College sports can be glorious. Last night, Minnesota and Ohio State participated in a glorious game.
In a professional sports league, the end goal is more or less one of profitable entertainment. College sports, meanwhile, live on a much higher place of existence. They aren’t just sources of entertainment and distraction: they serve the communities they represent. Last night’s contest between Ohio State and Minnesota displayed this perfectly. If the Timberwolves and Cavaliers played such a matchup, I’d have changed the channel before the end of the first quarter. But there’s something poetic and alluring about a horrifically played college athletics game.
Anyone remember the Cheez-Int Bowl between Cal and TCU? 9 total interceptions and a 10-7 final score (in OT, mind you) made for a beautiful debauchery of blunders and blown plays. There’s just something so imperfectly human about these sort of games. Last night’s ridiculous basketball game in Minneapolis was no different.
On Twitter, a group called The Sickos Committee seemed to hold a similar appreciation for this type of game, deeming it the “Sickos game of the year” in one tweet. So what was so crazy about this game? Going in, it looked like an inconsequential Big Ten game on an uneventful Monday night slate. Here’s 5 absurdities to hopefully show you this game was anything but:
Absurdity 1: Fouling Up… Three?
Fouling up three is strategic. With four seconds remaining in overtime, Kadyn Betts of Minnesota knew what he had to do. John Mobley Jr. brings the ball up the court for the Buckeyes before Betts reaches in for the intentional foul – great quick thinking by Betts to prevent a three-ball.
Only then did Betts realize his critical error. The score was 73-71. Mobley Jr. easily made both free throws to tie the game before Minnesota missed a buzzer beating three for the win, forcing a second overtime.
Absurdity 2: The Anti-Clutch Gene
Seconds prior to that crazy sequence, Minnesota actually did successfully foul up three. It was 73-70 with 9 seconds to play, and after Isaac Asuma went 1 for 2 at the line, Mobley Jr. was quickly fouled before going 1 for 2 at the line himself, bringing it to 73-71. Point guard Mike Mitchell Jr. visited the line next for the Golden Gophers, proceeding to miss both free throws before the fouling up two incident. An epic collapse for Minnesota, who shot 44.4% from the line in the contest.
But let’s not forget the end of regulation, where Ohio State had the last possession down by two. With 5 seconds to go, Devin Royal swooped in for a dunk and a foul, tying the game at 64 with a chance to ice it from the line. Royal then missed the free throw, followed by an offensive board, a missed two, another offensive board, then another missed two, then the sound of the buzzer.
Absurdity 3: Trey Edmonds
With 15 minutes to go in the second half, Trey Edmonds of Minnesota notched his 3rd and 4th foul of the game on a single play. The second foul was whistled after Edmonds used some choice words to challenge the first foul. Additionally, a minute prior to this, Edmonds grabbed a defensive board, then immediately was whistled for a foul and turned the ball over. 3 fouls in about a minute and a half. His final stat line ended with 4 personal fouls and 2 turnovers, in all of 7 minutes on the floor.
Absurdity 4: Minnesota’s Season on the Line!
In a performance that, it’d be easy to assume Ohio State’s status as a good team, arguing they simply played down to their competition in a struggle of a match. But that may not have been the case.
Minnesota entered the contest with no notable wins, a 8-6 record, and an 0-3 start to conference play. Head coach Ben Johnson’s leash is tightening by the minute. They were straight off a 20 point home loss to Purdue. Losing a home game to Ohio State would surely leave Minnesota without a viable path to an at-large bid. And yet, this was their effort to mitigate that. Minnesota played like a team that thinks a loss is inevitable. They stumbled around, maybe even had some fun, but it looked like they decided their fate from the get-go. An odd strategy, especially when considering the desperation it arose from.
Absurdity 5: Caleb Williams?
No, not that Caleb Williams. This Caleb Williams is a former point guard for Macalester College, a small division 3 school in Minneapolis. In the 2023-24 season, his junior year, Williams averaged 20 points, 3 assists, and 4 rebounds per game, with a career-high 51 points on January 24th of last year versus Concordia M’Head.
Williams led the Scots in scoring for 3 straight years and majored in physics and mathematics. He also dropped 41 points in a secret scrimmage vs Minnesota last season. Having spent his whole life in the land of 10,000 lakes, Minnesota was a perfect fit for Williams. Yet, the now senior has only 10 minutes on the year, all versus low-major opponents (Bethune-Cookman, Fairleigh Dickinson, Morgan State).
Going forward, Williams has to wonder how bad it must get before he is awarded meaningful playing time. Could a few minutes against the Buckeyes changed the course of last night’s game? Minnesota fans can only wonder. That, or they’ll shift focus to their women’s team after last night.
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