BIG Game 16: Gophers host Ohio State, Feb 18th

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DietCokeFan said:
Yup that was me and I can totally admit I may have been wrong. Happy to eat my words. :)
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I want to say your take was completely reasonable early in the season. We all had high expectations on the season (rightfully so) and early on they were not living up to that. Braun and battle were both really struggling with their shot, Hart was meh and Tonga didn’t look like she belong in a power conference.

We are all Minnesota fans so we expect the worst and we were worried the tournament was in doubt and if that happens, then what.

Massive credit to Dawn, the staff and the players. To lose a 3 year starter 2 weeks before the season, a big contributor to an ACL, and a sluggish start against quality teams. The gophers starting 5 are all playing All conference caliber at the same time.

Expectations have been raised and I’m loving it!!
 


Gophermangeek said:
I want to say your take was completely reasonable early in the season. We all had high expectations on the season (rightfully so) and early on they were not living up to that. Braun and battle were both really struggling with their shot, Hart was meh and Tonga didn’t look like she belong in a power conference.

We are all Minnesota fans so we expect the worst and we were worried the tournament was in doubt and if that happens, then what.

Massive credit to Dawn, the staff and the players. To lose a 3 year starter 2 weeks before the season, a big contributor to an ACL, and a sluggish start against quality teams. The gophers starting 5 are all playing All conference caliber at the same time.

Expectations have been raised and I’m loving it!!
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This is why I can't understand why people get so worked up about the snap shot of a season (one way or the other). It's like watching a :60 movie trailer and trying to convince me that you know the entire plot, subplot, all the character personalities and the ending based on that. Seems to me that one would want to watch the whole movie (or at least most of it) before trying to explain it and tell me how it ends.

Thank goodness the coaches and players don't look at a game or season that way. "I sucked (or rocked it) for the first few games, so that's how it's going to be all season, nothing will change from now through the end of the season." Just like life, players and their seasons go through ebbs and flows, but you keep working on it. We fans, way to often, love to predict failure based on a very small sample of the worst segments. Ever had a bad day at work and decided, "well, I suck at this. No chance to get better, so I might as well throw in the towel."? If you played sports, did you actually go up to bat after grounding out 4 straight times with the attitude, "Why bother, I'll probably ground out again. I should just quit"? I hope for your teammates and coaches sake you didn't.

I started actually paying attention to Gophers sports in the early 70's as a teenager. Yup, lots of disappointment, but I can honestly say I've never given up on them halfway through a season, using the lame "I'd be happy to be proved wrong" excuse.
 
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Gophers112233 said:
View attachment 42490

tonight's +/- (this is updated after the DUB tonight)

Sophie 20
Tori 15
Amaya 13
GG 12
Mara 10
Glenn 7
Tonga -7
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Center posts often don't get enough credit. Sophie Hart deserves a huge spotlight on how great she has been on this amazing winning streak.

Having her inside to collapse the opposing defense is great. And she has been a legit scoring B1G lately.

She had a double double In this game. When the team was struggling shooting early, she scored ten by the half to.keep them in it until the other snipers got going. When nothing shooting is going right, get it in to her. A legit scoring big with strong defense during this run.

Hart is a contender for most important player on the team except there are several contenders too.
 
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Gophermangeek said:
I want to say your take was completely reasonable early in the season. We all had high expectations on the season (rightfully so) and early on they were not living up to that. Braun and battle were both really struggling with their shot, Hart was meh and Tonga didn’t look like she belong in a power conference.

We are all Minnesota fans so we expect the worst and we were worried the tournament was in doubt and if that happens, then what.

Massive credit to Dawn, the staff and the players. To lose a 3 year starter 2 weeks before the season, a big contributor to an ACL, and a sluggish start against quality teams. The gophers starting 5 are all playing All conference caliber at the same time.

Expectations have been raised and I’m loving it!!
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Those preseason practices must have been battles. There wouldn’t be enough minutes for both right now. Hard to imagine someone outside of the starting 5… starting, Especially after last night.
 

The Star Tribune posted two articles both by Chip Skoggins.

Scoggins: Gophers women’s basketball sends message with win over No. 10 Ohio State​


A few excerpts from what is more of an opinion piece.

The Gophers women’s basketball team shouldn’t be under the radar anymore. Not locally. Not nationally.

The message being sent is unmistakable by now.

This is a strong, tough, well-balanced, confident team that is peaking at the best possible time.

They’re kind of goofy, too.

Hey, their words.
“We all joke around, we all love each other, we all smile and have a good time,” center Sophie Hart said.

Coach Dawn Plitzuweit has constructed a versatile, cohesive roster in her third season at the helm. The Gophers don’t rely on one or two players to shoulder the scoring burden or bail them out of tight spots. Their strength lies in their ability to win multiple ways by leaning on the entire group.
They have balanced scoring with all five starters averaging double figures. They are stingier than Ebenezer Scrooge on defense. They commit few turnovers. And they exude toughness.

Wednesday’s victory served as a case study.
The Gophers had a nightmare first half shooting the ball. They missed 29 shots, many of them open looks or point-blank shots at the rim.

Despite that, they only trailed 29-26 at halftime.

Good teams give themselves a chance even when circumstances aren’t ideal.

The Gophers finished with the fewest turnovers (nine) of any Ohio State opponent this season, including top-ranked and undefeated UConn.
The Buckeyes average 83 points per game. Their 61 points were a season low.

Wednesday’s victory improves the Gophers’ chances of securing a top-16 seed in the NCAA tournament, which would give them the option of hosting first- and second-round games.

