BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — One week ago, Gophers coach Clem Haskins threatened to undress on the sidelines if officials didn’t start calling more fouls against Minnesota’s opponents.
Barely four minutes into Saturday’s game with Indiana, Haskins followed through on that threat — sort of.
He managed to make the disrobing even more public than advertised, tearing off his suit jacket (with enough force to require a sewing repair kit) at center court at Assembly Hall before being escorted off the floor by assistant coach Bill Brown. It was his reaction to being ejected for the first time since 1992. It was also the signature moment of Minnesota’s most resounding — if not lopsided — loss of the season, 95-82.
Haskins earned his ejection during the game’s first timeout. At the time, the Gophers (9-11 overall, 2-7 Big Ten) had six fouls to Indiana’s none, and a call had just been reversed that gave Indiana (15-6, 6-3) the ball out of bounds instead of Minnesota. Haskins stormed onto the court and turned apoplectic, yelling at official Tom O’Neill, then bumping him with his arm. That last gesture resulted in a double technical and automatic heave-ho.
“I lost my cool,” Haskins said, who was relieved on the sidelines by assistant head coach Bobby Jones. “Sometimes I just get too competitive. I thought it was a bad crew, but that doesn’t take away from the effort of both teams.”
Despite his recent grumblings about the officiating, Haskins said his latest, most explosive diatribe was not premeditated.
“I get fired up every game, depending on the circumstances,” he said. “I didn’t try to get kicked out.
“Sometimes when I lose my cool, I don’t realize what’s happening. I didn’t try to bump (O’Neill). I don’t know if I did. The tape will tell me if I did or not.”
Michael Lewis hit all four technical free throws, and Luke Recker hit a jumper on the ensuing possession to boost the Hoosiers’ lead to 15-4. Minnesota closed the gap to six at 25-19, but Indiana immediately went on a 9-0 run and led by 17 at halftime.
The onslaught continued in the second half, as the Hoosiers’ lead ballooned to 27 at one point at 71-44. The Gophers made the score respectable thanks to a combination of persistent fouling in the last few minutes and Indiana’s loose definition of defense.
While sophomore guard A.J. Guyton led the Hoosiers with 23 points, including five three-pointers, Minnesota’s plight was best exemplified by Michael Lewis, who scored all 16 of his points from the free throw line. The Hoosiers made 29 free throws in all, seven more than the Gophers attempted.
Minnesota was also victimized by sophomore guard Luke Jiminez, who scored a career-high 11 points, including eight straight in the first half. Jiminez, who is from Redwood Falls, Minn., joined the Hoosiers as a walk-on last year but earned a scholarship for that season and this one, and said he never considered attending Minnesota.
“They never talked to me,” he said. “I never wanted to go there, so that was OK with me. Ever since I was little I had my heart set on Indiana.”
Minnesota guard Eric Harris, who scored a career-high 28 points, all but five in the relatively meaningless second half, said that the Gophers took an “us against the world” approach to the game. The problem was that the Gophers against the Hoosiers was a big enough mismatch, regardless of what the rest of the world, including the officiating, brought to the game.
Indiana coach Bob Knight, who is vaguely familiar with technical fouls and ejections, was asked whether Haskins’ booting gave his team a boost.
“What kind of boost would it give us? I’ve been ejected once or twice,” he joked. “I don’t think it’s ever helped the other guy. I don’t know — have I ever been ejected?”
While Knight facetiously forgot about his past transgressions, Haskins will have at least one keepsake to jog the memory of his early exit. And it’s probably not the loss, which is only the latest in many that have piled up fast enough that they’re now hard to distinguish from each other.
“My wife (Yevette) will probably remind me about the rip in my jacket,” Haskins said.
SATURDAY’S SUMMARY
Gophers 28 54 — 82
Indiana 45 50 — 95
MINNESOTA (9-11, 2-7)
Q. Lewis 3-11 2-4 8, Sanden 0-2 0-0 0, Jacobson 9-19 3-5 22, Clark 6-11 0-0 15, Harris 9-13 7-7 28, Tarver 1-4 3-4 5, Nathaniel 1-2 0-0 2, Archambault 0-3 2-2 2, Broxsie 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-65 17-22 82.
INDIANA (15-6, 6-3)
Miller 2-5 1-3 5, Recker 5-10 2-2 13, Patterson 5-8 0-0 10, M. Lewis 0-3 16-20 16, Guyton 7-16 4-4 23, Gladness 5-6 1-3 11, Jimenez 4-4 1-2 11, Turner 1-2 0-0 2, Richardson 0-0 4-4 4, Eggers 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-55 29-38 95.
3-point goals — Minnesota 7-18 (Clark 3-5, Harris 3-5, Jacobson 1-4, Archambault 0-1, Q. Lewis 0-3), Indiana 8-19 (Guyton 5-10, Jimenez 2-2, Recker 1-3, Miller 0-1, M. Lewis 0-1, Patterson 0-2). Fouled out — Q. Lewis. Rebounds — Minnesota 33 (Q. Lewis 11), Indiana 38 (Miller, Patterson 6). Assists — Minnesota 14 (Q.Lewis 4), Indiana 25 (M. Lewis 10).Total fouls — Minnesota 24, Indiana 22. Technicals — Minnesota coach Haskins 2 (ejected), Minnesota assistant coach Brown. A — 17,146.
