The Gopher basketball team had its share of moments against #4 Purdue in West Lafayette Tuesday night, but Purdue had far more, as they shut down the Minnesota offense and pulled away for a 79-60 victory. The Boilermakers remain one of four unbeaten teams in the nation (Kansas, Texas, and Kentucky are the others).
The Gophers shot just 30.8% from the floor, including a dreadful 4-19 (21%) from three point range, for the game and never really got into a rhythm in this one. Paul Carter led the Gophers with 15 points and Damian Johnson was the only other Gopher to break into double-figures with 12 points. For Purdue, four of the starting five reached double-figures, with Robbie Hummel (18), E'Twaun Moore (18), JaJuan Johnson (16), and Chris Kramer (15) leading the way. The Boilermakers shot 52% from the floor, which dwarfed Minnesota's performance. Purdue moved to 14-0 on the season, and tied for the best start in school history.
Although Minnesota held the rebounding advantage (35-33) and took care of the basketball (13 turnovers for the game against a tough Purdue defense), it was the absense of jump shooting ability which cost the Gophers dearly. A recipe for sure defeat is the inability to knock down jumpers, and this is an area in which the Gophers will desperately need to improve.
Minnesota will return home to take on Ohio State on Saturday in the Barn. The Buckeyes are 10-4 on the season and the game will be a good test for a team looking for an identity. Successive road games at Michigan State and Indiana await Minnesota next week, so a win on Saturday would be nice.
They'll definitely need to shoot better if they are to have a chance on Saturday.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
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