Men’s basketball: Gophers can’t hang with Indiana in a 82-67 loss Monday

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The Gophers men’s basketball team tried to hang its hat on strong defensive numbers through the first stage of nonconference play.

So much for that element.

Minnesota turned in two uncompetitive Big Ten games and started conference play at 0-2 after a 82-67 loss to Indiana on Monday at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind. The Gophers (6-5 overall) also allowed 90 points to Michigan State last Wednesday.

After limiting nonconference teams to an average of 59 points across nine games, Gophers coach Ben Johnson wanted more intensity after the Spartans loss and told Big Ten Network pregame Monday that his team had “combative practice” in the past week. It didn’t translate much.

“We still had our chances to show more that we learned from (Michigan State) and we just didn’t,” Johnson told reporters postgame. “That is the hard pill to swallow — just that urgency all the time and that effort all the time. Again, this league is unforgiving. You have really good players and really good coaches. You can’t have the slippage.”

This type of poor start has precedent under Johnson. In 2022, the U began 0-2 in conference play — falling 89-70 to No. 5 Purdue and 90-75 to Michigan.

On Monday, Indiana (8-2, 1-0) was a 9.5-point favorite and pretty much rode a 44-31 halftime lead to a comfortable finish.

The Gophers’ offense started strong but dried up midway through the first half. Minnesota missed seven straight shots over nearly eight minutes until Mike Mitchell hit a transition 3-pointer with just under four minutes remaining. The deficit had mushroomed in the meantime.

The U allowed the Hoosiers to shoot a season high 63% in the first half, including advantages in points in the paint (26-16) and in transition (14-6). Those numbers evened out in the second half, but the damage was done.

The Hoosiers boasted five players in double figures, and their bench outscored Minnesota 29-12. They showed why they are picked to finish second in the conference this season.

Indiana’s big…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/men-basketball-gophers-t-hang-013200629.html

Author : Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Publish date : 2024-12-10 01:32:00

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