Minnesota defense fights off Hoosiers' outside punch

MINNEAPOLIS -- Kerwin Fleming and Kevin Burleson had one guy to look for: the red-headed guy in the red jersey with No. 3 pasted on his back. \nMinnesota's two-guard defensive tandem watched Tom Coverdale knock down three three pointers in three consecutive IU possessions in the first half of the Hoosier-Golden Gopher matchup at Williams Arena Saturday. \nThen, Coverdale -- second in the Big Ten in three point percentage -- hit another long-range jumper. \nThe sharp shooting helped IU to a 48-37 halftime lead and led Minnesota to a revitalized defensive scheme in the second half. \n"Coverdale was a big discussion at halftime," said Burleson, a junior guard. "Kerwin did a great job on him, and I did pretty good staying with him. When the offense is stagnant, (Coverdale) picks it up."\nHe couldn't get free to do so Saturday, and the Gophers (13-7, 6-3 Big Ten) cruised to an 88-74 victory. \nCoverdale hit 1-of-5 second-half three pointers and wasn't able to maneuver inside the paint. With Minnesota's 1-2-2 zone, Fleming and Burleson didn't allow Coverdale to perform his patented back-to-the-bucket drive down the lane. \nHis only field goal of the second half came with just more than two minutes remaining and cut the Gopher lead to eight. IU's second-leading scorer didn't shoot a field goal inside the three-point line in the second half, and the frustration became apparent when he misfired on a free throw and softly kicked the ball back toward the official with 5:20 left in the game and IU down 78-66.\nCoverdale entered the game shooting 87.9 percent from the free-throw line but hit just 2 of 5 Saturday. \nKeeping him off track was the focus on the Gopher defense throughout the second half. \n"The problem is you don't go in at halftime and say 'He's going to cool off,'" Minnesota coach Dan Monson said. "He missed a couple, and we challenged a couple."\nTwo in three\nSaturday's game was IU's second contest in three days, something IU hadn't done since playing back-to-back days in the Hoosier Classic Dec. 28 and 29. \nIU (14-7, 7-2 Big Ten) also played three games in four days from Nov. 21 to Nov. 24 in the Great Alaska Shootout. \nIU fell to then-No. 23 Butler in the second game of the Hoosier Classic and lost to Marquette Nov. 23, two days after beating Alaska-Anchorage and one day before beating Texas. \nDavis admitted sophomore Jared Jeffries looked fatigued but said IU did nothing in practice Friday to cause any fatigue. \n"You have to play basketball," Davis said. "We knew that we were going to play Thursday, Saturday and Tuesday. There was no secret about it."\nIU returns to Assembly Hall Tuesday to meet Iowa for its third game in six days. IU then has three days off before facing Louisville Saturday and doesn't play another Big Ten game until a Feb. 13 matchup with Wisconsin. \nIU will play two games in three days again when it travels to Michigan State Feb. 24 and to Illinois Feb. 26. \nBlessing in disguise\nMinnesota's schedule didn't look all that favorable early in the season, but the Gophers couldn't be happier now that they've beaten the top two teams in the Big Ten -- Ohio State and IU.\nThe Gophers took advantage of meeting both the Buckeyes and Hoosiers on one-day's rest and beat both by similar scores. Minnesota used a late rally to bounce the Buckeyes 89-71 Jan. 26 and did the same to IU Saturday, 88-74. \nNow, the Gophers have the tiebreaker over both the Hoosiers and Buckeyes and don't have to travel to Bloomington or Columbus, but they're not holding out the possibility of seeing them in the Big Ten Tournament. \n"I'm glad," Burleson said. "The scheduling was great to us this year. (IU) is going to be a good team. We'll probably see them again."\nThe other two teams Minnesota plays only once are Purdue and Iowa. The Gophers beat Purdue 87-71 in West Lafayette Jan. 12 and travel to Iowa City to meet the Hawkeyes Feb. 9.\nBig Ten update\nMinnesota's victory slips it into third place in the Big Ten, two games behind Ohio State, which squeaked out a 58-57 win over Northwestern Saturday. The Wildcats had a potential game-winning shot rim out in the final seconds. \nIU is sandwiched between the Gophers and Buckeyes in second place. \nIowa upended Penn State 81-64 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The win ties the Hawkeyes with Michigan for sixth in the league. Both teams are 4-5. \nWisconsin continues to tumble from the league's top tier and fell at Michigan 64-53 Saturday. The Badgers are 5-5 in the league, one-half game ahead of Iowa and Michigan for fifth place. Wisconsin could do IU a favor Wednesday when it welcomes Ohio State to Madison.