Gophers get mentioned twice in the article:
http://espn.go.com/ncb/notebook/_/page/notebookweeklywatch1201/week-1
More teams that impressed us:
Minnesota: Yes, the Gophers, who don't appear to have the talent to make the NCAA tournament, deserve a lot of credit for beating Virginia Tech without Trevor Mbakwe (out for the season with a torn ACL) and Ralph Sampson III and then easily dispatching USC. Maybe this team can remain relevant after all.
Observations from the week that was:
4. Minnesota isn't rolling over. The Golden Gophers didn't exactly tear down any heavy favorites this week, but they deserve some credit for their two wins all the same. Why? Minnesota lost star forward and de facto team leader Trevor Mbakwe to an ACL tear in last week's Old Spice Classic title-game loss to Dayton. The injury had the potential to rock the Gophers, who have seen their last two seasons derailed by injuries and personnel issues. Tubby Smith's team could have lavished pity on the amiable Mbakwe's poor fortune or spent time lamenting their own bad breaks. Instead, Minnesota held off Virginia Tech and handled USC -- including some helpful replacement work by forward Elliott Eliason -- and got two wins out of a week that could have crippled this team's season otherwise. Minnesota may not compete for the Big Ten title without Mbakwe, but Smith's team still has much to play for. They showed it this week.
http://espn.go.com/ncb/notebook/_/page/notebookweeklywatch1201/week-1
More teams that impressed us:
Minnesota: Yes, the Gophers, who don't appear to have the talent to make the NCAA tournament, deserve a lot of credit for beating Virginia Tech without Trevor Mbakwe (out for the season with a torn ACL) and Ralph Sampson III and then easily dispatching USC. Maybe this team can remain relevant after all.
Observations from the week that was:
4. Minnesota isn't rolling over. The Golden Gophers didn't exactly tear down any heavy favorites this week, but they deserve some credit for their two wins all the same. Why? Minnesota lost star forward and de facto team leader Trevor Mbakwe to an ACL tear in last week's Old Spice Classic title-game loss to Dayton. The injury had the potential to rock the Gophers, who have seen their last two seasons derailed by injuries and personnel issues. Tubby Smith's team could have lavished pity on the amiable Mbakwe's poor fortune or spent time lamenting their own bad breaks. Instead, Minnesota held off Virginia Tech and handled USC -- including some helpful replacement work by forward Elliott Eliason -- and got two wins out of a week that could have crippled this team's season otherwise. Minnesota may not compete for the Big Ten title without Mbakwe, but Smith's team still has much to play for. They showed it this week.
