In another big step in the right direction, the 3-4 Gophers notched their first home win of the Big Ten conference and their third straight with a 75-52 victory at Williams Arena.
The win put the Gophers in the fray, jumping into a tie with Iowa for 8th place in the league and among the five teams that have four wins or fewer.
They're not at .500 yet, but the 0-4 start already feels miles away, doesn't it?
Some notes from today's game:
• Joe Coleman led the team for the second consecutive game, finishing with 16 points and five rebounds. He had his second dunk in consecutive games, too, but he missed what could have been an opportunity for back-to-backs. After getting a steal and a breakaway immediately following the dominant play, he looked like he would dunk again, but paused at the basket and an awkward shot came up short. Coleman was visibly frustrated, and asked about it after the game, he just said "No comment," with a sheepish grin.
• All five starters finished in double digits, after getting double-figures from four against Penn State. I'm going to call it an effect of their new offense, which gets more players involved and keeps the ball moving.
• Ralph Sampson III, who had not scored more than four points in three previous games, played with some real spark, scoring 10 points and adding six boards. He actually dunked in the first half, something I've never seen from him.
• The Gophers held the Wildcats to 32.7 percent shooting overall, and Drew Crawford to five points. Rodney Williams did a stellar job guarding John Shurna in the first half, but the forward was able to get some open shots in the second, and finished with 21.