The Gophers are playing like a team deserving of one of those coveted seeds.

“They’re really locked in,” Plitzuweit said. “They create their own energy. They don’t rely on anyone else to create it for them.”

That energy is high voltage right now. The Gophers shouldn’t be a secret anymore. They are making everyone take notice.
 

The second article is what would be considered reporting on the game (although the first one does too.) And there is text from the first "opinion piece" intertwined in this one.

Gophers women’s basketball takes down No. 10 Ohio State for ninth straight win​


Dawn Plitzuweit probably never felt more relieved to be trailing by three points at halftime.

The Gophers women’s basketball coach watched her team miss shot after shot after shot in the first half against No. 10 Ohio State on Wednesday, Feb. 18.

That was the bad news. The good news?

The Gophers are stingier than Ebenezer Scrooge on defense.

Playing their first game as a ranked team, the No. 23 Gophers showed they have higher aspirations in mind after dispatching the Buckeyes 74-61 at Williams Arena to extend their winning streak to nine games.

They also ended a 14-game losing streak against Ohio State that dated back to 2016.

Center Sophie Hart posted a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Guard Mara Braun came alive offensively after a slow start, scoring 13 of her 18 points in the second half.

Guard Amaya Battle provided her usual well-rounded effort with 13 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Her first assist broke her tie with Lindsay Whalen for the second-most in program history. Battle (583) now only sits behind Debbie Hunter (633).
 



can we take a moment to celebrate Sophie..

during our 9 game win streak Sophie has been in double figures in SEVEN of them.. has collected TWO double double in her last four games.

Sophie should be talked about for MIP in the B1G..

over her last 7 games

13.9 ppg
6.9 rpg
53% FG
76 % FT
 

Often, when “voters” are looking at Most Improved, MVP, and other conference awards, they look at points first and foremost. They might look at other things as well, but points is always the first thing they look at. And due to that a lot of posts / centers / bigs get overlooked, because while they are scoring, they are also blocking and screening and rebounding and taking a beating inside the lane. They may struggle on FT’s or outside shooting because that is not their “strength”, although they are doing things that a lot of the smaller guards are not able to do. Sophie is a prime example of this.
 

Gophers112233 said:
can we take a moment to celebrate Sophie..

during our 9 game win streak Sophie has been in double figures in SEVEN of them.. has collected TWO double double in her last four games.

Sophie should be talked about for MIP in the B1G..

over her last 7 games

13.9 ppg
6.9 rpg
53% FG
76 % FT
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Sophie was phenomenal last night, even blocked shots with authority.
 

Hoopsmom said:
Often, when “voters” are looking at Most Improved, MVP, and other conference awards, they look at points first and foremost. They might look at other things as well, but points is always the first thing they look at. And due to that a lot of posts / centers / bigs get overlooked, because while they are scoring, they are also blocking and screening and rebounding and taking a beating inside the lane. They may struggle on FT’s or outside shooting because that is not their “strength”, although they are doing things that a lot of the smaller guards are not able to do. Sophie is a prime example of this.
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Valid points. Should almost have two: most improved frontcourt and most improved backcourt. But if you start having too many awards then they start to be less meaningful.
 




gopherdudepart2 said:
Sophie was phenomenal last night, even blocked shots with authority.
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Blocked shots are about athleticism (vertical/length), timing and confidence. This shows that Sofie has worked to improve her timing and confidence. Overcoming what she can't control to contribute more as the season has progressed.
 

Belzx009 said:
What’s not being talked about enough is the 9 turnovers. Single digit turnovers against Ohio State. Last year in an OT loss the Gophers had 21. That means they had 12 more opportunities to score this year.
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Only 10 OSU points off of those 9 turnovers.

Only 6 steals for the Buckeyes, I think only one (maybe two) was from the press.

One of those turnovers was a questionable double dribble call on Braun in the 4th quarter.
 


Belzx009 said:
What’s not being talked about enough is the 9 turnovers. Single digit turnovers against Ohio State. Last year in an OT loss the Gophers had 21. That means they had 12 more opportunities to score this year.
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This.

Entering the game, Ohio State defense averaged a whopping 22.79 turnovers per conference game -- 319 total. Also 12.8 steals per game.

 



thatjanelpick said:
As the (pretty good, I thought) announcers pointed out, that was a hesitation dribble.
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As I watched it in real time and the replay, my thought was; "Probably not a double dribble, but very possibly a palm of the ball". Of course, players do that all the time and maybe one player gets called for it every 3-4 games.
 

Chico Gopher said:
As I watched it in real time and the replay, my thought was; "Probably not a double dribble, but very possibly a palm of the ball". Of course, players do that all the time and maybe one player gets called for it every 3-4 games.
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ohio state got away with a VERY CLEAR palming the ball early in the game right in front of the Gopher bench..
 


Big difference to me, which been wanting for a while, is the offense is willing to shoot the ball in the first half of the shot clock way more the the 2nd half of it, except when we are trying to run clock later in the game. Lot faster pace which is allowing, along with the d stop, to get more shot attempts then our opponents which is providing some relief to poor shooting slumps. We didn't shoot the ball well in the 1st Quarter, but eventually did get better and ended overall really pretty good, especially from the arc. Arc % is huge in college basketball period. You get that and the inside game comes easier too. Overall great to see some offensive success against quality teams!

Nice to see Braun and Battle having more offensive success.

Congrats on the W, Lets keep the barn rocking for another W on Sunday!
Rah!
 

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