The Gophers men's basketball team's next opponent is the NIT's No. 1 overall seed. Indiana State seems out of place in this tournament, though.
You won't find many college basketball analysts who didn't complain on the Sycamores' behalf about getting snubbed from March Madness. Gophers coach Ben Johnson couldn't argue with that take, either.
"They're an NCAA tournament team," Johnson said. "It's going to be a fun challenge for our guys on the road no question."
Johnson's Gophers (19-14) were able to keep their season alive Tuesday with a 73-72 win at Butler in the NIT's first round. Dawson Garcia's 25 points were huge. So was Parker Fox's last-second steal that set up Elijah Hawkins' game-clinching free throws with five seconds left. Hawkins' double-double with 15 assists also helped to snap the U's six-game losing streak away from home.
Trying to duplicate that performance Sunday in Terre Haute, Ind., will be a much tougher task against Missouri Valley Conference champion Indiana State (29-6), the highest NET-ranked team (28th) ever not to be selected to the Big Dance.
"We took a gut punch," Indiana State coach Josh Schertz said about not hearing his team's name called on Selection Sunday. "We thought we deserved to be in the tournament, and we didn't get in. Our guys were gutted. They were shattered."
The Sycamores were the darlings of college basketball this year after they jumped into the top 25 rankings in February for the first time since Larry Bird led the program to an NCAA runner-up finish vs. Magic Johnson's Michigan State team in 1978-79.
Indiana State's dominance in the MVC caught the nation's attention. Not as much, though, as the team's top player, Robbie Avila. He's a glasses-wearing 6-10 sophomore with a nonathletic physique that just gets it done. Nicknames such as "Cream Abdul-Jabbar" and "Larry Nerd" made him a social media sensation.
"He just has a unique skill set," Johnson said of Avila, who averages 17.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists. "His ability to pass and anticipate when a guy's going to be open. He gets you with the shot fake. He gets you just with his pace. You can't speed him up."
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Attempting to slow down Avila is an even bigger challenge since the Sycamores have five players who average double figures. Their fourth-leading scorer, Jayson Kent, had a career-high 35 points and nine rebounds in a 101-92 NIT first-round win against SMU on Wednesday.
The Sycamores were down 15 points in the second half and outscored SMU 59-35 in the last 18 minutes, 6 seconds of the game. Their starters scored 79 points in an 84-80 loss against Drake in the Missouri Valley tournament title game that kept them out of the NCAA tournament.
Johnson followed Indiana State all season because he and Sycamores assistant Matt Graves were colleagues on Xavier's staff in the Big East.
"[Indiana State] has got a crazy combination of talent and skill that you just don't see," Johnson said. "They play a short rotation with about six guys. But all six guys can dribble, pass and shoot."
The biggest knock on Indiana State is it never beat a power conference opponent this season. There was a 22-point blowout loss to Alabama. But Michigan State had a single-digit lead with under 90 seconds to play before pulling away 87-75 against the Sycamores in December.
The Gophers understand how difficult it will be to upset arguably the best team not in the NCAA tournament this year. They might just gain a lot more respect, though, if they do.
"I'm assuming they're going to have a pretty good crowd," Johnson said. "So, this is going to be a major, major test for our guys."
