Gophers Now in Good Shape

I was unable to preview the Northwestern game as I had a family matter to attend to but everyone knew the stakes for the game. Lose and we were NIT bound and win and we are very likely to be in. I hesitate to say that we are in because crazy things could happen like Cleveland St. stealing a bid by beating Butler. It also won't help if we get crushed by Michigan St. tomorrow. If we play tough and keep it close we should be in the tournament.

The player of the game was Ralph Sampson III. He put up 9 points, 6 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 2 assists. He was a physical presence defensively down low and when ever the Gophers finally got the ball into him down low good things happen. He went 3-3 and that wasn't because of being timid it was because the Gophers were not able to feed the post. He has matured so much this year. In the beginning of the year most thought Iverson was the better player. Iverson still has flashes but Sampson has blossomed and has potetial to grow even more. He should be an absolute force down low next year.

The Gophers won but the problems that plauge them were still very present. They went 4-19 behind the arc and the half court offense was non-existent. This team also won for the same reason they always do. Defense. They play the best defense in the Big Ten when they want to. They had 11 blocks and 7 steals. They won this becuase once Northwestern tied the game the defense cracked down and held Northwestern scoreless for 7 minutes and went on a 14-0 run.

This was a much needed victory but it might get ugly tomorrow. We do not matchup well with MSU at all and they are finally healthy and playing their best basketball right now. The Gophers still need to show up and give their best effort. If they get blown out by 30 it won't be hard for the selection committee to leave them out. Prediction: MSU 77, Gophers 58

Stats of the Game

• 3-16: Craig Moore's shooting in the game. He had 8 points. He put up 22 in the win over Minnesota and was averaging 14.4 on the season.
• 9: Turnovers by the Gophers. It is the lowest total since turning it over 9 times against Eastern Washington on 11/26/08.
• 5-5: Sampson and Iverson from the field. We have to find a way to get it down low more often. If the guards can't shoot they could at least get it to someone who can.
  

Northwestern Review

It is good to be home. One watching the game on Sunday can not believe that was the same Northwestern team that beat us this year. They did not even appear to be a Division I opponent. They never got anything going offensively and while the Gophers still struggled at times in the half court they cruised to their largest win of the season by 27 points. This team is night and day when playing at home versus on the road. They make shots and play much harder on defense forcing turnovers.

This game did not have a standout player of the game as everyone played well and contributed from Bostick scoring 9 to Busch, Iverson and Hoffarber getting 7. The player of the game is then by default the leading scorer in Lawrence Westbrook. He lead the team with 17 points and went 6-10.

This was a game that we needed to stay alive but it didn't help our chances that much. What did help us the most on Sunday is that Michigan lost to Iowa. They are now 7-8 in the Big Ten and still have to face us, Purdue and Wisconsin. There season is over. The Big Ten is down to 7 possible teams and it also helps because when Michigan shows up for the final game they won't have anything to play for and could just roll over for us.

Next up is the final road game at Illinois. It is a daunting task to go in there and win. It is good news that a win there is not required but if we do somehow win at Illinois we are almost assured a spot in the NCAA's.

It should also be mentioned that the win against Northwestern gave us 20 wins on the season. We now have won back to back years of 20 wins and Tubby has coached 16 straight 20 win seasons. The Minnesota program only has 11 20 win seasons in its entire history and 4 of those are wiped out due to sanctions.

Stats of the Game

• 9: Points scored by Devron Bostick in 16 minutes. He had scored only 4 points in 62 minutes in the last 9 games.
• 56.14: Big Ten oppponent's scoring average at Williams Arena this year. Big Ten foes average 67.75 ppg when the Gophers are on the road. That is a huge difference. If you take out the Purdue and MSU home losses opponents are scoring only 50.6 ppg.
• 29-13: Tubby Smith's record in the NCAA's. For all those who think if we make the tournament we will be one and done. Tubby Smith has lost in the 1st round only once and that was in 1996-1997 with Georgia.

Northwestern Preview

Minnesota Golden Gophers (19-7, 7-7) vs. Northwestern Wildcats (14-10, 5-8)

The word must-win gets thrown around a lot in college basketball, but this is one of the cases where it is actually true. A loss at home to Northwestern would certainly punch their ticket to the NIT. They need to win this game to remain in the hunt for the tournament. Here is Northwestern's resume:

Wins to showcase:

• at Michigan State 70 - 63
• vs. Ohio State 72 - 69

Losses to hide from:

• at Iowa 51 - 56
• at Stanford 59 - 65

Previous Result

• Northwestern 74, Minnesota 65

Northwestern while not being a tourney caliber team has pulled off some big upsets beating Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Minnesota. They also have gotten close to even more upsets but have collapsed to Purdue, Illinois and Michigan. They are a very dangerous team as the Gophers know all to well. The good news is that the Northwestern show does not travel well. They pulled off the mystifying win at Michigan State but are 2-6 on the road with the only other win against Brown. Also Northwestern shouldn't be a surprise this time around.

