Season on the edge

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CPTMidnight

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The current season is on a knife blade's edge. A step in any direction except forward and all is lost. We always knew that to make the Tourney this year the boys would need to take care of business with the easier games and steal a couple of tough ones. With this loss it only makes it tougher.

We really need a player (or two) to step up both in leadership and performance along with the coaching. C'mon Murphy or Coffee or Dupree! We need to duplicate what happened 2 years ago and run off a string of Big 10 wins that nobody thought could happen because the players got tough.

Save the Pitino discussion for the end of the season. His job is not based on a single win or loss no matter how dramatic. It will be judged after the season is completed (save a complete collapse of the big 10 season). Does anyone NOT know what will happen to the coaching situation at the end of the season?

You guys are here during a loss but curiously absent during anything positive. Ya'll are the "nagging wives" of Minnesota basketball.
 

CPTMidnight said:
The current season is on a knife blade's edge. A step in any direction except forward and all is lost. We always knew that to make the Tourney this year the boys would need to take care of business with the easier games and steal a couple of tough ones. With this loss it only makes it tougher.

We really need a player (or two) to step up both in leadership and performance along with the coaching. C'mon Murphy or Coffee or Dupree! We need to duplicate what happened 2 years ago and run off a string of Big 10 wins that nobody thought could happen because the players got tough.

Save the Pitino discussion for the end of the season. His job is not based on a single win or loss no matter how dramatic. It will be judged after the season is completed (save a complete collapse of the big 10 season). Does anyone NOT know what will happen to the coaching situation at the end of the season?

You guys are here during a loss but curiously absent during anything positive. Ya'll are the "nagging wives" of Minnesota basketball.
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Good post!

We need to find a way to get to 6-4 before a really tough stretch. Win 3 of the next 4 and reassess. This team was terrible last night. They are also capable of being really good and beating teams they shouldn't. We need that to happen. Must play tough defense every game. Murphy needs to rediscover himself and take the lead in toughness.
 

CPTMidnight said:
You guys are here during a loss but curiously absent during anything positive. Ya'll are the "nagging wives" of Minnesota basketball.
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IALTO - completely untrue for the majority of posters
 

It was only aimed at the Fire Pitino crowd and the Gopher Panic Squad.
 

CPTMidnight said:
It was only aimed at the Fire Pitino crowd and the Gopher Panic Squad.
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I am on here almost too much and most of my views are bordering on homerism. Last night was just the breaking point for me. These players looked unmotivated and lethargic. They were out-rebounded, out-hustled, out-executed and out-defensed by a team that came in 0-5 in conference play. 2 4* players, an all-B1G player and a senior starter just got worked, chalk it up to an off-night if you wish but the current coach isn't doing his job very well.
 


I had a feeling they would lose this game. If they win against Penn State, they are gonna be right where I predicted they would be at the end of this so called "easy stretch" at 4-3.

Illinois is exactly the type of team the Gophers struggle against. They play hard, and excellent defense and our guys just do not give that kind of effort. They just don't and haven't since I don't know when, probably Clem.
To be blown out the way they were though was terrible. It should be embarrassing for both the coaches and the players. Now they need to find a way to get back on track and take it to Penn State, before they go to Michigan next week and lose again by 20 or more. Their next 9 games are going to be brutal. If they win more than 3, I would be surprised, maybe they can pull off 4. 3 puts them at 7-9 and needing to get 3 of their last 4 against 2 terrible teams and 2 decent ones.

Can they do it? Not sure, but they need to go into Penn State next and blow them out of the water.
 

I believe 10-10 is required for a realistic shot at an NCAA bid. If they lose at home to Penn State they're not getting there. Saturday is a must win game.
 

howeda7 said:
I believe 10-10 is required for a realistic shot at an NCAA bid. If they lose at home to Penn State they're not getting there. Saturday is a must win game.
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100%. I still think we can get to 10-10, and Saturday is a must.

I half expected us to lose in Champaign. It's the humiliating nature of the loss that should really bother the fanbase.
 

Otis said:
I am on here almost too much and most of my views are bordering on homerism. Last night was just the breaking point for me. These players looked unmotivated and lethargic. They were out-rebounded, out-hustled, out-executed and out-defensed by a team that came in 0-5 in conference play. 2 4* players, an all-B1G player and a senior starter just got worked, chalk it up to an off-night if you wish but the current coach isn't doing his job very well.
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Yesterday sucked. I feel your pain but now is not the time. Now is the time for the team to get tough. Get mean. Support the team. The rest will play out soon enough
 



CPTMidnight said:
Yesterday sucked. I feel your pain but now is not the time. Now is the time for the team to get tough. Get mean. Support the team. The rest will play out soon enough
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When was the last time that happened? I totally agree with you! But when was the last time that happened? (Don't give me beating Nebraska after OSU. This is a whole different level.)
 


CPTMidnight said:
The current season is on a knife blade's edge. A step in any direction except forward and all is lost. We always knew that to make the Tourney this year the boys would need to take care of business with the easier games and steal a couple of tough ones. With this loss it only makes it tougher.

