Twenty-five years ago, Minnesota basketball put together one of the most memorable seasons in Gophers history. On Sunday, during Minnesota's game vs. Ohio State, that championship team will be honored. The first 10,000 fans will receive a commemorative poster.
Under the direction of head coach Jim Dutcher, the 1981-82 Gophers won the Big Ten Championship through a combination of veteran leadership, All-American talent, team chemistry, an inherent desire to win and a little bit of luck.
“I’m not sure anybody’s expectations were to win the Big Ten because it was such an elusive thing to do,” former assistant coach Jay Pivec said. “With the guys we had on that team, certainly we knew we could compete with every team we played in the Big Ten. We just needed things to bounce our way, and they did. There was just something about that core of guys – they were winners.”
All of Minnesota’s offense in the 1981-82 season was run through 7-2 junior center Randy Breuer, the Gophers’ leading scorer as well as an exceptional post defender, leading the team in rebounds and blocks. “Everything in our offense was run through Randy,” Pivec said. “Around the basket, if got close, it was going in. He was tough to stop.”
Complimenting Breuer was Minnesota’s strong perimeter game, led by Trent Tucker and Darryl Mitchell, who were both outstanding outside shooters that averaged double figures in points. Add in forward Gary Holmes, talented freshman Tommy Davis and a core of solid role players, and the Gophers were a balanced team that could compete with anybody in the country.
Minnesota had finished in fifth place in the Big Ten the season before, but the Gophers’ group of five seniors led by co-captains Holmes and Tucker felt like they had something more to prove.
“We felt like with our group of players, at some point in time we should be in a position to win a Big Ten Championship,” Tucker said. “We thought it would come much earlier than year four. After year number three not really living up to our expectations, we knew it was going to be our last chance to get it done. All of the expectations that were put on us when we came in as freshmen, now it was time for us to show what we were made of.”
After finishing the non-conference schedule with an 8-1 record, the Gophers owned a No. 9 national ranking going into Big Ten play.
Minnesota started out the conference campaign with a disappointing two-point loss at Ohio State, but won its next four games, including a 61-56 win over rival Iowa on Jan. 14, 1982. It was the first time the Gophers had beaten the Hawkeyes at home in three seasons.
Toward the home stretch of the Big Ten season, Minnesota had a 10-4 record, good for second place in the conference. With four games left to play, the Gophers felt they had to win out to keep their conference title hopes alive. And that’s exactly what they did.
After beating Michigan on the road, the Gophers most crucial win of the season came on Feb. 28, 1982 at Iowa. With three conference games to play, the Hawkeyes were a game ahead of Minnesota in the Big Ten standings and home to a hostile crowd in Iowa City.
“I’ll never forget that game,” Pivec said. “People talk about hostility when it comes to road games. The crowd at that time down in Iowa, it was the most hostile environment I had ever been in and have been in since.”
At the end of regulation with the teams deadlocked, Breuer came up with a huge block with three seconds to play to save an Iowa buzzer-beater and keep the score tied 53-53. Both teams scored one basket in the first overtime to make the score 55-55, and neither team scored in the second overtime. The drama concluded at the end of the third overtime, when Mitchell was fouled and made both free throws with no time remaining to give the Gophers a 57-55 shocking triple-overtime victory that propelled them into a tie for first place and silenced the home crowd.
“We knew that going into Iowa City was going to be a tough game,” Tucker said. “But we had grown enough as a team and we were old enough. We were veterans who had been around for four years, and playing on someone else’s home floor was not a frightening thing for us. We had enough guys who had been through those wars before. But to win that game on the road in Iowa, that was a special moment.”
Minnesota needed clutch free throws again in its next game, this time by Holmes, to escape with a 54-51 home victory over Michigan State. The win ensured the Gophers of a share of the Big Ten title, but they wanted it all to themselves.
The final game of the regular season had Minnesota hosting Ohio State, which was favored in that game despite the Gophers’ record. Minnesota had averaged over 16,000 fans a game at Williams Arena throughout the season, but 17,378 were on hand on March 6, 1982 to watch the Gophers go for their first outright Big Ten title since 1972. In honor of the team’s last home game, Dutcher started all of his seniors, building the arena’s energy and excitement.
