Archive for the ‘Minnesota Golden Gophers’ tag
Men’s Hoops: Wildcats’ 1-3-1 zone tops Tubby Smith, Gophers
By Adam Fusfeld
Down nine points late in the first half, the Wildcats were performing exactly as expected. Two days separated Northwestern from a heartbreaking loss to No. 19 Purdue, and with visiting No. 17 Minnesota on fire from the opening tip, a poor bounce-back effort seemed inevitable.
NU flipped the script en route to its 74-65 victory on Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The Cats started the first half in a 2-3 matchup zone, but the Golden Gophers demolished it to the tune of 78 percent (14-for-18) shooting from the field in the game’s opening 15 minutes. Coach Bill Carmody reacted by switching to his patented 1-3-1 zone, the defense that flustered Purdue for most of Thursday’s loss, and effectively changed the complexion of the contest.
“They were getting too many good looks on us,” Carmody said. “So we went to the 1-3-1 and that helped. I think it really put them back on their heels a little bit, just that change there. I think it was more the change than anything.”
With the switch, Minnesota finished the half missing all but one of its last six attempts from the field, and stayed cold in the second half when it shot 34.5 percent. In addition, the Gophers recorded 15 of their 19 turnovers in the last 25 minutes of the game.
“That’s the one thing about the Northwestern style of play,” said Minnesota coach Tubby Smith of the 1-3-1 zone. “Their’s is a brand that you don’t see all the time. We didn’t do a good job of attacking it, and their ability to close down the passing lanes and get their hands on the ball and force turnovers was pretty impressive.”
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Men’s Hoops: Clean bill of health, NU tops Minnesota
By Matt Forman
It looked like it would be déjà vu.
Just two nights earlier, Northwestern held a 10-point advantage over Purdue with 6:51 to play, while Minnesota trailed by the same margin to Wisconsin with 4:43 remaining.
The Wildcats imploded. The Golden Gophers rallied.
“We played a tough game against Purdue, which was a heartbreaker for our whole team,” senior Craig Moore said. “You start thinking, ‘What do we have to do to get one?’”
With 6:45 remaining on Sunday, the Cats found themselves in an eerily familiar situation - up 10 - against the Gophers. This time, there was no implosion. NU (9-6, 1-4 Big Ten) never let the game get closer than a nine-point advantage from that point on, topping No. 17 Minnesota 74-65.
NU snapped a 17-game losing streak against ranked opponents and won their second Big Ten game in the last 30 tries.
“There’s nothing sweeter than coming back after a game like that,” Moore said.
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