We really need a player (or two) to step up both in leadership and performance along with the coaching. C'mon Murphy or Coffee or Dupree! We need to duplicate what happened 2 years ago and run off a string of Big 10 wins that nobody thought could happen because the players got tough.

Save the Pitino discussion for the end of the season. His job is not based on a single win or loss no matter how dramatic. It will be judged after the season is completed (save a complete collapse of the big 10 season). Does anyone NOT know what will happen to the coaching situation at the end of the season?

You guys are here during a loss but curiously absent during anything positive. Ya'll are the "nagging wives" of Minnesota basketball.
Click to expand...


I agree with most of what you are saying here!!

the Pitino discussion is human nature and it will happen(I am a Pitino supporter).

Pitino is twice the coach Tubby ever was here.
 

cjbfbp said:
Who voted you in as chief? You don't get to dictate the conversation here. Get over yourself!
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take a deep breath....I'm pretty sure he gets to voice his opinion just like you.
 



cjbfbp said:
Who voted you in as chief? You don't get to dictate the conversation here. Get over yourself!
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To keep everything strait lets review everybody's job here:
Players play
Coaches coach
Fans cheer
cjbfbp pisses and moans about every little thing in an effort to duplicate grumpy old men, destroy recruiting, and otherwise demoralize the program.

I do my job, you do yours, if you don't like it please take it up with management.
 

Zeppelin Gopher said:
100%. I still think we can get to 10-10, and Saturday is a must.

I half expected us to lose in Champaign. It's the humiliating nature of the loss that should really bother the fanbase.
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This exactly for me. I was a bit concerned about this game - but never expected to get shellacked. It's the nature of all our losses that is alarming.

Perhaps the longterm future of the coach isn't primary, but short term RP is going to have to really coach them to recover after this - and not to collapse.
 

Otis said:
When was the last time that happened? I totally agree with you! But when was the last time that happened? (Don't give me beating Nebraska after OSU. This is a whole different level.)
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We did lose 5 in a row to start the big 10 2 years ago and then rattled off 8 strait wins.

I do remember giving the #12 Hoosiers a 50 point beating in Feb of 94. It was so bad that Knight gave up and didn't even coach the team at the end - he just sat there with his hand over his eyes peeking out. I remember (from the student section) Voshon doing a globetrotter style "off the backboard" dunk at the end and even Hosea got some playing time. Knight's comment was "It isn't how they played today, it's how the team plays from this point on..." They played well the rest of the season. That game was far worse and more embarassing than this one. That was a complete collapse. It looked high schoolers toying with the 5th grade team in a pick up game...

I would say that Pitino's career hinges on how well they play on Saturday. This is where coaches earn their keep. I am hoping for a huge turnaround and a win along with a win (or at least a scare) vs. Michigan. What do I think is going to happen? - plenty of negative stuff here already - no need for me to pile on. But I am excited for the next game.
 

Gopherbbdude said:
I agree with most of what you are saying here!!

the Pitino discussion is human nature and it will happen(I am a Pitino supporter).

Pitino is twice the coach Tubby ever was here.
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What on earth are you basing that on? Overall winning percentage? Big ten winning percentage? NCAA tournament appearances? NCAA tournament wins? Number of years being so bad that we failed to even qualify for NIT? Because any of those comparisons say that you are wrong.
 

No question last night sucked, but nobody's giving Illinois any credit. They played really well and hit a very high percentage of their shots. I think they could have beaten just about any of the Bigten teams last night. It was a total blitzkrieg! Their style of play does not match up well with our highly questionable point guard play. The big stat that we should have no excuses for is how badly they out rebounded us.

Sent from my VS501 using Tapatalk
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
What on earth are you basing that on? Overall winning percentage? Big ten winning percentage? NCAA tournament appearances? NCAA tournament wins? Number of years being so bad that we failed to even qualify for NIT? Because any of those comparisons say that you are wrong.
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Tubby never developed a single player....not one
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
What on earth are you basing that on? Overall winning percentage? Big ten winning percentage? NCAA tournament appearances? NCAA tournament wins? Number of years being so bad that we failed to even qualify for NIT? Because any of those comparisons say that you are wrong.
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Don't bother.

There isn't really anything to support his notion, and most everyone on here is aware of that. Let it go. Not worth it.
 


Madman said:
No question last night sucked, but nobody's giving Illinois any credit. They played really well and hit a very high percentage of their shots. I think they could have beaten just about any of the Bigten teams last night. It was a total blitzkrieg! Their style of play does not match up well with our highly questionable point guard play. The big stat that we should have no excuses for is how badly they out rebounded us.

Sent from my VS501 using Tapatalk
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Good post - You are correct that there were two teams and two coaches competing for the W. They outplayed and out-hustled us. They executed plays, scored points and by the end of the game it seemed like everything they threw up was going in the basket.
 

CPTMidnight said:
We did lose 5 in a row to start the big 10 2 years ago and then rattled off 8 strait wins.

