Bethel basketball took on St. John’s in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men’s basketball matchup on Saturday afternoon. What a doozy. Bethel came into the game with 16 wins on the season while the Johnnies had 22 wins at tipoff. Both teams put on quite a show for a packed house at the Robertson Center.
I don’t know for sure if the team’s were nervous going into the game but they played like it early on. They both had already qualified for the MIAC playoffs which began the following week. But, the Johnnies and the Royals put up a lot of shots in the first half and I lost count halfway through the period as to the number of bunnies that both teams missed under their respective baskets. St. John’s led a low-scoring game, 26-25 at the half.
The tempo and the number of made baskets picked up dramatically in the second half. The Johnnies outscored the Royals by six points (47-41) after halftime, thanks to a combination of deadly three-point shooting, key free throws, and a couple of iffy officiating calls very late in the game. Irregardless of whether you thought the calls were good or not, St. John’s capitalized and came out of there with a hard-fought MIAC win.
Here’s a file photo from a recent Bethel University men’s basketball game. I saw the Royals drop a hard-fought game to St. John’s on Saturday, 73-66. It was one of the more entertaining Bethel basketball games I’ve seen in a long time. (File photo from Bethel basketball website.)
Physical strength in the post played a big factor in the St. John’s win. Johnnie’s center Zach Hanson scored a game-high 19 points (8 of 17 shooting) on the block, with Bethel unable to stop his running hook shots in the lane. The big Johnnie completed a double-double with 10 rebounds. Colton Codute added 17 points and Jubie Alade, one of the smoother guards you’ll see in the MIAC, added 12 points.
Bethel basketball senior guard Jack Jenson likely needed an oxygen mask after the game. He played 38 of the 40 minutes in the game, including all 20 minutes of the second half. Jenson finished as the top scorer for Bethel with 14 points, while forwards Isaiah Carver-Bagley and Chandler Wellman each scored 13 points.
Three-point shooting along with free throws were likely the difference in the game. Bethel outshot St. John’s overall, but the Johnnies held a nine-point advantage outside the arc, making 6 treys (18 points) to just three (9 points) from long range for Bethel basketball.
Free throws were also a big advantage for St. John’s, much to the irritation of Bethel fans on hand. St. John’s was 15 of 21 at the stripe while the Royals made just nine of 14 tries.
The one place the Royals had more success on offense was in the paint, outscoring the Johnnies 48-36. In this case, it was outside shooting that made the difference in the game for both teams.
Both teams are getting set to open up the MIAC playoffs during the week ahead.
Minnesota Gopher basketball can be a polarizing discussion among their fans. The team finished the 2018-2019 men’s campaign with a 22-14 record. While there are dozens of colleges and universities that would be thrilled with 22 wins and a victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, not all Gopher fans were pleased with the outcome. Mike Grimm is the 13-year radio voice of the Golden Gophers, who made a recent appearance on the Minnesota Sports Weekly podcast. He says it’s important to keep a little perspective when fans look at a basketball season.
“I think it’s all how you look at it,” said Grimm. “It’s hard to say it was a disappointment. I’ve seen people say that on social media and I think they’re wrong. It’s not worth getting into a disagreement with someone if they don’t have the time or patience to look at the history of Minnesota Gopher basketball. We don’t have the history here as a UCLA does.
“This program has only appeared in 14 NCAA tournament, with two of those appearances in the last three years,” he added. “Anyone who suggests they should be ashamed of a season in which they made an NCAA Tournament and won a game for the second time in 20 years is being silly. That’s just dumb.”
There’s no such thing as a perfect college basketball season. However, Mike Grimm, radio voice of Minnesota Gopher basketball, says the 2018-2019 campaign was pretty good, especially when you look at the history of men’s basketball at the University of Minnesota. (Photo from krocam.)
Grimm says if people really want to nitpick, they can. The
Gophers did let leads slip away in a few games and they lost a few they
probably shouldn’t have. However, they also beat Purdue twice and beat the
Badgers IN Wisconsin for the first time in over a decade. They knocked off the
PAC-12 champion Washington Huskies to win the Vancouver Showcase.
“There were a lot of good things that happened,” Grimm said.
“Remember, this was one of the toughest Big Ten seasons, top-to-bottom. The
Gophers didn’t have a bunch of easy wins anywhere on this season’s schedule. The
Gophers had to play a total of nine games out of a possible ten against the top
five teams in the conference.
“There’s really no reason to sit and argue about it,” he added. “If you want to call it a disappointment, then you haven’t done enough research or you’re just being lazy about it.”
One of the highlights from last season for the Gopher men’s basketball squad was beating Purdue twice in the regular season, as well as a third time in the Big Ten Tournament.
He’s quick to say there were things that could have been done better. However, to say a coach should be fired after leading a team to a win in the NCAA Tournament is “ludicrous.” Grimm took it a step further, saying people who think Minnesota Gopher basketball shouldn’t be proud of this past season is “stupid, really.”
One of the bigger issues when it comes to the Gophers and
social media was a sometimes-heated discussion over the contract extension given
to Richard Pitino. The agreement will keep Pitino at the University of
Minnesota for a total of another five years. It’s the third contract extension
for the coach since joining the U back in 2013.
“There are some benefits to doing it now, especially when it
comes to recruiting,” he said. “But I know it’s hard to forget the
disappointment of the previous season. At one point, that team was 14-3 overall
and ranked at No. 11 in the country. Then, the you-know-what hit the fan.”
That team went 2-14 the rest of the way as the wheels fell
completely off the wagon. There were so many injuries to contend with, and then
the suspension and expulsion of Reggie Lynch added a huge distraction to the
season. “I’m not saying what’s right or what’s wrong,” Grimm added, “but there
are probably schools where Reggie Lynch stays on the team.” However, there’s no
question it’s a university policy and an important issue.”
The main thing about the Lynch situation Grimm wants to get
across is it definitely played a role in the abysmal end to the season. Then,
there were injuries to several players, including Amir Coffey, Dupree McBrayer,
and Eric Curry, to deal with. That dragged everything down to a 2-14 record to
end the season and any momentum from the NCAA appearance the prior season was
lost.
“If he were sitting on three-straight tournament berths, which
likely would have been the case if the wheels didn’t fall off last season, I
don’t think too many people would be second-guessing,” Grimm said. “I know
people cite the 40-70 Big Ten record, but it’s important to remember that this
conference is tough every season. And, if you have two down seasons of 4-14 and
2-16 in the conference, it’s going to be hard to improve your record, even
during successful seasons.
“The extension is also really good for recruiting,” Grimm
said. “I know people want to dismiss it and say, ‘kids aren’t that dumb,’ but
it does make a difference. Everything makes a difference.”
Grimm was frank in saying that if the school does want out
of the deal with Pitino, it’ll actually cost the school less money next year
than it would have without the extension. “I don’t know why people lost their
minds over it,” he pointed out. “There are just some people that thrive on
negativity in this market.
There are things you can nitpick when it comes to Pitino as
far as in-game strategies and substitution patterns. However, that’s something fans
can do with any coach. But Grimm said you can take that too far.
“To sound off about contract extensions and ask why they
didn’t even have a news conference is crazy. There are certain people that love
to be negative and won’t give anyone the benefit of the doubt. It’s the world
we live in, and it’s an everywhere-thing, not just a Minnesota-thing.
Negativity sells and people seem to love it.”
