Missed chances prove costly as Gophers fall apart in loss to Iowa
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IOWA CITY, Iowa -- When stops were desperately needed, the Gophers had no answer.
A 10-point second half lead disintegrated down the stretch as the "U" succumbed to a late Iowa rally Wednesday night in Iowa City. Blatantly exposed on defense, the Gophers allowed the Hawkeyes to finish on a 9-0 run, ensuring a disheartening 63-59 defeat -- their first loss at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since 2007.
"We thought we had the game in hand," coach Tubby Smith said. "We had some breakdowns defensively in the last few minutes that really cost us dearly."
The Gophers had themselves primed for a victory after overcoming an early 12-point deficit to leave Iowa scrambling for much of the second half. But in the final three minutes, the "U" failed on countless occasions to physically match the Hawkeyes on both ends of the court, leaving a hole for a comeback.
"We got out-hustled in some situations and they out-worked us for balls, especially getting so many second opportunities," Smith said. "You can't win like that. You're going to get beat every time."
Guards Julian Welch and Austin Hollins each recorded a trio of 3-pointers as the Gophers went 10-of-19 from long-range.
However, Iowa efficiently worked its zone defense, which rendered the Gophers' inside game almost obsolete at times -- as was the case when the two squads last met in early January.
"They were just more aggressive than us," Hollins said. "They beat us on the boards. We broke down defensively. We gave them a lot of easy buckets and fouls."
The Hawkeyes outscored the "U" 30-10 in the paint, and tallied 15 fast-break points. Their late-game burst was shouldered heavily by Matt Gatens and Roy Devyn Marble, with 22 of the pair's combined 30 points coming in the second half.
The Gophers' disadvantage on the offensive and defensive glass was costly. Caught out of position on numerous occasions, they were out-rebounded 39-35 by Iowa. Rodney Williams and Ralph Sampson III, who lead the team in rebounding, couldn't get to the ball until the second half, and when they did they totaled just four boards all together.
"(Iowa) was hitting us early, sending a couple of guys at us at once," said Williams, who has been held to three rebounds in his last two games. "That should have opened the rebounding for the other guys, but we just weren't doing it tonight."
Sampson overcame a lack of presence inside to lead the Gophers with 13 points, while poised perimeter shooting had Welch (12) and Hollins (11) both in double-figures as well.
But the Gophers' bounty of missed opportunities compounded in spectacular fashion at inopportune moments, denying them a chance to even their conference record. Instead, they remain in the bottom-tier of the Big Ten standings and fall into a tie with Iowa at 4-6.
The skinny
Slow starts have been a common occurrence for the Gophers, but Wednesday marked one of their worst opening stretches of the season.
Sampson knocked in a jumper from atop the key three minutes in for the Gophers' first points of the game.
Their struggles worsened as they managed to scrounge up only three more points, off a free throw by Ahanmisi and a lay-up from Sampson, before the midway mark of the half. Though the damage could have been much worse, Iowa pushed out to a 12-point lead.
"We just need to settle down," Sampson said. "We made a lot of quick decisions. We tried to take a lot of quick shots that we need to take to the basket."
Sampson remained his team's only source of offense from the floor until Welch drew a foul on a successful jumper at the 8:37 mark to cut the score to 18-11.
Finally, the Gophers awoke.
Their shooting woes rubbed off on Iowa, while their offense found its range. Welch's three-point play set off a 22-7 run that was kept in motion by four "U" 3-pointers. The Gophers eventually wrested the lead away from Iowa for the first time one minute before halftime, heading to the locker room up 27-24.
Apart from periodic bursts from the Hawkeyes, the Gophers remained in control at the onset of the second half to go up 45-35 with 11:53 remaining.
The letdowns defensively started to pile up for the "U", and Iowa suddenly showed glimmers of life. After overcoming an initial rally from the Hawkeyes, the Gophers appeared to have stabilized themselves, holding a five-point lead entering the final three-minutes, thanks to a trio of consecutive 3-pointers.
The Gophers didn't account, however, for their offense being put out of commission. Turnovers and ill-advised shots made matters worse.
"When you have empty possessions like that -- so many empty turns down the court -- it takes a toll on you," Smith said.
Iowa, in the midst of finishing with nine unanswered points, went up by two in the game's final minute after Bryce Cartwright hit back-to-back free throws.
On the ensuing "U" possession, Welch missed a chance at the tie, leaving Iowa to drain more time from the clock. Still, a defensive stop would have put the ball back in the Gophers' hands with at least six seconds to set up a play.
Gatens emphatically squashed those aspirations though by easily driving through the lane for the clinching lay-up with eight seconds to go.
"If we have good intensity on defense our offense will come," Hollins said. "Our intensity fell off towards the end when they made their run and our offense fell off."
Numbers game
0: Times, prior to Wednesday, in Tubby Smith's tenure that the Gophers have had a sub-.500 conference record 10 games into the Big Ten season.
5: Years since the "U" last dropped consecutive games to Iowa, dating back to the 2006-07 season.
1: Shot made from the floor by the Gophers in the first nine minutes of the game, going 1-for-7 in that stretch.
5: Turnovers committed by Julian Welch -- all of which came in the first half -- surpassing his previous career-high (4).
"He played hard, but once again, five turnovers -- we can't afford to have those types of turnovers," Smith said. "If he is a point guard he has to do a better job of taking care of the basketball."
18: Minutes logged by center Elliott Eliason. An ankle sprain in practice on Monday had left his playing status in question. Though he went scoreless, the ankle didn't appear to overly hamper him. He tied with Joe Coleman for a team-high six rebounds.
Overheard
"We played out of fear when they started coming back. The same thing happened at our place. I don't know what it is."
-- Smith, addressing his team's flustered outlook in the closing minutes of the second half.
"One played 17, the other played 12 minutes. I don't why they couldn't get a rebound. I guess they weren't coming their way."
-- Smith, on Williams and Sampson's inability to obtain a rebound in the first half.
Up next
The Gophers' two-game road trip concludes Sunday with their first visit to Nebraska since 2004. Like the "U", the Cornhuskers (11-9, 3-6) began Big Ten play as losers of four straight, but have since recovered slightly to win three of their last five games, including a one-point victory against No. 13 Indiana.