I do remember giving the #12 Hoosiers a 50 point beating in Feb of 94. It was so bad that Knight gave up and didn't even coach the team at the end - he just sat there with his hand over his eyes peeking out. I remember (from the student section) Voshon doing a globetrotter style "off the backboard" dunk at the end and even Hosea got some playing time. Knight's comment was "It isn't how they played today, it's how the team plays from this point on..." They played well the rest of the season. That game was far worse and more embarassing than this one. That was a complete collapse. It looked high schoolers toying with the 5th grade team in a pick up game...

I would say that Pitino's career hinges on how well they play on Saturday. This is where coaches earn their keep. I am hoping for a huge turnaround and a win along with a win (or at least a scare) vs. Michigan. What do I think is going to happen? - plenty of negative stuff here already - no need for me to pile on. But I am excited for the next game.
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This is an excellent post. I was thinking about what we did to Indiana as I was watching what Illinios was doing to us. The difference - and the problem - is that the 1994 Gophers were a good team, and losing to them didn't doom Indiana's tourney hopes. It'll be hard for the Gophs to statistically overcome this loss. To wit:

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It's really too bad. I was already contemplating making a post where I go through all the things that went better than expected, allowing the Gophers to make the NCAA's - e.g. Gabe being better than expected, Curry coming back sharper than expected. It's clear now that I got way too excited way too early.
 

#63 Ouch! They are digging a hole for themselves. Someone needs to tell them to put down the shovel..

(although I do think we could take Furman in the number 60 spot)
 
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So 14 games left, need 8 to be in the tournament for sure and 7 will put the Gophers in the conversation at 10-10 in the B1G.

Penn State- Must win (1)
@Michigan
Iowa- Must win (2)
Illinois- Must win (3)
@Purdue
Wisconsin- Must win (4)
@Michigan State
@Nebraska
Indiana-Must win (5)
Michigan
@Rutgers- Must win (6)
@Northwestern
Purdue
@Maryland

Absolutely have to win your home games against teams with similar or lesser talent and beat the absolute bottom of the conference on the road. You can quibble with whether Indiana or Purdue should be considered must win, but I went with the team not playing quite as well at this moment. Larger point is they need one of Purdue/Indiana and absolutely no slip ups at home to get to 6 more wins. Then where do the other wins come from? The obvious place to look is the road game at Northwestern followed by beating both Purdue and Indiana at home. If that happens the Gophers finish the year 8-2 at home and 3-7 on the road for an 11-9 conference record. Really need to have a goal of going undefeated at home with a target of 8-2 every year (realizing that goals are what you strive for and targets are what you need to accomplish) to avoid needing to go 4-6 on the road or better just to have a winning record. To feel like the Gophers have any breathing room at all the rest of the season, they really need to win one of their next 3 very difficult road games: @Michigan, @Purdue, @Michigan State...even the 4th game @Nebraska will be an enormous task as I believe they have a 20 game home winning streak going in to their game with Michigan State tonight.
 

Gopherbbdude said:
take a deep breath....I'm pretty sure he gets to voice his opinion just like you.
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Yet his opinion seems to be that others here should silence theirs.

Everybody can voice their opinion on this. You are obviously in support of Pitino and that is great,but to act incredulous that others are not enamored with a coach who has won 35% of his conference games seems silly.
 

WoodburyTim said:
Yet his opinion seems to be that others here should silence theirs.

Everybody can voice their opinion on this. You are obviously in support of Pitino and that is great,but to act incredulous that others are not enamored with a coach who has won 35% of his conference games seems silly.
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I have been pretty open that I hope the team does well, we make the tourney, and Pitino ends up being a great coach. Not enamored with anyone. I know (along with everyone else) exactly what will happen here if the season turns south - and will not shed any tears - but dread another 3-4 years of rebuilding. What's your point?

What if I am NOT a Pitino guy, and NOT an anti-Pitino guy?
 

CPTMidnight said:
I have been pretty open that I hope the team does well, we make the tourney, and Pitino ends up being a great coach. Not enamored with anyone. I know (along with everyone else) exactly what will happen here if the season turns south - and will not shed any tears - but dread another 3-4 years of rebuilding. What's your point?

What if I am NOT a Pitino guy, and NOT an anti-Pitino guy?
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You are well within your right to be whatever you want. The Gopher fandom is a big umbrella.
 

CPTMidnight said:
It was only aimed at the Fire Pitino crowd and the Gopher Panic Squad.
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Fire Pitino's lame ass!

Why don't you believe what your own eyes see?

Oh, and I posted during a win to hire Musselman, and this board..........LMAO

You can post during a win or a loss that pitino sucks......and you'd be right every single time.
 

Goldteam said:
Fire Pitino's lame ass!

Why don't you believe what your own eyes see?

Oh, and I posted during a win to hire Musselman, and this board..........LMAO

You can post during a win or a loss that pitino sucks......and you'd be right every single time.
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I'll put you down as "hopeful that we lose all games from here on out".

Keep your heart pills close old timer. Carrying that much stress around cannot be good.
 

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