Northwestern delivers critical blow to Gophers' postseason aspirations
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John Shurna became Northwestern's all-time scoring leader as the Wildcats overpowered the Gophers Saturday in Evanston, Ill., in a 64-53 defeat that put the "U's" NCAA tournament hopes on life support.
In a game viewed as a potential "must-win", the Gophers floundered. Poise and resiliency were set to the wayside as they committed 21 turnovers -- two off their season-high (23). Plunged into an early hole, the "U" never found the composure to mount a rally.
Shurna -- Northwestern's star 6-foot-9 senior forward -- supplanted Billy McKinney in the University's record books, dropping 18-points to move his career total to 1,902.
He was outpaced for the game-high, however, by teammate Dave Sobolewski, whose 22 points buoyed the Wildcats' 45.7 percent shooting mark from the floor (21-of-46).
Guard Julian Welch's breakout scoring night and freshman Joe Coleman's return-to-form did not make up for the Gophers' deficiencies elsewhere. Welch scored 21 points, including five 3-pointers. Coleman, boasting an aggressive edge to his play that he had recently been missing, broke a four-game scoreless streak with 12 points to go with four rebounds.
Scoring was scarce from elsewhere on the Gophers' roster. Minus Rodney Williams' nine, none of the the remaining eight amassed more than four points. Northwestern frustrated and demoralized the "U" by preventing the deficit from dropping lower than seven points in the second half.
Desperation-mode has taken hold of the Gophers (17-10, 5-9). Four games from the conclusion of the regular season, an odds-defying win streak is likely their only option if they have any chance at avoiding being left out of the Big Dance for the second year in a row.
The skinny
It became obvious quickly that the Gophers' defensive strategy was to key in on Shurna.
Shurna was held without a point for the first 16 minutes of the game. To the Gophers' dismay, Northwestern found scoring from elsewhere. Drew Crawford captained an early 3-point barrage as the Wildcats refused to share their opponent's slow starting habits.
The Gophers stumbled into an 11-4 opening deficit before resurfacing to take a one-point lead seven minutes in. But with the "U" lacking urgency Northwestern slowly rediscovered its command.
When Shurna finally awoke it boded poorly for the Gophers. Just over three minutes from halftime, Shurna swatted the ball from Andre Hollins' hands and scrambled to the other end for a dunk that ended his scoring drought.
The slam had the residual effect of igniting the senior forward. He went on to score 10 consecutive points as Northwestern crafted a 36-28 lead at the break, which was cut down from 11 only after Welch drained a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining.
With the Gophers unable to tap out consistent production from their offense, Northwestern easily seized momentum in its favor with the lead ballooning to double-digits.
At several points when the Wildcats went stagnate, it appeared the "U" was poised for a rally. However, those opportunities fizzled out, and with them went the Gophers' chance to pick up a much-needed victory, as well as a confidence boost.
Turning point
Welch and Coleman tried to be the ones to resuscitate the flat-lined Gophers.
Down 13 points with nine minutes to go, Coleman snaked his way to the basket for a lay-up. Less than a minute later Welch sank a long-range shot, resulting in shrinking the deficit to eight.
Turnovers spoiled the comeback. Reeling in a steal from Shurna, Northwestern's Alex Marcotullio lobbed up a pass that Crawford deftly slammed in for a dunk that sealed the Gophers' less-than-desirable fate. The Wildcats' lead did not drop below 10 points in the final six minutes of regulation.
Numbers game
4: Consecutive games in which the Gophers have trailed at halftime.
1-7: Gophers' record in Big Ten play when down at the midway break.
8: Different starting lineups used by the Gophers this season. Oto Osenieks replaced Andre Hollins in the starting-five on Saturday. The scoring boost coach Tubby Smith hoped to get from the shake-up did not materialize. Osenieks ended with four points and five rebounds.
4: Years since the Gophers have won a game at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill.
Coming up
A brutal three-game stretch begins next Wednesday (7:30 p.m. 1500ESPN) when the Gophers host No. 8 Michigan State nearly a month after the Spartans handed them a 16-point loss in East Lansing. Wednesday's match-up is the first of three straight games against top-25 ranked squads (Michigan State, Indiana and Wisconsin).
