Gophers defeat Spartans in the Big Ten Quarterfinals
Free throws were the difference. Yes, the ones utilized by Minnesota and the ones lost by Michigan State as the Spartans lost 72-67 to the Gophers in the Big Ten quarterfinals in Indianapolis.
Raymar Morgan scored 23 points while Kalin Lucas had the opportunity to score 18 points especially in the overtime wherein the two combined to score 4 for 9 free throw-line. Devoe Joseph scored 17 whereas Blake Hoffarber with 14 and Colton Iverson scoring 12 but they fouled out. Lawrence Westbrook scored 11 out of which 6 were in the overtime.
“He put his team on his back and he carried them,” Spartans forward Draymond Green said of Joseph. “He hit some tough shots, but tough shots or not, we still have to defend him. He played like a warrior and he rallied his troops.”
Minnesota will play Purdue in the conference semi-finals now.The Spartans adopted a short hand approach after coach Tom Izzo had banned Chris Allen for indiscipline. Allen had to spend most of the time on the bench watching his teammates. During the half-time Allen did try to encourage his teammates. He also embraced teammate Korie Lucious. However, he refused to speak
“He was just trying to keep everybody motivated, telling people to take shots when they’re there,” Lucious said. “He was just being another coach on the sideline. We would have loved to have him on the court, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case today.”
Coach Izzo also didn’t explain on Allen’s suspension. However, he did acknowledge that Allen’s absence was a big blow. In the match Morgan opened with a 3 pointer but Joseph also gave an apt reply with 3 points. Westbrook then utilised two free throws while Lucas missed his part of free throws. Westbrook then converted a three-pointer to give Gophers a seven-point lead. With 59 seconds to go, Green came up with a steal followed by a dunk to reduce the lead to 65-62.
Carter then hit his free throws, followed by Joseph’s 2 free throws that more or less evened the games. With 3 odd minutes remaining in the second half, Korie Lucious hit a three-pointer to reduce the lead to four points. Gophers then hit a fifth foul which was converted by Lucas’s two free throws which narrowed down the lead to two points. The Spartans were forced another miss. Then, 3 seconds later, Lucas hit Morgan for a lay-up.
Gophers' next attack, had Green blocking Joseph's shot. The Spartans then called a time-out with about 15.9 seconds left. But, on his way to another basket, Lucas lost his way out and was turned out of bounds. In the final quarter, Joseph missed a long ranger. The Spartans had already cut the lead to 33-32. Minnesota's next seven points and five was scored by Hoffarber to put the Gophers up, 40-34. After that it was stroll in the park.
