***OFFICIAL MINNESOTA VS OKLAHOMA STATE IN-GAME THREAD!!***

[short ornery norwegian]

I could be wrong, but I suspect that the Gophers are what they are. This is the team we're going to see all season. They will have a 5-minute stretch where they look really good, and then they will have a 5-minute stretch where they look completely lost. I think we just have to hope that the good stretches outweigh the bad stretches, and at the end of the night, the Gophers wind up with more points. In the end, that's what counts - more points than the other team. how you get there is not as important as the fact that you do get there.

Now - one caveat - Curry. When Curry comes back, how much does this team change? As of right now, I think Curry takes minutes away from Oturu and Omersa. I do NOT want him to take minutes away from Stockman. I really like what Stockman is providing. Now, I suspect that more minutes might expose Stockman's limitations, but if he can give the Gophers a good 10 to 15 minutes a game, that's perfect. Oturu and Omersa really look like Freshmen right now. Oturu needs to get stronger, and Omersa needs to learn how to guard people without fouling.

 

[Holy Man]

Coffey's game is suffering from running the point. He's a spot shooter, slasher, and rim runner. He cannot do much of any of that while at the point.

Absolutely agreed. Amir does not have enough off hand skills to be a good point guard. His passing can be better used from the wing, and his ability to slash is much more effective when he doesn't have to handle the ball too much. What I liked last night was seeing a lot more rotations with BOTH Amir and Washington in the game at the same time. I think it has the potential to elevate both of their games. Amir doesn's have to dribble, and Washington has someone to pass to. This is evolving. I'm not hitting the panic button yet, but the turnovers just have to decrease for them to be as good as they can be.

I don't think enough people grasp the challenge of Amir coming back from shoulder surgery, either. He'll get better as he gets stronger.

Great to see Dupree get out of the playing funk, hit some shots, and play good defense. Very important to success this year.

 

[GophersInIowa]

I'm hoping that's not the court angles for the Final Four. If so...it will suck.

They mentioned during the broadcast that this won't be the set up for the Final Four. It was be more centered on the field so the cameras will be set up similar to how they are for Vikings games.

 

[ltf]

No Stull again. Had hoped he'd be an Akeem Springs type player.

 

[cjbfbp]

Absolutely agreed. Amir does not have enough off hand skills to be a good point guard. His passing can be better used from the wing, and his ability to slash is much more effective when he doesn't have to handle the ball too much. What I liked last night was seeing a lot more rotations with BOTH Amir and Washington in the game at the same time. I think it has the potential to elevate both of their games. Amir doesn's have to dribble, and Washington has someone to pass to. This is evolving. I'm not hitting the panic button yet, but the turnovers just have to decrease for them to be as good as they can be.

I don't think enough people grasp the challenge of Amir coming back from shoulder surgery, either. He'll get better as he gets stronger.

Great to see Dupree get out of the playing funk, hit some shots, and play good defense. Very important to success this year.

Yes, I think you've described the drawbacks of Coffey playing a lot of point time vs. Washington. I would also add that Coffey is slower and more hesitant (both in movement and decision making) at the point than Washington which tends to bog down the offense more. Washington is quicker to make a move or pass and he's quicker to pass out of a jam than Coffey.

 

[TNGophfan]

I didn't read through the entire thread so if someone already mentioned this, my apologies. But, I was shocked OSU didn't try some zone seeing our struggles against Boston College.

 

[XMan]

Would love to see Hurt and Omersa get extended minutes without fear of getting yanked. Build some confidence. Or destroy it for the season, if you’re a glass half empty kind of person.

There will be four games after the two big ten games for us when I anticipate they will get plenty of minutes

 

[XMan]

Women’s games are a blast. Spent $34 (after fees) for two tickets vs Syracuse. Got two NICE T-shirts. No advertising on them or anything. Got our picture with THE axe. Bottomless popcorn for $6.50 (ate 2, brought one home!) and a $6 soda (cool, reusable cup). Plus an absolute whale of a game. Add parking ($10) and we had a great night for $56.50. But that includes two nice shirts!!!

Dam that is awesome. I need to get in for some games. They should be pretty decent

 

[XMan]

Game was fun. t was interesting to see how they set up at the stadium. I know they will flip the court for the final four game. But I enjoyed it. Driving home after midnight wasn’t much fun.

 

[XMan]

I agree with many of the posts earlier. I would like to see Coffey back as the wing and start Washington at the point. Hard to say who comes off bench - Gabe or McBrayer. Also can’r wait to see curry back. Finally we are very lucky we kept Matz.

