I think we can all agree that Richard Pitino's conference record is both pathetic and unacceptable regardless of whether or not we believe he deserves a sixth season. Here are two aspects of his tenure here that are alarming that go beyond his overall record (and losing home record).
1. Richard Pitino is now 14-27 in "close" (I used two possessions or OT to define close) and 8-14 in games decided by one possession or OT during conference play. During his tenure, the Gophers have had a winning record in close conference games just one time, last season, and that was just a 5-4 mark. This year, the Gophers are 1-4 in close conference games and 1-2 in games decided by one possession or OT. This doesn't even count the Northwestern game where the Gophers ended up losing by 8 despite certainly having their chances to win that one.
2. Excluding his first year, Richard Pitino has had a conference losing streak of 5(!) or more games in each season. Once his teams get in a funk, it takes an inordinate amount of time to right the ship. In most seasons, this type of streak requires his team to play at a near elite level (10-3) the rest of the way just to sneak in to the NCAA's.
The sample size on both of these issues is getting pretty large and the program cannot be successful if either of them continues, much less both.
1. Richard Pitino is now 14-27 in "close" (I used two possessions or OT to define close) and 8-14 in games decided by one possession or OT during conference play. During his tenure, the Gophers have had a winning record in close conference games just one time, last season, and that was just a 5-4 mark. This year, the Gophers are 1-4 in close conference games and 1-2 in games decided by one possession or OT. This doesn't even count the Northwestern game where the Gophers ended up losing by 8 despite certainly having their chances to win that one.
2. Excluding his first year, Richard Pitino has had a conference losing streak of 5(!) or more games in each season. Once his teams get in a funk, it takes an inordinate amount of time to right the ship. In most seasons, this type of streak requires his team to play at a near elite level (10-3) the rest of the way just to sneak in to the NCAA's.
The sample size on both of these issues is getting pretty large and the program cannot be successful if either of them continues, much less both.