2024-2025

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I am thinking they may have a girl or two lined up already. Maybe I’m wrong.
 


Hate the direction the game is headed that players who aren't draft eligible and have remaining eligibility are posting returning to team announcements
 

The current roster is an NCAA tournament team. Would be nice of movement was better except they may be only so good at that, finding other ways.
 



Kind of surprised that Charlie Crème of ESPN has Gophers as the second team out of the NCAA Tournament in his way too early Braketology. He has 9 Big Ten teams in. Hoping this roster stays healthy and makes a run
 

Katogopher said:
Kind of surprised that Charlie Crème of ESPN has Gophers as the second team out of the NCAA Tournament in his way too early Braketology. He has 9 Big Ten teams in. Hoping this roster stays healthy and makes a run
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Creme and his ilk can’t possibly understand all the nuances of why a team finished with the record it did. Just too many teams to follow. He is probably aware Braun was out for a period last season, but has forgotten how they were performing before she went down, and he probably forgot that Hart also missed critical time.

If one were to project the level of performance that the team achieved with both those players available for the remainder of last season, no pundit would have Minnesota out of the tournament this year because they would have made the tournament last year and they have all their starters back.
 

rwlarson said:
. . . If one were to project the level of performance that the team achieved with both those players available for the remainder of last season, no pundit would have Minnesota out of the tournament this year because they would have made the tournament last year and they have all their starters back.
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I'm open to the idea that the Gophers may have been able to claw their way into the tournament, without the Braun and Hart injuries, but also very open to them playing their way out of the tourney, as they started to do with the bad loss at Wisconsin. As of January 28, 2024, the date of Braun's injury, the Gophers were 12th in BIG play in effective field goal percentage, which is where they ultimately finished. Teams that poor on the offensive end have a tough time making the tourney. Looking for improvement next year on the offensive end to mimic the organizational and defensive improvement we saw this year.

Edit: From 2021-24, 27 BIG teams have made the NCAA tourney, 23 of which finished in the top 6 in the league in effective field goal percentage, and 25 of which finished in the top 8. The Gophers, at 12th place in the league in effective field goal percentage, were trying to join a very small group of poor BIG offensive teams to make the NCAA tourney. Not impossible, but hard.
 
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BigTenGuy said:
I'm open to the idea that the Gophers may have been able to claw their way into the tournament, without the Braun and Hart injuries, but also very open to them playing their way out of the tourney, as they started to do with the bad loss at Wisconsin. As of January 28, 2024, the date of Braun's injury, the Gophers were 12th in BIG play in effective field goal percentage, which is where they ultimately finished. Teams that poor on the offensive end have a tough time making the tourney. Looking for improvement next year on the offensive end to mimic the organizational and defensive improvement we saw this year.
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So they lucked into wins over Nebraska, Michigan State & at Michigan? (All tournament teams btw)
 



The Gophers will make the tournament IMO.. also IMO it’s on the current sophomores for that to happen time for Braun, Heyer and Battle to lead and be the best most efficient version of themselves…
 

They were also leading at Illinois by six or so pretty late in the game when Braun went down. Maybe they could have hung on without her had that been a home game but it’s tough on the road.

Bottom line, if you look at the way they were dispatching inferior opponents in non-conference, that was consistent with what a Top 30 normally does.

They were projected as a 7-9 seed before they lost Braun. Unless one believes this coaching staff is incapable of getting continuous improvement out of a young team, there is no reason to think they couldn’t have maintained the trajectory they were on and beaten more good teams as the season drew to a close.

Barring another catastrophic injury, they will easily make the tournament next season.
 

To my count they have 12 scholarship players on the roster and 1 walk on in Senden. Unless Aminata Zie has eligibility?? Wish the gopher sports site would update rosters now. With Harts injury history it would be nice to possibly find another player who could play the 5 if needed.
 

bball_craz_31 said:
So they lucked into wins over Nebraska, Michigan State & at Michigan? (All tournament teams btw)
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I certainly wouldn't call the victories over Michigan State and Nebraska luck, but it's hard to stack victories shooting 41.3% and 40.7% from the field, as the Gophers did in those games. It's partly why the victories you cite stand out as outliers.

The Michigan victory was just one of those great nights where the hoop is large and the ball goes in. Against Michigan, the Gophers shot 53.6% from 3 with 15 makes, with Heyer being 6-9, Braun 4-9, and GG 5-9. For the season, Minnesota finished 13th in the league in 3-point percentage. I wouldn't call it luck to have a crazy good shooting night, because it happens, but you sure can't count on that. Other than the game at Rutgers, that was the Gophers only good 3-point game of the season on the road.
 
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rwlarson said:
. . . Barring another catastrophic injury, they will easily make the tournament next season.
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I hope the non-conference schedule next year reflects this. No excuse to have a repeat of this year, with a NET non-conference schedule rank of 189, RPI non-conference schedule rank of 113. Will be very interesting to see how Coach P approaches non-con scheduling in year 2.
 

BigTenGuy said:
I hope the non-conference schedule next year reflects this. No excuse to have a repeat of this year, with a NET non-conference schedule rank of 189, RPI non-conference schedule rank of 113. Will be very interesting to see how Coach P approaches non-con scheduling in year 2.
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We would jump for joy with that on the men’s side.
 



BigTenGuy said:
I certainly wouldn't call the victories of Michigan State and Nebraska luck, but it's hard to stack victories shooting 41.3% and 40.7% from the field, as the Gophers did in those games. It's partly why the victories you cite stand out as outliers.

The Michigan victory was just one of those great nights where the hoop is large and the ball goes in. Against Michigan, the Gophers shot 53.6% from 3 with 15 makes, with Heyer being 6-9, Braun 4-9, and GG 5-9. For the season, Minnesota finished 13th in the league in 3-point percentage. I wouldn't call it luck to have a crazy good shooting night, because it happens, but you sure can't count on that. Other than the game at Rutgers, that was the Gophers only good 3-point game of the season on the road.
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Not a huge fan of depending on the 3 to win. It’s way to variable. Run a good offense, take the 2 when you can, and then the 3 becomes open more often, so you can set and shoot. Relying on the 3 is like relying on the HR in baseball. It comes and goes for no discernible reason!
 



GopherMarroon said:
I wonder how the 4 and 5 position minutes mix up between players.
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Guessing as of right now now

5: Starting- Sophie Hart, Backup- Annika Stewart
4: Starting- Mallory Heyer, Backup- Nia Holloway

Could also see small-ball with Nia at the 5. Big ball with Nia at 4 and Mal at the 3 along with one of the 5s.

Maggie or Woodson could also play spot minutes at the 4.
 

bball_craz_31 said:
No I didn't. She won't be returning.
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Where did it say she won’t be returning? She did not participate in senior day, no announcement she entered transfer portal no announcement she is retired from basketball.
 

Ragnor said:
Where did it say she won’t be returning? She did not participate in senior day, no announcement she entered transfer portal no announcement she is retired from basketball.
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She didn't play at all except towards the end some minutes. She came from a community college school via transfer portal. The team right before that had lost almost everyone in the big walkout on Whalen.
 

I don't see M. Czinano get much time at all next season. Coach P has brought in a lot more talent this year and she will continue to search the portal for upgrades.
 

GopherMarroon said:
She didn't play at all except towards the end some minutes. She came from a community college school via transfer portal. The team right before that had lost almost everyone in the big walkout on Whalen.
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Those are good reasons I would not be surprised if she doesn’t return but I can’t remember someone stealthily leaving with eligibility without some official/semi official word. I am interested in such evidence and not potential reasons. Otherwise assumption is she returns.
 

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