Tubby Smith came to the second level of Williams Arena to answer reporters' questions after his Gophers blew a 13-point second-half lead and lost 65-64 to overrated Michigan State on Saturday.

Smith's voice was so soft as to be nearly inaudible. He departed after 10 minutes. As he waited for the elevator, Tubby was overheard mumbling, "You have to find a way to win those games."

Actually, the Gophers did have a way to defeat No. 6 Michigan State -- with aggressive, shot-blocking defense, and by paying attention on offense to the mismatch they had against the Spartans' mediocre big men.

It wasn't until five minutes remained that doubt surfaced with the Gophers. Devoe Joseph, an ironman at point guard after Al Nolen's academic ineligibility, had been alternately patient and dynamic.

Now, a three-point play by Raymar Morgan drew to the Spartans to within 60-55. The Gophers stopped moving in the half-court offense and finally Joseph forced a shot.

Kalin Lucas, the 2009 Big Ten Player of the Year, came back to hit a three and the Gophers officially were fighting for their lives. Another Lucas three, fired from straightaway as Joseph lunged at him, made it 65-62 for the Spartans with 1:27 left.

Ken Chia — AP, Star Tribune
Michigan State forward Raymar Morgan shot against Gophers guard Devoe Joseph during the second half. Morgan made the basket and Joseph was called for a foul, resulting in a three-point play.

That was Michigan State's first lead. The Gophers cut the margin to one, and then the drama concluded with two horrendous possessions -- resulting in a clumsy toss toward the basket by the Spartans' Chris Allen, followed by the same from Lawrence Westbrook in the last seconds.

One media homer suggested to Smith that Westbrook was fouled. Tubby shook off the excuse, realizing that if the officials were in a mood to award shot-taking desperation, they also would have done so with Allen at the other end.

The amateur coaches had another complaint as they filed out of the Barn: Why was the strategy in the final 15 seconds to get the ball to Westbrook so he could go one-on-one, rather than making an attempt to go inside to Ralph Sampson III?

That's what was supposed to happen. The idea was for Sampson to flash across the lane and try to be available for a pass. He wasn't there, Westbrook wound up with the ball above the circle with six seconds left, went into traffic and could only underhand a shot.

There went the opportunity for the Gophers to pull off a grand upset, right? Not really. The home team was a 1 1/2-point favorite, even minus Nolen.

Joseph, a sophomore from Pickering, Ontario, had averaged 15 minutes in the first five Big Ten games. He played 26 in a 19-point effort against Indiana last weekend, and went 36 on Saturday with Nolen not around.

Joseph received high praise from Smith and Tom Izzo, leader of the only remaining glamour program in the Big Ten. Devoe deserved those kind words, even though the fact he's not a Nolen clone defensively helped Lucas to find room for vital threes.

On Lucas' game-winner, Joseph came flying with an outstretched arm and was a moment late.

"I thought he was going to drive," Joseph said. "I gave him a little room. I contested the shot, but he's a big-time player."

Joseph is a shooting threat -- a quality that Nolen didn't offer. And his floor game on Saturday was exceptional, with seven assists and one turnover. Everything was fine with the new point guard, until you realized Lucas' task down the stretch would have been more difficult with Nolen in his face.

"He's quicker than quick," said Izzo, in obvious reference to Nolen's work on the basketball court.

Joseph and Westbrook shared the team high with 16 points. That's a total Nolen didn't reach in his previous 32 games for the Gophers. Nolen was 10-for-37 from the field in five Big Ten games. Joseph was 6-for-10 on Saturday.

All in all, the Gophers have a chance to be a better team with Joseph running the point than they were with Nolen, based on a couple of factors:

One, Joseph keeps his ballhandling as clean as it was Saturday; and two, he can handle 36-minute games.

Smith isn't worried about the latter. "Devoe's probably is in the best shape of anyone on our team," the coach whispered.

Patrick Reusse can be heard 5:30-9 a.m. weekdays on AM-1500 KSTP. • preusse@startribune.com