Minnesota used a better, stronger effort to upset No. 12 Michigan State.
And for Spartans coach Tom Izzo, the blame fell on him.
Vince Grier had 15 points and eight rebounds on Saturday, leading the energized Gophers to a 69-55 victory, their first over Michigan State in six tries since January 2003.
PHOTO: AP
"I've been a little soft in practice lately, because I've been paranoid about this three games in six days," said Izzo, whose team had won six of its previous seven.
The Spartans (18-6, 6-4 Big Ten), though, were just as quick to credit Minnesota for the outcome.
Zach Puchtel scored 13 points, J'son Stamper added 12 and Adam Boone and Moe Hargrow each had 10 for the Gophers (12-9, 3-7), who have won three of four since shuffling their lineup.
"I think it was a real credit to our guys that they believed in the game plan and how they had to play to win," coach Dan Monson said.
That included keeping Paul Davis from getting good position in the post, racing after every loose ball, harassing point guard Drew Neitzel, denying Maurice Ager the ball and getting back on defense to keep Michigan State out of the fast break.
Shannon Brown scored 17 of his 19 points after halftime and Davis had 17 points for the Spartans, who were outscored 22-6 over the final 6 1/2 minutes. They went 6 minutes without a field goal down the stretch, until Brown's meaningless layup with 46 seconds left cut the lead to 65-55.
"It looked like one team wanted it," Izzo said, "and one team was just playing basketball. ... As I told our team, I really do appreciate it when you get what you deserve."
Minnesota had 17 assists and only eight turnovers, preventing Michigan State from keeping pace with first-place Iowa in the conference race -- as a trip to play the Hawkeyes on Tuesday looms large.
"We definitely let an opportunity slip away," said Ager, who had all six of his points before halftime.
The Spartans rarely get outmuscled and outhustled, but that's what was happening. Brown started to get free and found his touch early in the second half, and the game was tight and intense from then until Boone's long jumper with 6:22 left tied it at 49.
But that sparked the Gophers on their game-closing run, and Michigan State faded.
Playing a ranked opponent for the fourth time in five games, Minnesota was full of pep from start to finish -- frequently pumping fists, encouraging the fans and bumping chests throughout the afternoon.
"This is a win to remember. It was a great feeling," said Grier, who gave the Gophers, and the crowd, a big boost with a steal and a sweeping, one-handed dunk at the end of a fast break to give his team a 43-41 lead.
Monson has already used 12 different starting lineups. Though this one includes two walk-ons in Jamal Abu-Shamala and Puchtel to go with Grier, Boone and Stamper, it seems to be his best.
Buoyed by their second road win of the season in seven tries, 77-66 at Penn State on Wednesday, the Gophers controlled the first half with the kind of pesky defense they played routinely on their way to an NCAA tournament appearance last year.
Ager picked up three fouls. Brown tried only two shots and the Spartans committed 10 turnovers, against just six assists, in falling behind 31-25 at halftime.
"Things just weren't going our way," Davis said.
Puchtel, a thick, scrappy forward who transferred from Harvard because he was bored with the athletic atmosphere in the Ivy League, tangled with Michigan State's Marquise Gray underneath the basket during a fight for rebounding position early in the second half.
Grier stepped in and confronted Gray, and both got technical fouls. Minutes later, after a few more shoves and glares, the officials made both teams huddle in the lane for a lecture that the rough stuff wouldn't be tolerated.
Puchtel grinned, when asked about the tussle with Gray.
"We're tight," he joked. "I'm making a lot of friends in this league."
Admirers, too.
"If you play hard, good things happen to you," Izzo said. "And that kid plays hard."
No. 2 Duke 96, Maryland 88
J.J. Redick insisted that beating Maryland wasn't anything special.
So why did the Duke senior walk off the Terrapins' home court for the final time, wearing an ear-to-ear grin as he shot a glance toward the screaming Maryland fans?
