What were the U players, already in the midst of a three-game non-conference losing streak, made of after swallowing the harsh news this week that the starting point guard Chansey Willis Jr. is the season out with a broken foot?
It turns out to be a lot. The Gophers upset the full-strength Hoosiers 73-64 at Williams Arena.
Minnesota (5-4, 1-0 Big Ten) was eight-point underdogs against the previously undefeated Hoosiers (7-1, 0-1). According to the KenPom analytics site, Indiana ranked 19th in the country, while Minnesota’s swoon fell well down the list at 116.
The stunning win came in Medved’s first conference match at his alma mater.
“I try not to get emotional,” Medved said after the match. “I’m just so proud. That’s why you coach. You do what you do to help young people respond and to see how they did it is amazing. On a personal level, it just feels incredible to get the crowd and the students involved. That’s what I grew up with here, that way. This is a day I’ll remember for a long time. … We have to enjoy this. You don’t have to do this every day.”
The Gophers took a 65-55 lead with Bobby Durkin’s 3-pointer with four minutes left, but the Hoosiers went on a 7-0 run to put pressure on Minnesota. The U missed a few, but made seven free throws to finish the game.
Minnesota was down to eight scholarship players — also missing starting center Robert Vaihola (knee) and backups BJ Omot (leg) and Chance Stephens (illness).
On Wednesday, Minnesota’s top two big men – Jaylen Crocker-Johnson and Grayson Grove – battled foul fouls in both halves. Then a third, Nemo Turner, got into big trouble.
Four Minnesota players had to log almost every minute: Cade Tyson played all 40, Isaac Asuma 39, Langston Reynolds 38 and Durkin almost 37. Tyson and Reynolds led the charge with 17 points each.
Minnesota had five players in double figures, but just one point off the thin bench.
“Everyone made big plays at times and that’s what we needed when we got a guy out,” Asuma said. “I’m really proud of everyone.”
The Gophers’ defense made it a challenge for the Hoosiers’ two best shooters: Tucker DeVries and Lamar Wilkerson. They each made over 40% from three-point range entering the game, but were held to 31% on Wednesday.
“It was everyone because we came in substitutions, but I thought Langston Reynolds’ defensive mentality was just phenomenal,” Medved said. “I thought we paid good attention to detail, we closed hard on them. We didn’t give them a clean look.”
The Gophers held Indiana without a field goal for the final four minutes of the first half, turning a 27-19 deficit into a 33-33 tie at halftime. That surge brought out the largest home crowd this season as the Gophers entered the locker room.
Grove made impressive hustle plays midway through the first half. After a bad pass from Reynolds looked like it would be an easy dunk for DeVries, Grove raced back to block the pass at the rim. Then Grove ran the floor, got the ball in the paint and drew a foul.
“That block was probably one of the biggest plays of the game,” Reynolds said. “That could easily have been two points. Some momentum is lost, but he runs all the way down from the top of the key and looks for the block. That’s a winner.”
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