 

[NWMetroGopherFan]

I didn't read through the entire thread so if someone already mentioned this, my apologies. But, I was shocked OSU didn't try some zone seeing our struggles against Boston College.

OK State did play some zone, just not exclusively. During those stretches, the Gophers really moved the ball well and found Kalscheur for a few open looks. We did fantastic with moving the ball through the high post, and it created wide open looks for Dupree, IW and Kalscheur. The zone didn't last long because we actually torched it.

Some of the turnovers weren't pretty, but it's December. You're not going to be at your best yet, and quite frankly, you don't want to be. They'll improve and make better decisions as we get deeper into the season, and hopefully be at our best by mid-January. I'm also curious to see how Curry looks when he gets back and how it affects the flow on both ends of the floor.

You can't let a team get back into the game when you're up 18, but glad they held onto the lead. I thought it was a great bounce back after a horrible night at BC.

 

[GophersInIowa]

I didn't read through the entire thread so if someone already mentioned this, my apologies. But, I was shocked OSU didn't try some zone seeing our struggles against Boston College.

I think they did play zone at times.

 

[MennoSota]

I didn't read through the entire thread so if someone already mentioned this, my apologies. But, I was shocked OSU didn't try some zone seeing our struggles against Boston College.

They did. It was effective until Matz Stockman started passing to cutters while he setup at the elbow. Matz is showing himself to be a smart big man who does a lot of basic fundamental things that often go unnoticed in the stat sheets.

 

[XMan]

Matz played a great game. Love this guy

 

[UpAndUnder43]

I might be crazy, but didn’t McBrayer handle the ball more with the starting 5 than he did in other games? Seemed to me they let Coffey run the wing more. McBrayer played better. Perhaps more engaged by handling the ball more? Making shots helps.

I liked the overall flow last nice. Even if Curry isn’t great right away, he has to be better than Omersa (who I like, but isn’t ready to contribute against solid teams) so that will help with depth and things.

 

[UpAndUnder43]

They did. It was effective until Matz Stockman started passing to cutters while he setup at the elbow. Matz is showing himself to be a smart big man who does a lot of basic fundamental things that often go unnoticed in the stat sheets.

Also knocked down a nice mid-range jumper. I’m a big fan of Matz. Random contributor

 

[MNVCGUY]

Also knocked down a nice mid-range jumper. I’m a big fan of Matz. Random contributor

Matz has been one of the best surprises so far this season. He played really well again last night. Seems to be a very good passer for a big man and can do a few things offensively. Never going to get a ton of production out of him but he also won't kill us while he is on the court the way our backup centers have in the past.

 

[Block M]

I could be wrong, but I suspect that the Gophers are what they are. This is the team we're going to see all season. They will have a 5-minute stretch where they look really good, and then they will have a 5-minute stretch where they look completely lost. I think we just have to hope that the good stretches outweigh the bad stretches, and at the end of the night, the Gophers wind up with more points. In the end, that's what counts - more points than the other team. how you get there is not as important as the fact that you do get there.

Now - one caveat - Curry. When Curry comes back, how much does this team change? As of right now, I think Curry takes minutes away from Oturu and Omersa. I do NOT want him to take minutes away from Stockman. I really like what Stockman is providing. Now, I suspect that more minutes might expose Stockman's limitations, but if he can give the Gophers a good 10 to 15 minutes a game, that's perfect. Oturu and Omersa really look like Freshmen right now. Oturu needs to get stronger, and Omersa needs to learn how to guard people without fouling.

The major, correctable issues for this team are: (i) reduction in careless, lazy turnovers; (ii) getting Coffey off the point so he is free to slash to the basket and get out on the break; and (iii) getting Curry back. The first two issues are obviously impacted by the coaching. I think the sloppy turnovers are reflecting poorly on Pitino so far this year. This team has the potential to be good (and tournament worthy), but not outstanding. With a tough and even conference the Gophers could also get shuttled toward the rear of the pack if they don't clean it up. I am sure they are aware of this as well.

 

[MennoSota]

Sadly, the teams that value the ball (you know who they are) will shut Minnesota down as the Gophers throw away their opportunities.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Haven't read through the thread since we were at the game but here is my take on last night.

Washington played really well and if he can play like that most of the time he can be the point guard this team needs. Was great to see Dupree hit a few 3s, if he can find his shooting stroke again it provides a nice option with him and Gabe in the corners really stretching the defense and opening up the middle for Murphy.

Murphy was a beast as always. He is going to set that double double record at a level that will probably never be broken here. Still picked up a few dumb fouls but played smart once he had 4 and didn't foul out. Oturu needs a lot of work on his post moves but once he gets comfortable he is going to be a monster down low.

