Michigan State knocks Gophers out of Big Ten Tournament
After two poor defensive performances to close the season, the Gophers men's basketball team appeared to put those woes behind Thursday morning against Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament at Target Center in Minneapolis.
Until about midway through the second half.
The Spartans turned a tie game into a four-point lead, then eight, while the Gophers never found an answer offensively. The Spartans walked away with a 77-67 victory.
"I thought our defensive mindset was where it needed to be. It was better than the two previous games, and that showed obviously from the start and our ability to build the lead a little bit in the second half," Gophers coach Ben Johnson said. "Obviously Michigan State is a good offensive team. So any little breakdown that we had — I think it was 49-44, and we had a couple offensive miscues and then a couple defensive miscues. But just that little stretch, it might have been two or three minutes, all of a sudden you look up and the score and the momentum has flipped.
"That's all it takes against a really good team."
Tyson Walker shook off a cold-shooting first half and hit a big-time jumper and a layup on back-to-back possessions that kept the Spartans at a 10-point cushion. Walker scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half after a first half in which he had five points on 2-for-9 shooting. He shot 6 for 15 for the game.
"Just being more aggressive and looking for my shot, not looking for pass and then shoot, but looking to shoot," Walker said of the difference in the second half. "Then trying to get fouled and just being aggressive."
Braeden Carrington was guarding Walker for extended stretches in the first half and kept him quiet. Offensively, Dawson Garcia had 10 points in the opening 20 minutes, while Fox had nine as the U took a 34-32 halftime advantage.
Pharrel Payne kept the momentum going for the Gophers in the second half, pouring in a quick six points, including four from the free-throw line. Payne was a perfect 5 for 5 from the charity stripe, and his shooting from the line has steadily improved down the stretch of the season. He finished with 11 points and three boards.
Minnesota took a 49-44 lead after Elijah Hawkins went to the hoop for a layup that was ruled a goaltend, got a foul and hit the free throw.
But the Spartans went on a 15-2 run after that.
"They just did some things offensively that we weren't able to execute with our defense," said Fox, who had 11 points in the game. "We had a really good plan. Our coaches put in a really good plan for what we wanted to do defensively, and some of that unfortunately broke down. Then they go out and we weren't able to stop some of their stuff. Tip of the cap to them, but we want to play better than that. Unfortunately, we didn't today."
The Spartans outrebounded the Gophers 30-18 and scored 18 points off 12 Minnesota turnovers, many coming down the stretch of the game.
Garcia tried to keep the Gophers within reach, scoring nine more points in the second half, several coming down the stretch as the U tried to stay within reach. But it just couldn't find a way to stop the Spartans, who poured in bucket after bucket.
The Spartans advance to play top-seeded Purdue at 11 a.m. on Friday. The Gophers, meanwhile, are done for the season, barring an NIT invite.
"I hope that the NIT gives us a chance to keep playing because we've got guys that want to be here and want to play and want to continue to play and want to continue to grow as a group, not just as individuals. I think that's what's really special about this team," Fox said.
