Eliason has been key in the second team's success

Players say Gophers practices are getting a lot more intense these days, and there was proof of that today on Elliott Eliason’s face, after he ran into freshman Joe Coleman in a practice and had to get four stitches in his lip.

“It’s been pretty competitive, it’s been pretty hard-fought,” Eliason, a redshirt freshman, said. “I think it’s been more physical than it has been these last few practices, and I think that’s led to success on the floor.”

Perhaps some of that intensity comes from a legitimate head-to-head matchup between the Gophers’ starting five and the second five, which has outscored the starters in the last two wins.

The discrepancy of talent between the two groups is getting slimmer by the day, coach Tubby Smith said. The bench has outscored the starters in the Gophers’ past two victories – 39-38 against Illinois and 40-29 at Nebraska – and has been critical in lighting a fire underneath the Gophers.

And yes, Smith admitted, some of that probably comes from his often-talked-about, sometimes criticized method of substituting -- replacing five starters with five reserves, and playing them as two separate teams. 

“They probably know each other better because in practice they play all the time together,” Smith said. Therefore their execution is a lot better.”

Said Eliason of the switches: “I think it helps from some chemistry aspect. We know how each other plays and what to expect out of everyone that is on the floor with you at the same time. So it definitely does help from a chemistry and a flow aspect.”

Plenty have criticism for the method – it’s unorthodox and many believe it gets starters out of their own flow, just when they’re starting to get comfortable. Even Smith himself doesn’t have a really good explanation for why he uses the technique. To him, it simply makes sense. 

But regardless of its perceived flaws, the players say it’s working – and the outside world is now starting to see the results.

“It doesn’t frustrate us at all, because sometimes you just get tired, and he’s trying to rotate people in and get fresh legs on defense and offense running the floor,” Austin Hollins said. “So I would say it’s a good thing. I have seen an increase in bench play. Part of it comes from that and part of it comes from working hard in practice.”

Izzo on Green: "I don’t know many guys that could come back from that so quickly."

Every week, the Big Ten coaches do a teleconference with the media. Here are some highlights from yesterday’s:

Indiana’s Tom Crean on how Ohio State’s student section being moved behind the benches affects opponents in games: “They were screaming from the start. I think the security does a good job of making sure it’s not as directed at the players. But as they say, it’s fair game for the coach. So you’ve just got to do your best to shut that out. It’s a little over the top, there’s no doubt about that. But that’s college basketball, and I think that’s part of the pageantry of the whole thing. So my hat’s off to them. It’s not a place that I want my family sitting nearby, but I think they’re really good, and that’s part of the problem is, when you go into a timeout. The fans do a good job of playing up to that.”


Iowa’s Fran McCaffery on Matt Gatens: “In his games where he’s been off, he’s shot the ball well and he typically scores relatively consistently, because he’s always going to make his free throws. But the thing that makes him special is his consistency of effort, and his consistency at the defensive end of the floor. So what you’re going to get, is a very good performance from him, even if he shoots 6-for-15 or even less than that because you’re going to get his ability to stop the other team’s best perimeter player and he’s going to get to the free throw line and set an example for our younger guys on how you have to compete.” 


Illinois’ Bruce Weber on the loss to Northwestern: “We just couldn’t get over the hump. I was almost pleading with them 'come on guys, we can win this thing. Come together. Make plays. Don’t play not to lose.' But we just didn’t have that emotional zip that we needed to get a win that we had at Michigan State -- the look in the eyes, it was not the same.”


Northwestern’s Bill Carmody on which teams could make a run in the tournament: “It’s just like football. Last year, the Packers come down here and beat the Bears and then they go on this run and they win the Super Bowl. The Giants – Coughlin was getting fired six weeks ago, they go on a run and now they’re superbowl champs. So that can happen to a bunch of a team in our conference. I think Michigan State, you always have to think them and Wisconsin, those guys could get going and people could get healthy and probably mount some deep run into the tournament.”