"That was a relieved smile, to have pulled off the victory," Redick said. "It was just funny to me. The game's over and they were still freaking out, getting ready to throw a water bottle or something."
Redick scored 35 points for a second straight game, Shelden Williams had 26 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks, and No. 2 Duke never trailed in a 96-88 victory.
The Blue Devils (23-1, 11-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) were swept by the Terrapins last season and had lost three of their last four at Maryland. But Redick said this victory had nothing to do with revenge.
"It means we're 11-0 in the conference. That's all I'm worried about right now," he said. "The stuff that's happened in the past is just in the past. I'm worried about the present right now."
Years ago, the mother of former Duke star Carlos Boozer was struck in the head by a water bottle in a game at Maryland. The fans remained under control on Saturday, even though the home team never really made a run in the second half.
"It's frustrating that you don't get that win," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "I think any game I've ever coached I thought we could win. We've won games believing like that."
The Terrapins were willing, but they just didn't have enough talent to offset the inside-outside duo of Redick and Williams.
Williams went 10-for-15 from the field, and was a force underneath both baskets.
"Shelden is a great defensive player. He ended up with seven blocks, but I think he altered many more shots," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We're very lucky to have him. I wouldn't trade him for anyone."
Redick made four 3-pointers and was 13-for-14 at the free throw line. Led by Redick, who needs one more 3-pointer to tie Curtis Staples of Virginia for the NCAA career mark (413), Duke connected 11 times from beyond the arc. Maryland made only four.
Redick didn't get his first basket until the game was nearly 7 minutes old, mainly because the Terrapins made a point of shutting down the nation's leading scorer.
"J.J. got 35 points in a very workmanlike way," Krzyzewski said.
Nik Caner-Medley scored 22 points and James Gist had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Terrapins (15-8, 5-5), who were seeking to avenge a 76-52 loss at Duke last month.
"It's unfortunate. We really wanted this game," Caner-Medley said. "It was mostly mental mistakes. When you play Duke, you can't have mental mistakes. You can't leave people open.
"Hopefully we'll get another chance to play them down the road."
Duke opened both halves with 11-4 runs. The first one enabled the Blue Devils to take control early, and the latter provided Duke with an 11-point lead after Maryland closed to 42-38 at halftime.
"When they get a lead it's hard to come back," Maryland guard D.J. Strawberry said. "They're the No. 2 team in the country. You have to do everything right to beat them."
Redick, who had 35 points in a win at North Carolina on Tuesday, began the second half with a 3-pointer and Williams added a layup. It was 49-42 before a jumper by Redick and a dunk by Williams put the Blue Devils up by 11.
Maryland spent the rest of the game trying to close the gap. But every time the Terrapins made progress -- raising the noise level of the sellout crowd -- Duke had an answer.
It was 64-54 before Williams made a layup and Redick sank a 3 for a 15-point lead. Then, after the Terrapins closed to 83-75, Sean Dockery hit a 3-pointer for the Blue Devils.
Maryland never cut the gap below seven points after that.
Before the game, Gary Williams was recognized as the winningest men's basketball coach in Maryland history during a ceremony that included the man whose record he broke, Lefty Driesell.
Williams then set out to earn his 350th win with his alma mater against a team that had beaten him 29 of 40 times during his 17-year stint at Maryland.
Duke hit its first four shots, including three 3-pointers, to take an 11-4 lead. Maryland closed to 13-12 before Williams scored on an alley-oop and Greg Paulus added a 3 for a six-point lead.
The Blue Devils did all this without a contribution from Redick, who finally made his first basket with 13:37 left in the half, a 3-pointer that made it 21-14.
Minutes later, Williams scored five points, Redick made two layups and Paulus added a 3-pointer in a 13-4 spurt that put Duke up 36-24.
The Terrapins went nearly 5 minutes without a basket before Gist made a layup early in a 12-4 run that made it 40-36.
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