Matz played great off the bench and Hurt provided some solid minutes as well. The team hit their free throws which was great to see and honestly the difference in the game because OSU could not hit free throws to save their life.

Gabe is definitely getting a lot more attention now as OSU was all over him but the time he got an open look he took it and he buried it most of the time, kid is a great 3 point shooter who I can see becoming the star player on this team in the next year or so if not sooner.

OSU couldn't miss from 3 early, the funny part was the 3 either went in or was an air ball there wasn't much in between. Defense in the middle needs to get stronger as OSU was able to penetrate and get a lot of easy looks right at the basket. No secret but Curry should be a huge help in that department.

Liking our alternate black uniforms more now because not sure what the heck OSU was wearing last night. Had to look it up to make sure neon blue wasn't in their color scheme, those things were hideous.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Sadly, the teams that value the ball (you know who they are) will shut Minnesota down as the Gophers throw away their opportunities.

I was actually a little surprised to see we had 20 turnovers when I looked at the stats because at the game it didn't seem that high. But yeah, team has to cut down on the unforced errors or that will kill us in games against good teams.

 

[UpAndUnder43]

Matz has been one of the best surprises so far this season. He played really well again last night. Seems to be a very good passer for a big man and can do a few things offensively. Never going to get a ton of production out of him but he also won't kill us while he is on the court the way our backup centers have in the past.

That is really it. We don’t need him to be a huge offensive presence. We need him to give quality minutes. He does that consistently. And even goes above what I think most backup centers do. He is long, plays hard and skilled enough to contribute. Leaps and bounds above any recent backup center (aside from Curry, if you consider him to be a backup center)

 

[howeda7]

I was actually a little surprised to see we had 20 turnovers when I looked at the stats because at the game it didn't seem that high. But yeah, team has to cut down on the unforced errors or that will kill us in games against good teams.

Fewer lazy passes last night (still a couple) but more travels, etc.

 

[howeda7]

They did. It was effective until Matz Stockman started passing to cutters while he setup at the elbow. Matz is showing himself to be a smart big man who does a lot of basic fundamental things that often go unnoticed in the stat sheets.

Marty McFly: Zone Buster.

 

[alchemy2u]

After reading all of the comments on GH, I had to watch the game myself. I don’t think they were quite as sloppy as everyone said and IW did have a very good game. Oh, and I never once had the feeling that OkSt was going to win, even during their run it the second half.


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[Holy Man]

After reading all of the comments on GH, I had to watch the game myself. I don’t think they were quite as sloppy as everyone said and IW did have a very good game. Oh, and I never once had the feeling that OkSt was going to win, even during their run it the second half.


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I was a little worried when they cut from 18 to 8 in about three minutes and the Gophers appeared to play with no urgency. I thought IW had a terrific game. I'll take that every game this season. Maybe two unforced errors and a couple ill advised shots. Not bad at all. He needs to play.

These in game threads are maddening. I stay away until after the game.

 

[gophereric30]

After reading all of the comments on GH, I had to watch the game myself. I don’t think they were quite as sloppy as everyone said and IW did have a very good game. Oh, and I never once had the feeling that OkSt was going to win, even during their run it the second half.


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I agree. First of all when talking about turnovers Washington in his last 15 games has been great. Coffey and Murphy have been killing us. Alot of people on here have been upset about us going from up 18 to up 5. Basketball is a game of runs. I think they went on two 13-0 runs. We went on a 9-0 and a 10-0 run, but who is talking about that? I never thought we were gonna blow lead!

 

[builtbadgers]

I agree. First of all when talking about turnovers Washington in his last 15 games has been great. Coffey and Murphy have been killing us. Alot of people on here have been upset about us going from up 18 to up 5. Basketball is a game of runs. I think they went on two 13-0 runs. We went on a 9-0 and a 10-0 run, but who is talking about that? I never thought we were gonna blow lead!

I think he will improve but 3 Turnovers Friday night brings him to 4 per 40 minutes this year. Below average shooting with the turnovers leaves poor OE NUMBERS. Needs to be a plus defender.

 

[StCroix]

Matz played a great game. Love this guy

Matz is better then any of the exchange students we used last year...by a long shot. Addition by subtraction.


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[StCroix]

Liking our alternate black uniforms more now because not sure what the heck OSU was wearing last night. Had to look it up to make sure neon blue wasn't in their color scheme, those things were hideous.

OSU uniforms were turquoise. Recognizing a Native American movement.


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