“We knew that Ohio State was going to be in for a long day coming in that Saturday afternoon,” Tucker said. “We had finally got ourselves into a position to win the Big Ten Championship, and we were going to do everything in our power to win that game. The crowd was tremendous, the campus was electric. We could have played two games that afternoon because we had so much energy behind us. Ohio State didn’t have a chance at all when they walked into Williams Arena that day, because there was no way we were going to lose that basketball game.”
Minnesota prevailed, gutting out a physical 87-75 victory over the Buckeyes. Breuer scored a season-high 32 points, while Tucker scored 23 in his last Williams Arena appearance as a Gopher. In the closing moments of the game, the Gophers fans chanted ‘No. 1,’ celebrating a Big Ten Championship and a golden season to remember.
Key Contributors from the 1981-82 Minnesota Big Ten Championship Team:
| | Randy Breuer, 7-3 center, Lake City, Minn.
Was Minnesota’s biggest threat down low and one of the most imposing big men in the Big Ten…averaged 16.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game…scored 32 points against Ohio State on March 6, 1982 to lead the Gophers to the outright Big Ten title…named First Team NABC All-District and First Team All-Big Ten in 1981-82…ranks third on Minnesota’s all-time scoring list with 1,777 career points…drafted 18th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1983 NBA draft and enjoyed an 11-year NBA career.
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| | Tommy Davis, 6-4 guard, Aberden, Md.
The only freshman to see major minutes on the 1981-82 Big Ten Championship team, appearing in every game…averaged 4.8 points and 1.3 rebounds per contest…scored a season-high 12 points in Minnesota’s road win at Indiana on Jan. 30, 1982…had a fantastic four year career at Minnesota, ranking seventh on the Gophers all-time scoring list with 1,481 career points…drafted 109th overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1985 NBA draft. |
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Gary “Cookie” Holmes, 6-10 forward, Miami, Fla.
A Minnesota team captain in 1981-82…averaged 8.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game…had the highest field goal percentage on the team at .578…sank two clutch free throws against Michigan State on March 4, 1982 to help the Gophers to a 54-51 victory and a share of the Big Ten title…named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention…selected 124th overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 1982 NBA draft.
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| | Zebedee Howell, 6-7 forward, Ocala, Fla.
Was one of Minnesota’s best defensive players and a crucial role player off the bench…averaged 4.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game…scored in double figures in three games in 1981-82.
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| Darryl Mitchell, 6-5 guard, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Was the Gophers’ primary point guard…averaged 13.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game…team leader in assists (3.1 per game) and steals (1.9 per game)…hit two free throws with no time remaining in triple overtime to give Minnesota a crucial 57-55 victory over Iowa on Feb. 27, 1982…named First Team All-Big Ten and Gophers team MVP…ranks 21st on Minnesota’s all-time scoring list with 1,182 career points.
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| | Jim Petersen, 6-10 C/F, St. Louis Park, Minn.
Averaged 3.1 points and 2.0 rebounds as a sophomore in 1981-82…played his best game of the season in Minnesota’s win over Purdue on Feb. 4, 1982 with nine points and four rebounds …was picked 51st overall by the Houston Rockets in the 1984 NBA draft and enjoyed an eight-year NBA career.
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| | Trent Tucker, 6-5 forward/guard, Flint, Mich.
Was an outstanding shooter and solid defensive player...team captain in 1981-82 season…second leading scorer at 14.4 points per game, also averaged 3.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game…shot 82.2 percent (74-of-90) from the free throw line…scored a season-high 23 points in his final Big Ten game against Ohio State on March 6, 1982…First Team All-American…Second Team NABC All District...Second Team All-Big Ten...ranks eighth on Minnesota’s all-time scoring list with 1,445 career points…drafted sixth overall by the New York Knicks in the 1982 NBA draft and enjoyed an 11-year NBA career.
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| | John Wiley, 6-9 forward, Flint, Mich.
Was one of the Gophers’ first options off the bench in 1981-82…averaged 3.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game…also averaged 1.7 assists per game as a passing big man.
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Other contributors:
Bruce Kaupa, 6-1 guard, Woodbury, Minn.
Andy Thompson, 6-6 forward, Nassau, Bahamas
Barry Wohler, 6-2 guard, Bird Island, Minn.
