftentimes it was too late by then, or Minnesota seemed to run out of steam in the final minutes.
Defense was one of the Gophers' biggest problems this year. Minnesota finished 13th out of 14 Big Ten teams in scoring defense, allowing 67.7 points per game. Only Indiana had a more porous defense (71.4 ppg). Minnesota's inability to stop opponents from 3-point range was particularly troubling, as the Gophers also ranked 13th in the conference in that category. And Pitino's team was not a good rebounding group in general, but it was magnified on defense. Minnesota was outrebounded 14 times in 20 total games against Big Ten foes. That often led to easy second-chance points for opponents as the Gophers were beat on the boards on defense.
Individually, a few players took steps in the right direction while a few others regressed or didn't quite live up to expectations. Freshman guard Nate Mason was perhaps one of Minnesota's most consistent players and gave Gophers fans a glimmer of hope for the coming years. He finished his first college season fourth on the team in scoring (9.8 ppg), second in assists per game (2.8), and tied for second in steals (1.8 per game). Center Mo Walker also had the best year of his career and was second on the Gophers in points per game (11.8) and led Minnesota in rebounding (6.7).
Meanwhile, senior guards Andre Hollins and DeAndre Mathieu struggled to play at a consistent level throughout the season. Hollins had too many stretches in which he didn't impact the game enough on offense. He was held scoreless in Minnesota's Big Ten tournament game against Rutgers and had a combined seven points in two games against Wisconsin late in the season. There were games, though, when Hollins carried the load offensively, including a 31-point effort in a win over Rutgers earlier in the year and a 28-point game against Illinois. Still, Hollins' scoring average during his senior year (13.8) was almost identical to the 13.6 points per game he scored last year, and shy of the 14.6 points per game he averaged as a sophomore.
Mathieu burst onto the scene last year as a junior-college transfer and used his quickness to pester opponents. In his second Big Ten season, though, it seemed as if teams figured Mathieu out. He scored just 8.6 points this season, well below his average of 12.0 points per game last year as a junior. Mathieu did see his turnovers drop from last year, but his shooting percentage went down, as well.
There's no question Minnesota will have some holes to fill next year after a disappointing 2014-15 season. The Gophers will have to find a big man to replace Walker, and Minnesota loses one of the program's best scorers of all time in Hollins. Mason should likely see his role increase even more next year, and forward Joey King -- who seemed to get better as the season went on -- will be a senior leader.
Pitino said his team overachieved in his first season en route to the NIT title. If that's the case, there's no doubt the Gophers underachieved in year two. Perhaps Minnesota can find a middle ground between those two next year.
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