Another Quad 1 win for Gopher hoops
Somehow the Minnesota Gophers found a way to take the lead in the final minute and beat UCLA 64-61 in Pauley Pavilion. Dawson Garcia started slowly but was red-hot in the second half, equaling UCLA’s total point production in the final 20 minutes with 27 as the Gophers erased an 11-point deficit at the break.
The Bruins led throughout the game before Minnesota took their first lead of the game on a Lu’Cye Patterson layup with 1:02 left in the game. UCLA quickly scored on the other end, regaining the lead at 61-60. But Patterson got to the rim again, making the game-winning layup with 8 seconds on the clock. The Bruins’ Sebastian Mack was called for an offensive foul and Garcia made two free throws to seal the game.
Minnesota becomes only the 2nd Big Ten team this season to go 2-0 on this West Coast road trip, along with Michigan.
QUOTABLE: UCLA led by 11 points at halftime and Coach Cronin was asked about his message to his team at halftime.
“I told them they (Minnesota) weren’t going away. That was my message. I’ve watched their spirit, I do this for a living. You watch film and they play like they are an NCAA Tournament team, their body language. I know they are not but they are competitive, and they are the oldest team in the country.”
“I told them this, I told them for a couple of days. We haven’t been through this. Win eight out of nine and you lose humility. And you start worrying about everything by defense. You worry about shooting, you worry about your points, whether your shot goes in instead of worrying about defense and getting a “W.” And that’s what happened tonight.”
THE STAT: Free throws typically do not favor the Gophers, but this was the key stat last night. The Gophers are 18th in the Big Ten in free throw percentage (in Big Ten games only). But in Pauley Pavilion they made 12 of 13 while UCLA was 9 of 19, all 10 misses coming in the second half.
TURNING POINT: Patterson putting his head down and getting to the rim to give Minnesota their first lead might seem like the turning point. But UCLA quickly scored on the other end to retake the lead. It was the next layup by Patterson that sealed things for the Gophers. Back-to-back drives against a typically tough UCLA defense
QUOTABLE II: Mick Cronin has had a couple of must-watch, post-game press conferences this year and last night’s is no exception. I really think he needs a hug.
“Toughness wins. Toughness wins. They were tougher than us. Even if we’d have won this game, I would have been sick to my stomach about our lack of toughness tonight.”
HOT: Garcia had a rough game against USC, shooting 3/10 for just seven points. And he began the UCLA game with just five points at halftime. But Garcia exploded for 27 points in the second half, which is the same amount of points the entire UCLA team scored on that period.
NOTABLE: It is worth remembering that Minnesota started the Big Ten season 0-6, showing virtually no toughness or the ability to compete in any games (with the Ohio State game being the lone exception). Since that disastrous start, they are 6-3 with a 4-1 record on the road.
There have been weeks of conversation about Minnesota working to make it into the Big Ten Tournament. But they are currently one game out of the 8 or 9 seed with four of their five remaining games against teams below them in the standings.
The offseason may be very interesting, but Ben Johnson and this roster have done a remarkable job of turning this season around.
UP NEXT: The scary part is that they now have a couple of home games against teams they are very capable of beating. Penn State comes to the Barn on Saturday afternoon.