U regains bearings against Bison

A perplexed Saul Phillips slowly walked to the postgame podium Monday night. His North Dakota State squad had faced the Gophers twice in the past two seasons, never losing by more than 14 points, always making a run that kept things competitive.

But he didn't recognize these Gophers. They handed the Bison their worst defeat since the 2004-05 season, an 88-56 victory for Minnesota (5-1) in front of an announced crowd of 12,454.

Phillips said the Gophers' smothering defense -- a common theme in every victory -- crippled the Bison's offensive scheme. North Dakota State shot 33.3 percent from the field with 19 turnovers, while the Gophers made 52.9 percent of their shots -- including 62.5 in the second half.

"I certainly tip my hat to the way Tubby's guys played," Phillips said. "Coach Smith has definitely energized this program defensively."

Smith can sympathize with Phillips. Last week, he was clearly disappointed and bewildered after a tough road loss at Florida State. He questioned his seniors' efforts. They led the team in scoring last season but only scored 21 points combined that night.

Smith was especially hard on the team's two veteran big men, Spencer Tollackson and Dan Coleman, who only got to the free-throw line twice.

Coleman and Tollackson said they wouldn't let that happen again. And against North Dakota State (4-4), they helped everyone forget that subpar display in Tallahassee, Fla., and focus on their combined 23-point, 12-rebound effort.

After leading the Gophers in scoring on many nights last season, Coleman's play has fluctuated -- he scored 16, 10, nine, seven and six points, respectively, in his first five games.

But with five minutes remaining in the first half Monday, a hoard of Gophers and a herd of Bison grabbed, stabbed and jabbed at a loose ball before Coleman finally tipped it in. That was a confidence booster for Coleman who played aggressively for the rest of the game and finished with 15 points and eight rebounds.

"I was struggling a little bit and my teammates found me," Coleman said. "I found a couple of spots in the offense and I was able to score. I was happy."

North Dakota State, one of Division I's newer programs, fought hard but its shooting touch deserted it.

Smith called the Gophers defensive effort against the Bison the season's best. Early on, the Bison kept things close by methodically moving the ball and trying to set up Ben Woodside, their top scorer. Woodside, who finished with 17 points, had averaged 26.4 points before facing the Gophers.

Minnesota, however, quickly returned to the aggressive defense that has helped the team improve from last year.

"We were really at our best defensive effort tonight and guys were really focused and very active, very aggressive," Smith said.

"We had good on-ball pressure."