Shower of threes soaks U

EAST LANSING, MICH. - The 14th-ranked Gophers put themselves in a position to win during the first half of their 71-62 road loss to 20th-ranked Michigan State on Friday. And then, the Spartans lit them up from the perimeter.

They knocked down seven of their 10 three-point attempts after halftime, as the basket became a canyon for them. The hoop at the other end of Breslin Center probably looked like a hole on a golf course to the Gophers during their 2-for-10 effort from the three-point line after the break.

"We had some stints when we couldn't score," said junior forward Trevor Mbakwe, who led the Gophers with 17 points and nine rebounds. "And they got hot from the three-point line, which has been the story of the season so far."

Less than halfway through the season, the Gophers (11-3, 0-2 Big Ten) have a story. And if they don't produce better endings, their season could take a sharp downward turn with matchups against second-ranked Ohio State and 12th-ranked Purdue over the next 12 days.

The Gophers led 28-22 at halftime after holding the Spartans (9-4, 1-0) to 1-for-14 shooting from the three-point line in the first half. Michigan's three top scorers -- Durrell Summers, Draymond Green and Kalin Lucas -- combined for only 11 points in that time, as the Spartans shot 25.8 percent from the field.

"I wasn't upset because I thought 90 percent of the shots we took were good shots," Spartans coach Tom Izzo said. "I told them at halftime to keep shooting."

And then, those athletes started playing like the ones who took the Spartans to last season's Final Four. And the Gophers, who defend the three-point shot worse than any Big Ten squad not named Penn State, did little to stop them.

His third consecutive three-pointer tied the score 41-41 with 12 minutes, 56 seconds to play. His fourth three-pointer in a row capped a 14-3 run and handed the Spartans a 55-44 edge at the 7:23 mark. The sudden, unexpected chasm stunned the Gophers, who were outscored 49-34 in the second half.

"It was good game for a while there until we just started to turn the ball over and Durrell got hot and we couldn't find him and didn't do a good job there," Gophers coach Tubby Smith said.

Summers (game-high 19 points), Lucas (10) and Green (14) all finished in double- digits. Delvon Roe added 11 points and nine rebounds.

Minnesota didn't achieve the same success on offense. Over one nine-minute gap in the second half, the Gophers scored three points.

Blake Hoffarber, the Gophers' leading scorer, finished with 12 points but was held to a 3-for-8 performance from three-point range. Mbakwe, who provided the brawn necessary to neutralize Michigan State's physical style in the first half, played only nine minutes in the second half (and 22 overall) because of foul trouble.

In the near future, the Gophers will face some of the league's top scoring threats. Ohio State freshman Jared Sullinger, a projected lottery pick in next summer's NBA draft, is averaging 17.5 points per game. The Gophers will see him when they travel to Columbus on Jan. 9. And a Jan. 13 home matchup against Purdue brings the challenge of stopping JaJuan Johnson (20.0 ppg) and E'Twaun Moore (19.5).

The list of players in the Big Ten who can go from scoreless to fearless in the same game is a long one.