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Men's Basketball
Gophers Playing for Respect, NCAA Tournament Lives
By Brandon CastelINDIANAPOLIS – On the whiteboard in the Minnesota locker room one word stands out from all the rest.
Respect.
Ohio State has it, the Gophers want it.
“It’s been our motto for the tournament,” Minnesota guard Devoe Joseph said Saturday after his team’s 69-42 win over sixth-ranked Purdue.
“Respecting our teammates, respecting the fact that we have to come every day and play real hard. Respecting the fact that we have to get respect from the other team.”
Not to mention the NCAA Selection Committee.
The Golden Gophers (21-12) knocked off the likes of Butler, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Illinois during the regular season, but found themselves firmly on the bubble heading into the Big Ten Tournament. At one point they lost seven out of 10 games during conference play and they finished the year getting blown out (83-55) in their second to last game of the year at Michigan.
Their 9-9 record in the Big Ten was good for the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament, but the Gophers have made a statement by winning three games in the first three days of the tournament, including back-to-back wins over Michigan State and Purdue.
“I just think that us hanging in htere through the season, I know we’ve had our ups and downs and we’ve just been hanging in there. We’ve been working hard and it’s paying off,” center Colton Iverson said.
“We wanted to reach our goals, make it to the tournament and win the Big Ten Championship.”
In an unexpected twist of fate, coach Tubby Smith has his team on the verge of both. After dismantling Penn State 76-55 in the first round of the tournament, the Gophers took care of No. 3-seed Michigan State 72-67 in overtime Friday.
A day later they blitzed defending champion Purdue 69-42 in a game that has given the Gophers plenty of confidence heading into the final against No. Ohio State.
“I feel that we can compete with any team in the country and I feel that we can compete with any team in the Big Ten,” Ralph Sampson III said.
“I feel that we’ve kind of proven that in this tournament right now.”
The Gophers have won four straight dating back to the regular season, and for the most part it has been a team effort. They had four players score in double figures in each of the first two games of the tournament and 10 different players scored for Minnesota against the Boilermakers.
“We’re playing our best basketball right now,” guard Lawrence Westbrook said.
“I’ve always said we have as much talent as anyone.”
Westbrook leads the team in scoring this year at 12.7 points per game, but the Gophers have five players scoring at least eight points a night. Sampson led the team with 13 points Saturday, with Joseph adding 10 and Iverson chipping in 11 off the bench.
Blake Hoffarber scored only three points, but the sharp-shooting junior led the Big Ten in three-point percentage at 48 percent from behind the arc this season. He scored 27 points (7-of-9 from behind the arc) in the Gophers’ 73-62 win over OSU in Minneapolis, but only 10 in their 85-63 loss in Columbus.
William Buford led the Buckeyes with 26 points, five rebounds and five assists in that game. He also scored 17 points in the loss at Minnesota.
“To be honest with you, the times they’ve beaten us Willie Buford has gotten off and David Lighty. (Turner) is their main player but they’ve got a lot of good pieces,” Westbrook said.
Turner scored 19 points in both meetings this season. He also had 15 assists and 11 rebounds in the two games. He developed a bit of a rivalry with Westbrook over the last few years, but Minnesota’s point guard said the bad blood doesn’t cross court lines.
“He’s a competitor, I’m a competitor. I’ve got nothing against him off the court. He just wants to win like me,” Westbrook said.
“When you step inside those lines you’re not supposed to have any friends. So he’s not my friend on the court and I’m not his friend, but I don’t take anything like that off the court.”
Minnesota Projected Starting Lineup:
C 50 Ralph Sampson III (6-11, So., Duluth, Ga.)
F 34 Damian Johnson (6-7, Sr., Thibodaux, La.)
G 24 Blake Hoffarber (6-4, Jr., Minnetonka, Minn.)
G 5 Devoe Joseph (6-3, So., Pickering, Ontario)
G 20 Lawrence Westbrook (6-0, Sr., Chandler, Az.)
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