Northwestern has had its struggles on offense this season. But the team has played well with the ball in its hands since scoring a season-low 37 points against Illinois two weeks ago.
The Wildcats’ offense continued to play well Wednesday; the team scored its most points in nearly two months and shot 52.8 percent, its best showing in nine conference games.
But Minnesota was hotter on a snowy day in Evanston.
The Golden Gophers shot 56.9 percent from the floor and 12 of 23 on 3-pointers, feeding off the early play inside from forward Spencer Tollackson. Minnesota pulled away in the first half and was never threatened, defeating NU 92-72 at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
“A lot of it starts with our defense,” sophomore forward Kevin Coble said. “For us to beat teams, that’s something we have to improve on. It’s been sort of our Achilles heel right now. We’re scoring a lot of points and executing our offense fairly well. It starts with the defense and trickles down and leads to those rebounds.”
Tollackson set the tone early for his team against the Cats (7-13, 0-9 Big Ten), taking advantage of his size on the inside. The 6-foot-9 center blew past his defenders for layups and set up Minnesota’s (14-7, 4-5) long-range game.
Perfect from the field and the free-throw line, Tollackson finished with 19 points. He grabbed only three rebounds, but his presence inside helped the Gophers control the boards 38-17.
Minnesota started hitting its 3-point shots once the focus had shifted into the paint. The Gophers made three 3-pointers during a 13-2 run in the final three minutes of the first half, helping them extend their lead from three points to 14.
NU got no closer than 13 points in the second half.
“He had his way with us,” coach Bill Carmody said of Tollackson. “We let him get the ball down there… and their shooters started getting open looks because of the presence they have inside.”
Minnesota had six players score in double figures, led by Tollackson. Jamal Abu-Shamala and Lawrence McKenzie each scored 16 points, Blake Hoffarber had 15 points and Lawrence Westbrook added 12 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.
On offense, the Cats continued to play well, shooting 52.8 percent and hitting nine 3-pointers. Coble had 22 points to lead the team, and freshman guard Michael Thompson added 19 points and seven assists. Junior Craig Moore scored 19 points of his own and also had five assists.
But Carmody said the team turned the ball over at key times and struggled to cut into the lead.
NU tried to apply some defensive pressure and forced turnovers early in the game. They trimmed the lead when they were able to steal the ball on defense and cut to the basket on offense.
But when Minnesota stopped turning the ball over, its size became too much for NU to handle. The Gophers scored 22 second chance points on 13 offensive rebounds and made 22 of their 29 free throws.
“As a team we could have done a better job closing out on the shooters and boxing out down low, and not giving up so many offensive rebounds and second chance opportunities,” Thompson said. “But those guys were a lot bigger and a lot stronger, and every time they got an offensive rebound they seemed to find a way to put the ball back in the basket. That’s what seemed to hurt us the most.”
Thompson said the Cats tried changing defenses to confuse the Gophers on offense. But Minnesota continued to shoot the ball well, scoring the most points against NU since the team lost 94-52 to Virginia earlier this season.
“We just keep trying,” Carmody said. “I think our offense is getting better and better against different defenses. We tried to change things defensively and nothing seems to work. You have to try and stay up. Those are words, I don’t know how many times you can say that, but you have to start winning.”
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