Something was missing in U loss

Al Nolen scored as many points as Goldy Gopher on Sunday afternoon. He had the same number of assists as the announced 14,625 fans at Williams Arena. He finished the game tied with the Gophers cheerleaders, who also had no steals.

Nolen was sidelined because of a leg injury during Minnesota's second consecutive five-point conference loss at home to a ranked opponent, a 78-73 defeat to No. 11 Michigan State.

Gophers coach Tubby Smith tried to use players such as sophomore Lawrence Westbrook to make up for the freshman guard's absence, but Westbrook, not accustomed to playing point guard, had five turnovers in the first half. But Nolen's injury was also another opportunity for other players to excel, which collectively didn't happen against the Spartans, Smith said.

"We got veteran backcourt guys, we should be able to do a better job there," he said. "It's a chance for somebody else to step up."

Nolen, the Big Ten's steals leader, provided the Gophers (12-5, 2-3 Big Ten) with four steals and seven assists and held Drew Neitzel to four points in a 65-59 defeat at Michigan State (16-2, 4-1) two weeks ago.

On Sunday, Neitzel finished with a team-high 19 points and made five second-half threes, including the one that put the Spartans up for good at 41-40 with 14 minutes, 4 seconds to go.

Nolen's absence, caused when he was kneed in his right leg at practice Saturday -- unbeknownst to most outside of the team -- forced the Gophers to make adjustments. Many of them didn't work, with Minnesota collecting one steal and 10 turnovers in the first half.

Lawrence McKenzie tried his best to carry the Gophers when they were inching toward closing the gap late in the game, but the guard's 20 points weren't enough. The team's other two seniors, Spencer Tollackson (seven) and Dan Coleman (nine), combined for 16 points.

McKenzie said having Nolen available would have boosted the Gophers' chances, but only if was healthy. "I think Al really would have helped us today," he said. "But he can't help if he's not 100 percent."

Even without the Gophers' lapses, the Spartans did plenty to guarantee the victory. Neitzel managed the game well, which helped his team hit 49 percent of its shots, including 53.3 percent of its three-point attempts.

Kalin Lucas' speed and shooting touch -- he scored 12 points -- were assets. Fellow freshman guard Chris Allen scored 11 points after playing only four minutes in the first meeting vs. the Gophers. They helped make up for a nine-point game by Raymar Morgan, who scored 31 points in the earlier meeting in East Lansing.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said he was surprised Nolen didn't play and also believed his presence could have changed the game.

After a hard loss against Indiana on Thursday, Sunday's game wasn't much easier for the Gophers. McKenzie said the team has to regain its confidence. But there's only way to do that: by winning.

"We need to go on a win streak, point blank," he said.