Purdue’s Matt Painter on the team’s leadership: “I think it’s an area we’re lacking in and I would say just being consistent. I thought Hummel gave us a good effort the other night, but the other two (seniors) didn’t give us a lot. And we need those three guys – our seniors – especially in a big game like Indiana, to be there for us. They’re playing the majority of the minutes and we’re just not getting it right now. We have to be more consistent and it starts at the top. With that being said, it starts with me. I kind of figure out who can be there on a daily basis and be productive.”


Michigan State’s Tom Izzo on Draymond Green coming back from his injury: “First of all, he is a very, very tough kid, physically extremely tough and mentally not far behind. And that definitely helps. And he also got a break in an injury that looked like it could be maybe even year-threatening. I don’t know many guys that could come back from that so quickly. But at the same time, that’s what he’s been for us. He’s almost never been injured, he’s been so versatile, and I’m just thankful I have him, and thankful he is who he is. Coaches are always trying to make guys tougher. And not play with any injury that is threatening,  but playing with the bumps and bruises you get in athletics, and he demonstrated that to the fullest.”
 

Grabbing wins over Ohio State and Kentucky will take you far. Here to attest to that is Indiana, which is maintaining a tenuous hold on a spot in the AP top-25, even as it has struggled mightily in recent weeks.

As the season goes on, things are visibly starting to stabilize at the top, with not much movement from last week to this in the nation’s top tier. Ohio State remained at No. 3, and the top six spots were not changed at all.

Michigan State and Wisconsin both dropped two spots, while Indiana fell three, but Michigan – coming of a week in which it beat Indiana but lost to Michigan State – jumped one spot.

For the first time in seven weeks, no Big Ten teams that were not ranked in the poll received any votes -- perhaps a sign that voters have clearly determined their top five teams in the league. Also remember the Gophers face four of those ranked teams -- Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan State and Indiana -- down the stretch at Williams Arena.

Here is the full poll:

1. Kentucky (23-1)
2. Syracuse (23-1)
3. Ohio State (20-3)
4. Missouri (21-2)
5. North Carolina (20-3)
6. Baylor (21-2)
7. Kansas (18-5)
8. Florida (19-4)
9. Murray State (23-0)
10. Duke (19-4)
11. Michigan State (18-5)
12. Georgetown (18-4)
13. San Diego State (20-3)
14. UNLV (21-4)
15. Florida State (16-6)
16. Saint Mary’s (22-2)
17. Creighton (21-3)
18. Marquette (19-5)
19. Virginia (18-4)
20. Mississippi State (18-5)
21. Wisconsin (18-6)
22. Michigan (17-7)
23. Indiana (18-6)
24. Louisville (18-5)
25. Harvard (20-2)
 

This was an important win for the Gophers.

It helped to immediately put the bad loss at Iowa behind them and hopefully pushes them into the rough road ahead with some confidence. It won’t be easy for the Gophers – who play four of their last seven games against Wisconsin (2), Michigan State and Ohio State.

They will need to finish 4-3 the rest of the way – that means winning at least one of those last four games I mentioned – in order to finish .500. At 9-9 in the conference, they would have a good shot at the NCAA tournament.

There were certainly good signs in the win, but there are significant concerns as well, ones that could haunt them much more down the road.

Some notes from the 69-61 win over Nebraska:

•       The bench scored 40 in this one, two games after scoring 39 against Illinois. In the last few games, the reserves have become a major part of this team, especially with the starters struggling as they have. That’s a great sign. Now the why-they’ve-needed-to part? Not so great.

•       Per this last point, Ralph Sampson III and Rodney Williams – who finished with eight points and three rebounds each – each struggled some again, and Joe Coleman – while getting seven rebounds -- was held scoreless for the second consecutive game.

•       Chip Armelin had another big game, leading the team with 15 points and five rebounds, and providing a noticeable lift in the second half with his intensity.

•       The Gophers picked up substantially as a whole halfway through the second. A three-point play by Maverick Ahanmisi led off an 8-0 all-reserve Gophers run and the Gophers rolled from there – shooting 66.7 percent for the half -- with Sampson and Williams getting more involved in the final minutes. Minnesota held the Huskers to 30.8 percent shooting in the second half after watching them make almost 60 percent of their shots in the first.

•       The Gophers had 14 turnovers, something that has been a big problem for them all season, especially from the point guard spot. Welch had four of them today, to two assists.