BleedGopher
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per Sid:
Jim Dutcher’s Gophers basketball team was a No. 2 seed in the Mideast Regional of the 1982 NCAA tournament when they lost to No. 3-seeded Louisville 67-61 in the Sweet 16. It was Dutcher’s lone NCAA tournament trip with the Gophers, and he said he knows how tough it is to lose in a do-or-die game.
“The end of the season comes suddenly when you lose in the tournament,” Dutcher said Thursday following the Gophers’ 81-72 loss to Middle Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA tournament. “I know there are a lot of heavy hearts [for] Gophers fans, but you have to look at the kind of year it was in total, and the future looks bright. There are some positives.”
It was amazing the Gophers were even in the game, cutting the Blue Raiders’ lead to 62-58 with 6 minutes, 44 seconds left after being down by as much as 16 points with less than 11 minutes to play.
Dutcher added that Nate Mason’s game didn’t look comfortable against the tough zone of MTSU. The all-Big Ten junior guard finished with five points on 2-for-10 shooting (including 1-for-7 on three-pointers) and had three assists and four turnovers.
“Nate … really did have a tough game,” Dutcher said. “They played the 2-3 and the 1-3-1 zone, and that kept him from driving to the basket. He just didn’t get those usual drive-in layups that he scores. He finally hit a couple outside shots, but he had a tough game.
“On the other hand, you look at the game [freshman guard] Amir Coffey had, 17 points, hit some key baskets. When we had our run — we were down 14 with just over 10 minutes to go — and Amir Coffey was the guy who led us back into that ballgame. I think we got down to three or four after that run. But their senior, Reggie Upshaw, scored nine straight points when it looked like we had a chance to really get back into the basketball game. He scored nine in a row and we just couldn’t overcome that.”
http://www.startribune.com/gophers-loss-shouldn-t-detract-from-season-accomplishments/416392003/
Go Gophers!!
Jim Dutcher’s Gophers basketball team was a No. 2 seed in the Mideast Regional of the 1982 NCAA tournament when they lost to No. 3-seeded Louisville 67-61 in the Sweet 16. It was Dutcher’s lone NCAA tournament trip with the Gophers, and he said he knows how tough it is to lose in a do-or-die game.
“The end of the season comes suddenly when you lose in the tournament,” Dutcher said Thursday following the Gophers’ 81-72 loss to Middle Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA tournament. “I know there are a lot of heavy hearts [for] Gophers fans, but you have to look at the kind of year it was in total, and the future looks bright. There are some positives.”
It was amazing the Gophers were even in the game, cutting the Blue Raiders’ lead to 62-58 with 6 minutes, 44 seconds left after being down by as much as 16 points with less than 11 minutes to play.
Dutcher added that Nate Mason’s game didn’t look comfortable against the tough zone of MTSU. The all-Big Ten junior guard finished with five points on 2-for-10 shooting (including 1-for-7 on three-pointers) and had three assists and four turnovers.
“Nate … really did have a tough game,” Dutcher said. “They played the 2-3 and the 1-3-1 zone, and that kept him from driving to the basket. He just didn’t get those usual drive-in layups that he scores. He finally hit a couple outside shots, but he had a tough game.
“On the other hand, you look at the game [freshman guard] Amir Coffey had, 17 points, hit some key baskets. When we had our run — we were down 14 with just over 10 minutes to go — and Amir Coffey was the guy who led us back into that ballgame. I think we got down to three or four after that run. But their senior, Reggie Upshaw, scored nine straight points when it looked like we had a chance to really get back into the basketball game. He scored nine in a row and we just couldn’t overcome that.”
http://www.startribune.com/gophers-loss-shouldn-t-detract-from-season-accomplishments/416392003/
Go Gophers!!