gophers/ncaa

In November, the Gophers men's basketball team beat West Virginia and North Carolina during a nonconference tournament in Puerto Rico.

They climbed up the national rankings. Bracketologists boasted of their Sweet 16 potential. And a victory over top-10 Purdue last month seemed to justify those projections. But that team vanished weeks ago.

The flawed team that lost to Michigan State 53-48 Tuesday night at Williams Arena has replaced its promising predecessor. Since Al Nolen suffered a broken foot last month, the Gophers (17-10, 6-9 Big Ten) have won two of their past eight games. They're three games under .500 in league play.

They're barely a bubble team. In a must-win scenario against the Spartans (16-11, 8-7), they played their way to a comfortable lead and then watched their success evaporate. The collapse resembled their year.

"We've got a lot of work to do," coach Tubby Smith said. "Tonight was an important game, I thought."

The Gophers possessed a 47-39 lead over Michigan State with 4 minutes, 31 seconds to play.

They didn't record another bucket. Michigan State outscored the Gophers 14-1 from that point on.

Delvon Roe hit two free throws and then Kalin Lucas, who led all scorers with 18 points, hit one more on consecutive possessions to cut the Gophers' advantage to 47-41 with 3:37 left. Then, Lucas hit a jumper and Durrell Summers sank a three-pointer to cut the Spartans' deficit to 47-46 with 2:46 to go.

Chip Armelin made one of two from the foul line with 2:21 on the game clock -- his team's last point.

Michigan State's Keith Appling knocked down two more free throws to even the score at 48-48 with 1:22 to play.

Then the Gophers missed out on one of the biggest moments of their entire season.

Roe tipped a Lucas miss back to Draymond Green. Green shot a 16-footer that clanked off the rim. Roe tipped the ball back to Appling, who drove the basket and drew a foul. He connected on both free throws and the Spartans led 50-48 with 27 seconds left. They went 3-for-4 from the free-throw line in the last 11 seconds of the game to ice the victory.

"They knew how to come back at us and how to try to take advantage of our weaknesses," said Gophers center Ralph Sampson III, who had 10 points and seven rebounds.

Trevor Mbakwe recorded his 16th double-double of the year with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Armelin scored 12 points, 11 after halftime.

But those performances were negated by their team's finish.

The Spartans pressed as the Gophers unraveled. Their bad passes and questionable shots stunted their offense.

Of the Gophers' 15 turnovers, nine were committed after halftime, when the Spartans began to press. Blake Hoffarber scored five points, zero in the second half.

"We're battling and I thought it we could get a stop," Smith said after the game. "You work so hard and you get a turnover here or there, it takes a lot of wind out of your sail. And let's face it, they made some big-time shots."

Before the year began, Tuesday's matchup projected as a trivial encounter.

By late February, most figured, both teams would have an NCAA tournament bid locked up.

But crippling drama -- dismissals for the Spartans and injuries and departures for the Gophers --has placed both squads on the bubble with a few games to play before the start of the Big Ten tournament.

Smith said it's possible Nolen might return. But he said he doesn't expect to receive any "definitive" timetable in the near future.

Without Nolen, it's hard to see how this team will rebound and earn its third consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament.

On Nolen's injury, Smith said, "You just have to wait on it."

But perhaps they've run out of time for his possible return to matter.