MN and Wisky tourney resumes: Timing is everything

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Ogie Ogilthorpe

Ogie Ogilthorpe

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Are the Gophers and Badgers really all that different heading into the final week of the season?

The Badgers had their rough stretch of road games early in the season and have benefited from a soft late schedule to make a nice stretch run.

The Gophers had their rough stretch of road games recently, giving them the appearance of a team really on the ropes and not deserving of an NCAA bid.

However...

Both teams have won just 3 BT road games; both are 0-3 against Purdue and MSU and 1-1 against Illinois, the top 3 teams in the conference. Both have also lost just two home BT games, which bodes well for the Gophers.

It's unfortunate for the Rodents to have played 5 of the last 7 on the road, particularly for a team with no senior leadership or influence to carry them through the rough stretches.

So it all boils down to this week for the Rodents. Two home games to win for an NCAA berth. I think as fans, at the beginning of the season, we all would have taken that in a heartbeat.

At first glance, the teams seem to be going in different directions but I like the Gophers' chances. A week off, back at home after a hellacious road stint in February, and there should be without question a sense of desparation.

Should be a good one. It wouldn't surprise me if the Gophers come out with a fire under their collective asses and play with a purpose. I sure hope so...
 

Like having 5 days of rest

I like the fact the Badgers will have only 2 days of rest while we have 5. Rest assured if the Gophers manage to win the game, that excuse will be offered up by a lot of Badger fans.
 

No excuses. The rest angle is way over blown. These kids are in unreal shape and 18-22 years old. They should be able to play a game every couple of days.

There is a lot to play for on Wednesday for both teams and I expect a highly competitive (if not always pretty) game in a great environment that will hopefully be rocking.
 

I like Tubby's chances with a week to prepare. that's the value of a week off. Nothing to focus on but the Badgers. Louisville was after a week off.
 

No excuses; that's what I like to hear. None here, either. Gophers made their own bed, but now they get 2 at home to finish the season. Couldn't ask for a better scenario than getting 2 NCAA contenders at home, as opposed to finishing with Indiana and Iowa.
 


The problem with the 5 days to prepare angle is that it is not going to make players what they are not. It isn't going to make the freshman any stronger, Nolen a better shooter, etc. Also, we are going to play man to man for 40 minutes and run the swing offense a majority of the time. It's not like there are going to be many surprises.
 

resumes

I always enjoy reading your analysis in March.

How much do you think the selection committee considers the way the games play out? For example, Minnesota and Wisconsin are both 0-3 vs. MSU and Purdue, as you wrote. But I think everybody who watched those games would agree that the Gophers got drilled by Michigan State in both games and beaten soundly at home by Purdue. Wisconsin lost by 1 to Purdue at home. They also had a double-digit lead late against MSU in East Lansing before losing, but I guess the final margin of victory was 11.

So I guess they are distinct questions. How much do you think margin of victory ultimately affects selection decisions and how much does the "closeness" or non-closeness of games end up being factored in, regardless of how the final score turns out?
 

I don't put any weight on margin of victory. There are just too many more important variables. That said, certainly the committee is going to notice that a bubble team like Cincinnati got absolutely drilled by Syracuse over the weekend. And they're going to notice that the Badgers have been more competitive vs. the Big 10's best than the Gophers have.

Really, the bottom line is neither the Gophers or Badgers have performed well vs. the clear top 3 teams in the Big 10. With the unbalanced conference schedules that is one variable I know the committee looks at. That's why Penn State is kind of the wildcard with regards to the Big 10's bubble squads. Yes, their nonconference schedule was pathetic, but at least the Nitts have proven they can beat the Big 10's best (3-2 vs. Illinois, MSU & Purdue, 2 of which were on the road). The Gophers and Badgers have only proven that they can beat Illinois in the comfort of their own home.
 

All in all it will make for a very interesting finish to the season.

GVbadger. It's not pick up BB. coaching, schemes, matchups are all very important variables. I wouldn't discount the value of preparation.
 



GVBadger said:
No excuses. The rest angle is way over blown. These kids are in unreal shape and 18-22 years old. They should be able to play a game every couple of days.

There is a lot to play for on Wednesday for both teams and I expect a highly competitive (if not always pretty) game in a great environment that will hopefully be rocking.
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I know one team that was surprised by the full court press even though they should have seen it coming.
 

They were not surprised by the press at all. They did not execute against it. There is a big difference. I know it is a shock, but 18-22 year olds do not always execute as they are taught.
 

