Reusse: Gophers show some heart as they sludge it out with Badgers

The Big Ten schedule was turning into the usual grind and this Gophers basketball team had taken on a small-hearted appearance. This was far from a first in the disappointing Tubby Smith Era.

On Thursday night, the Gophers were host to the narcolepsy-inducing Wisconsin Badgers, the ugliest No. 20-ranked team in the history of college basketball rankings.

The Gophers came out ready to adopt the Badgers' stodgy approach. It was 10-4 for the Badgers at the first TV timeout, and it was 10-4 for the Badgers at the second TV timeout.

Wisconsin started by hitting a pair of threes, and then clanked away at 1-for-11 for the remainder of the half. You almost had to shed a tear for that poor rim on the east basket in the Barn.

This Badger blacksmithing allowed the Gophers to go on an 8-0 waddle at the end of the half and cut the lead to 24-22. And from then on, everyone in the announced crowd of 14,625 knew it would remain a night of mud wrestling until a narrow winner was declared.

That turned out to be the Gophers, 58-53 in overtime. They got there by showing much more fight than had been on display during a disgusting 2-6 slide that put them closer to the bad teams in the Big Ten than the good ones.

Wisconsin was leading 47-43 when Ben Brust made a jumper with 6:11 left in regulation. This was it: exactly the type of game the Badgers always win and adds to Bo Ryan's legend as a coaching genius.

One problem. The Badgers scored on two free throws, missed five shots and turned it over four times in that final 6:11. And then they missed seven shots to open overtime.

Twelve straight misses. Four turnovers. And no field goals from the time Brust scored at 6:11 until Jared Berggren's putback with 10 seconds remaining in OT. That's four free throws and no other points in 11 minutes.

If Wisconsin is No. 20, I don't want to be forced to watch No. 21.

And still, the Gophers looked to be in a bad way when Traevon Jackson got away with a world-class flop, and Wisconsin had the lead at 49-43 with 5:08 left in regulation.

Jackson is the son of former Ohio State and NBA standout Jim Jackson. He resembles his father facially and across the shoulders. As a player, it's a different story. He went 3-for-14 from the field, and his attempts at a Jordan Taylor impersonation down the stretch were hapless.

The Gophers needed more than Wisconsin's ineptitude to put an end to a month of drudgery -- starting with the Michigan loss in the Barn on Jan. 17.

They needed Joe Coleman, a mediocre free throw shooter, to make two free throws for a 49-49 tie with 17 seconds left. They needed Austin Hollins and helpers to force a horrendous final shot by Jackson at the end of regulation.

In overtime, the Gophers needed Andre Hollins -- the sophomore guard with the ability to be his team's dagger thrower -- to hit a three at 3:36 for the first points by either team in overtime.

That loosened up the Gophers and the home crowd. Later, Trevor Mbakwe went above traffic to secure a defensive rebound ... showing those enormously strong hands that were remembered fondly from his junior season of 2010-11.

A moment later, Mbakwe was thrown to the floor by Jackson in a tangle on the Gophers' offensive end. Trevor could have stayed to protest a no-call, but he got up and hustled to play defense.

"We won this game with great defense. We hadn't been pressing teams with our defense, but we did tonight."

Mbakwe came down with another rebound and then was fouled. He's a subpar free throw shooter, but he made two there to make it 54-49, and the Gophers held on.

They were still alive. Their hearts were back to pumping blood.

Patrick Reusse can be heard oon-4 weekdays on 1500-AM. • preusse@startribune.com