Prediction

The Gophers are very glad to be home. They have only played one home game so far in February against Indiana. They need this game. If they don't come out with intensity and aggression they don't deserve to be a tournament team. The biggest reason for the upset at Northwestern was due to the inability to handle the 1-3-1 in the half court. They looked a lot better when they faced in at Michigan on Thursday. It will also help to have the Barn encouraging them along the way. I think the Gophers will take out a lot of frustration on an inferior Northwestern team that already has it's fate sealed.

Gophers 65, Northwestern 57

A Time to Reflect

That was ugly. We couldn't do anything offensively. Our defensive had issues. Nothing was working in the second half and to make it all the more frustrating we had to watch it listening to Tim Doyle who made Spencer Tollackson seem like Bob Costas. His most annoying call, after another three by Craig Moore, he cried "In the midnight hour, you need Moore, Moore, Moore." Stupid and he wouldn't shut up about playing Spencer.

When we win I give the player of the game but today you get the goat of the game and it was an easy one to call. Al Nolen came into the game with 93 assists and 25 turnovers. In the game he had only two assists and 6 turnovers. He failed to get the offense going at all and did not look like a college basketball player at all. He is only a sophomore but he needs to play like he did in the Louisville game by controlling the tempo and running the offense.

The initial reaction of the diehard Gopher fan is to declare that the sky is falling and all the progress they have made is destroyed but that is totally incorrect. The loss hurts and stings but the damage is minimal. They only fell to #21 in the AP poll. The latest Bracketology has them as a 5 seed which is up from the 8 seed they were last week. In college basketball it is more who you beat than who you lose to and Northwestern despite the record is very dangerous with Moore and Coble they will win a few more Big Ten games they shouldn't. All it does is make the Purdue game more important. If the Gophers want to be a team with a 4-6 seed and make some noise instead of just making the tournament they need to beat Purdue at home. They are still on the way to making the tournament, they just had a little setback and probably lost any small chance they had of winning the Big Ten which will go to Michigan State.

If there is any questions of the affect Lucia has on the Gopher hockey team those were answered this weekend. Without him at North Dakota they get swept 6-3 and 6-1. With him they sweep St. Cloud 5-1, 8-6. This team was struggling of late but I still think this team has a very real chance of winning the National Title they just need to get hot at the right time. Also it is time to start looking at Ryan Stoa as the front-runner for the Hobey Baker award. He leads the WCHA in scoring and has 15g and 15a for 30 pts in 21 games.

Stats of the Day

• 19: Number of turnovers committed by the Gophers against Northwestern.
• 6-23: Gophers shooting from 3 after starting 4-4. If you aren't making them maybe you should try to go inside.
• 5-11: Gophers free throw shooting. They need more than 11 attempts but they really need to make more than 5. They missed some big free throws that could have gotten them back in the game in the second half.
  

Northwestern Preview

#18 Minnesota Golden Gophers (16-1, 4-1) at Northwestern Wildcats (8-6, 0-4)

Northwestern is a perennial bottom feeder in the Big Ten and they haven't gotten off to an impressive start this year. They have never made the NCAA tournament and this does not appear to be their magical season. They have had some good wins and should have beaten Purdue on Thursday but they are not an NCAA caliber team. Here is Northwestern's Resume:

Wins to showcase:

• vs Florida State 73 - 59
  
• vs DePaul 63 - 36

Losses to hide from:

• at Penn State 57 - 61
• at Wisconsin 45 - 74 (Losing by 29 not the opponent)

Assets

• Ball Control: 11.5 turnovers per game, 1.4 assists to turnover ratio
• Quick Hands: 7.4 steals per game, 3rd in conference. Gophers 1st with 9.0
• Kevin Coble: 14.2 ppg, 5.4 rebs, 2.3 ass

Issues

• Rebounding: 34. 6 per game, second worst in conference
• Free Throws: 64.7% worst in conference
• Perimeter Defense: Opponents shoot 36.1% from 3, second worst in conference

While their losses are not too embarrassing, they don't have any real good wins, DePaul is the worst team in the Big East and their third best win is probably over 9-7 UC Riverside. They play a style similar to Iowa. They play slow and limit possessions. If they make you play their style it could be a close game, if you force them to play up-tempo it could get ugly.

Interesting things to watch:

• Gophers athleticism: The Gophers have some long quick wings in Johnson, Bostick and Carter that can cause some problems and they will likely be assigned to shut down Coble.
• Blake Hoffarber: Lost in the excitement around the program is the struggles of Blake Hoffarber. He has shot 3-20 from 3 in the 5 Big Ten games and has not made one since the Ohio State game. That is 15%. He shot 42.7% last year. He did very well against Northwestern last year scoring 15 points in both games. I look for him to shake off the drought at Northwestern.

Prediction

This has the possibility to be a trap game. Coming off a huge win at Wisconsin and playing a bottom feeder. Northwestern showed in the Purdue game that they can be very dangerous. The game will be similar to the Iowa game if we shoot poorly we will be in for a dog fight but if we play like we can it should be a breeze. Monson frequently struggled with Northwestern's defense but Tubby doesn't have the same issues. In the two games against Northwestern last year the Gophs won by 19 and 20 points. They scored 92 at Northwestern last year. Also the Barnyard has chosen this game for their annual road trip. I don't know the number they are bringing but with Northwestern's lack of attendence the game might feel more like a neutral court game than a road game.

Gophers 73, Northwestern 60