GVBadger said:
They were not surprised by the press at all. They did not execute against it. There is a big difference. I know it is a shock, but 18-22 year olds do not always execute as they are taught.
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Especially when unprepared.

Bo Ryan doesn't walk on water you know, but if you want to throw the players under the bus go for it.
 

You couldn't be more right on this. It is evident in many of our games this year. Our motion and ball movement will look for a stretch (short stretch) and will then just disappear. If it was just about the coach, we would never see what they have obviously worked on.

That being said, it seems that Bo's teams often struggle against pressure. However, I don't watch them all that often so I may be missing things. Bo isn't stupid, so it could be the athletes, but more than likely is that they are not used to playing a frenetic style that often ensues with pressure - if the defense does it well. This is the one way I think the days of preparation come into play. The more time you have to practice something that is outside of your typical style, the better.
 



From the Barn said:
Especially when unprepared.

Bo Ryan doesn't walk on water you know, but if you want to throw the players under the bus go for it.
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You don't have to insinuate that Bo walks on water to assume that he might have covered breaking a press some time in the four months or so that he had leading up to the game.
 

From the Barn said:
Especially when unprepared.

Bo Ryan doesn't walk on water you know, but if you want to throw the players under the bus go for it.
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You can believe what you want. I can't stop you. The press was not a surprise. To think they have not worked on breaking the press is absurd. Minnesota out executed the Badgers in the last four minutes and overtime and won the game. It had nothing to do with not being prepared for the press.

Bo does not walk on water, by any stretch. But teaching the team how to break a press is like basketball 101. The kids have been hearing it almost since they started playing basketball.
 

And you can go ahead and believe that every BADger loss is the fault of the refs or is a fluke.
 

From the Barn said:
And you can go ahead and believe that every BADger loss is the fault of the refs or is a fluke.
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Never said that, but thanks.

Let me know how you feel about the next game you are up ten with 4 minutes left and lose. I am sure you will simply feel the better team won.
 

In an attempt to get this semi back on track, I think one of the more interesting subplots for the the final week is the whole preparation time angle.

The Gophers should be aided by nearly a week of preparation for the Wisconsin game for two reasons. First, they have a chance to get out of the prepare-play-prepare-play routine for at least a couple of days. Coaches love that because they can spend a little time working only on themselves and, in this case, trying to repair a half-court offense that is sluggish at best. Often times in those situations, coaches start to sneak in some stuff for the next opponents in drills and the like. The extra time to prepare also will allow Tubby's staff to spend more time on breaking down film, checking out trends and prepping the Gophers for Wisconsin's offense.

But there is another part of this story as well. Because while the Gophers have almost a week to prepare for the Gophers, Michigan has almost a week to prepare for the Gophers. Michigan played Sunday and won't play again until Saturday. How much advantage will that be for Michigan? We'll see.

One other interesting schedule note is Penn State's quick turn this week -- one that is really tough. They play at 9 p.m. Eastern on Thursday against Illinois. And then turn around and play at 1 p.m. central on Saturday. That combination of the quick turnaround and one of the longest trips in the conference will be interesting to watch.
 

I'm not putting a lot of weight into the "week's worth of preparation" for this matchup. The single most significant advantage for this game for the Gophers is just plain being back in the Barn after essentially spending the month of February on the road.

A week's worth of being at home, sleeping in their own beds, a bit of "back's against the wall" mentality with a sense of urgency... Good or bad, I have a feeling we'll really see what this team is made of Wednesday night. I still hate not having a strong sense of senior or even vocal leadership on this team (barely any JUNIOR leadership for that matter).
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
I'm not putting a lot of weight into the "week's worth of preparation" for this matchup. The single most significant advantage for this game for the Gophers is just plain being back in the Barn after essentially spending the month of February on the road.

A week's worth of being at home, sleeping in their own beds, a bit of "back's against the wall" mentality with a sense of urgency... Good or bad, I have a feeling we'll really see what this team is made of Wednesday night. I still hate not having a strong sense of senior or even vocal leadership on this team (barely any JUNIOR leadership for that matter).
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Well, you could argue that Damien Johnson is the Junior Leader of the team. I realize that he was been sloppy as of recently, but after his stellar performance last thursday, maybe he will show some solid play down the stretch for us. His great defense and some suprise offense could be exactly what the Gophers need to finally lock us a spot in the tournament.
 

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