Gophers Season Crumbling After Third Straight Loss

Richard Pitino has said repeatedly this season that he doesn't want to use his team's turned-over roster as an excuse when the group fails.

But it's hard to watch the Minnesota Golden Gophers -- losers of three consecutive games, now under .500, looking more uninspired by the night -- and not see a team that lacks chemistry, direction and leadership.

Minnesota lost a second straight halftime lead at home Wednesday night against an Indiana team with an identical 6-8 Big Ten record. Three days after blowing an eight-point lead in the closing minutes versus Iowa, the Gophers again looked rudderless trying to make plays late against the Hoosiers in a 68-56 loss. Their 12-13 (6-9) record leaves them all alone in 12th in the Big Ten -- too far below the postseason threshold even for a team in the Big Ten, which may send 10 or 11 teams to the Big Dance.

"Obviously that's a blow, there's no way around it," Pitino said afterward. "We've got five left. I always thought you needed to win five of the [last] seven, so you've dug yourself a hole, right? Anytime you lose at home in this league it's a problem because it's really hard to win on the road."

The first loss in the Gophers' losing streak was predictable: at Penn State in front of a supercharged road crowd. Their road record dropped to 1-8 with that 83-77 defeat, but the home confines had been kind to Minnesota this season, and two winnable games awaited them at Williams Arena out of a bye. At a time of year when many teams are congealing, however, the Gophers couldn't have looked more disconnected in home losses versus Iowa and Indiana which followed similar scripts. The latest defeat resembled a marathon runner that sprinted the first five miles before running out of gas. Minnesota jumped out to a 23-13 lead against Indiana, hitting eight of its first nine shots. Yet they only made 13 of their final 52 while shooting 27 percent in the second half. The Hoosiers countered with 48 percent shooting after halftime.

"You've got to look at the ones they're taking and tell them that they obviously have to keep shooting them," Pitino said of his team's woes. "They're much better shooters than they're showing. But we've got to control what we can control on the other end too. Yeah, we didn't make shots, but they also shot 48 percent in the second half. We can control that."

Offensive success affecting defensive effort has been a theme for multiple seasons now, as confessed by Pitino after numerous losses. In eight of 15 Big Ten games, however, the Gophers have shot worse than 40 percent from the field. They are not a good shooting team, despite Pitino's assertion that their practice shots more frequently go in. Bad shooting should not be shocking the Gophers at this point.

It doesn't help that the Gophers don't possess many slashers to get to the rim, keep defenders honest and open up the perimeter. Payton Willis takes 75 percent of his shots from 3-point range, while Gabe Kalscheur takes 65 percent. (Kalscheur has seen his 3-point percentage drop 9 percent this year after stroking 41 percent his freshman campaign.) After starting 3 of 3 Wednesday, Willis finished 5 of 9 from the floor, while Kalscheur went 1 of 9 from 3-point range and 1 of 11 overall.

"I'm shocked that Gabe goes 1 for 9," said Pitino, "and I thought he had some good looks. Payton's also a really good 3-point shooter. It's hard when you're missing that many shots."

Marcus Carr, perhaps the team's lone guard with the ability to score off the dribble, has been an enigma. He has been labeled as the team's most vocal leader, but that leadership hasn't always shown on the floor. With four games scoring 24 or more points, he's proven he can be a game-changing presence at point guard. But he's also shot under 40 percent in nine of 15 conference games. Even with a nationally-recognized big man in Daniel Oturu, the Gophers entered play Wednesday ranked 310th in the nation in free-throw attempts.

Carr can be the team's engine, but they've sputtered too often with him at the helm.

"We couldn't grasp that we needed to drive the ball," Pitino said after the game.

The Gophers are becoming more predictable, and not in an encouraging sense. The current routines are not getting it done.

Minnesota has bemoaned its 3-point shooting most of the season while scarcely seeing improvement. Free-throw shooting has seemed to follow suit. Defenses have held the Gophers below 60 points six times in Big Ten play.

Who is there to provide the reality check? The team lacks elders who are familiar with pulling a team out of a rut. Senior Michael Hurt rarely plays, while grad transfer Alihan Demir is brand new to the program. Returning starters Oturu and Kalscheur are both reserved types that rarely vocalize.

If the Gophers are to salvage this season, it'll have to come from their head coach. Pitino may have the most at stake as he stares at a possible fifth missed tournament in seven years as head coach.