Conseco Fieldhouse is mostly empty in anticipation of the first-round Big Ten tournament matchup between No. 6 Minnesota (18-12, 8-10 Big Ten) and Northwestern (8-21, 1-17). A preliminary purple shirt count puts the number of NU fans at the game somewhere between 25 and 27. No matter, the band is lively and Kevin Coble is on the Jumbotron slow-motion dunking to "Carmina Burana." Somewhere Garland Cooper is smiling.
Food for thought from Big Ten promo # 250: "It's 9.5-on-the-Richter big." The Big Ten, that is.
Minnesota has had no problem with the Wildcats in two earlier meetings this year, winning 82-63 and 92-72. Its 6-foot-9 duo of Dan Coleman and Spencer Tollackson is averaging 30 points and 15 rebounds per game against NU this year, proving there is a difference between real 6-9 and NU's "6-9."
Tubby Smith is so close I can almost touch him. Brent Musberger is giving us goo-goo eyes from across the court. That must mean it's game time.
Starting Lineups: Minnesota - F: 3 Kevin Payton; F: 13 Dan Coleman; C: 50 Spencer Tollackson; G: 20 Lawrence Westbrook; G: 1 Lawrence McKenzie
NU - F: 21 Ivan Peljusic; F: 44 Kevin Coble; G: 22 Michael Thompson; G: 20 Craig Moore; G: 23 Jeremy Nash
Nash is a surprise starter. Sterling Williams was listed on the pre-game depth chart. I like it.
Predictions - Matt: 81-66 Minnesota
David: 78-71 Minnesota
16:58 - Thompson fouls Tollackson hard and he goes limping off the court. Coble has been huge in the early going. NU 7-2.
14:14 - Tollackson is still in the locker room. If he misses significant time, it could be a huge detriment to the Gophers. Bill Carmody, sporting a slicked back hairdo and as yet a calm demeanor, is coaching with all his might right now, relying on Nash and employing a full-court press. Coble is here to play: He has seven points already. Oop, Tollackson's back. NU 12-6.
11:59 - Coble just hit a pretty little jumper off an inbounds pass. He looks like he's just about 37-points-against-Indiana vintage. NU 14-9, and Juice just drew an offensive foul. I keep trying to get Erin Andrews' eye, but she won't give me the time of day. C'est la vie...
7:52 - The Cats are keeping it up. Moore hit a 3 from right around Valparaiso as the shot clock expired. Coble stripped Tollackson down low. They're showing all the heart they have all season, but finally getting the results for it. NU 21-11.
3:33 - The hits keep coming. NU leads 31-18, and Nash is getting in on the scoring. Coble is still magnificent: He's put up 13. Now if you'll excuse me, the Flex Cam is calling, and I've got to flash those pecs. Then maybe Erin will notice me. Sigh.
3:12 - Tollackson has been playing sporadically. Guess the ankle is still bugging him. 32-18 NU.
25.1 - One criticism. The Gopher press has been working pretty well all game. Juice just had to burn a timeout to avoid a 10-second call. But hey, NU's living with it. NU 34-21.
18.4 - The Gopher press gets to Juice again, forcing a jump ball and a turnover because of the possession arrow. They'll have one more chance to cut into NU's lead.
Halftime - NU 34, Minnesota 21. Hoffarber got off a 3 on a pretty good look but could not connect. NU is doing everything right in the first half: shooting well (64.7 percent), taking care of the ball (seven turnovers) and keeping up on the boards (leading 11-7). The last (and only) Big Ten game in which NU carried a double-digit lead into halftime was against Michigan. The last (and only) time the Cats have won in the Big Ten this year.
Coble has 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal. MVP? Honorable mention.
There are two magicians out on the floor, and they're changing outfits really quickly. That's entertainment!
18:16 - Tubby must have sacrificed a small child in the locker room over the break. Let's put it this way, 1:44 into the second half the stats are these: NU 0-3 from field, Minnesota 3-3. NU 0 rebounds, Minnesota 3. NU 0 points, Minnesota 7.
NU leads 34-28. That sense of security is gone.
13:23 - Minnesota was one possession away from tying the game. But a floater by Juice made it a four-point game and a steal by Coble on the other end calmed things down a little bit. Juice has carried NU this half, scoring all eight of its points. NU 42-39 (but Minnesota leads the half 18-8).
12:45 - Tollackson is done. He's on the bench in his warmups. They don't seem to be missing him right now.
12:29 - Westbrook hits a 3. Tied at 42. Westbrook has 11 in the second half. He is powering the comeback.
9:21 - Craig Moore is tired of this mess. After hitting a floater at the buzzer, Moore swished a wide open 3 to extend NU's lead to 47-42.
6:00 - It appears we've reached a standstill. Nobody has scored in 3:21. The score still stands at 47-42 NU. It's a mixture of bad looks and bad shots, not really good defense.
5:00 - McKenzie hits two free throws. First points in 4:21. NU 47-44.
4:11 - And the roof is caving in. Three straight turnovers for NU, which hasn't shot the ball in 2:00. A Coleman steal and dunk gives the Gophers their first lead since 2-0 at 48-47.
3:19 - NU re-takes the lead on two free throws by Moore, only to lose it again after a Hoffarber 3. Minnesota 51-49.
2:07 - Moore hits a 3 to put the Cats back on top 52-51. He and Juice are the only two players to score for NU in the half: Juice has 8 and Moore has 10. Jeremy Nash lost his shoe. Timeout.
39.0 - McKenzie missed a 3 that could have gone a long way to icing it, but Hoffarber got the rebound and found Westbrook who was fouled. He missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and McKenzie got the board, but he was tied up and NU got the ball. They held it for a really long time and Williams got trapped in the corner and had to throw it away. Coleman got it and Coble fouled him. 3.9 seconds to go and he's shooting a 1-and-1.
Hits one. 54-52 Minnesota. Hits two. 55-52 Minnesota. Time out Minnesota, NU has the last shot. For the season. Kind of.
0.0 - Moore misses a shot from halfcourt at the buzzer. Minnesota wins 55-52. A long, tiring season is over for NU.
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