B1G Game 13: Gophers Host Northwestern (2-10-19)

[CutDownTheNet]

Due to travels, I was only able to watch the DVR version of the game. Glad we got the win. Same complaint. We get into the 4th quarter, and then our offensive bogs down trying to eat up clock, we force a shot with 2 or 3 seconds to go, miss, and NU is off to score. We need to do something else. I think there was an earlier post which made the point of we need to do what got us the lead. 8 points in the 4th. We were more than lucky to get out of the 4th with a tie. Great play in OT. I agree that we can't keep putting the minutes on our Iron 5. Once we get to the B1G tournament, it just won't work with such little rest between games. And if we don't win more than 1 in the tournament, we won't make the NCAA (but we are moving closer to an invite to the NIT). Nevertheless, let's enjoy the win today.

Yeah, they gotta just stop (already) whatever it is that they think they're doing in these painful 4th quarters.

Even though they often start the quarter up 10 points (or more in some cases) it seems like in 4th quarters they're playing "scared to lose" rather than "to win." Not sure if that's the cause of so many turnovers, or what. We had 6 turnovers in the 4th quarter. We shouldn't have that many TOs in a half!

As a result of the TOs, the opponent has an easy job of getting to a tie score.

I checked the 4Q play-by-play for this NW game. They started out up by 8 points. Bell scored 2 on a Dreb and fast break only 1:14 into the quarter, but our next 4 plays are turnovers. During that time, NW scores 7, and our lead is down to 3. Brunson finally scores 2 at 5:10, lead to 5. In our next offensive series we have a turnover (albeit also a steal) and 5 missed shots. During this time, NW are busy beavers, scoring 9 points, leaving them in the lead by 4 points when a timeout is taken with 0:59 left. They have seemingly lost what appeared to be a won game in a mere 9 minutes.

Then Pitts and Bell score while NW misses, tying the game with a NW timeout at 0:07. They manage to get the ball to Scheid for a shot but Taiye fouls her with 4 seconds on the clock. Looks like we're toast with only time for a long bomb desperation shot whenever we get the ball. Scheid misses both, we can't get a shot off, but Bell manages to turn the ball over one more time as the clock runs out and we go to OT.

We win it with a great effort in OT. In which we score about twice as many points as the 4th quarter in half the time. That's 4X the point production per minute!

We'll take the W - ugly or not. But that 4th quarter seemed less like basketball and more like Laurel and Hardy.

Jokingly, it seems like we would have been better off in the 4th quarter if we had played it like football, with 4 linewomen in a wedge formation advancing slowly toward the three-point line, with Pitts behind them as QB shooting a trey as the shot clock expires. Do we really have to resort to football in order to not turn the ball over 6 times in the 4th quarter? Perhaps P.J. Fleck can consult on how not to fumble and how not to throw interceptions.

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

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[fanfromthevalley]

In the post game loyalty program event, a question was asked about STAPLES injury. She rolled her ankle in practice after making a shot and getting tied up with Bello on the landing. Should be back "soon". Another "healthy" player will help the iron 5 get some rest periods. And, was again noted we're not going to see Hubbard back this season......

Thanks for catching the error bball_crza_26.

And, no one asked about Tomancova...and no info was shared on her status.

 

[bball_craz_31]

Byrne's injury or Staples? I wasn't aware of Byrne having one. I know that Hubbard is red-shirting, but the confusing injury to me is Tomancova. last update was "sore foot" ….a sore foot that has kept her out for 2 months?

In the post game loyalty program event, a question was asked about Byrne's injury. She rolled her ankle in practice after making a shot and getting tied up with Bello on the landing. Should be back "soon". Another "healthy" player will help the iron 5 get some rest periods. And, was again noted we're not going to see Hubbard back this season......

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

https://dailynorthwestern.com/2019/...-for-nu-in-turnover-filled-loss-to-minnesota/

Emphasis added:


Even though Scheid was at full strength after recently missing about a month of time with an injury, the Wildcats (14-10, 7-6 Big Ten) would go on to lose the Sunday afternoon matchup with the Golden Gophers (17-7, 6-7), 73-64 in overtime. Despite Scheid’s hot shooting, the team turned the ball over an astounding 26 times, seven more offensive miscues than their previous season high and nearly 13 more than their season average coming into the contest.

Minnesota’s defense was stifling, led by guards Kenisha Bell and Jasmine Brunson, employing the same three-quarter court press they used effectively in a win in Evanston just 10 days ago. Once again, NU could not figure out how to break the air-tight defensive scheme as they frequently forced passes, lost the ball out of bounds and committed offensive fouls.

“They forced us into 20-some turnovers, and that was huge,” McKeown said. “I felt like we didn’t do a very good job of taking care of the basketball, obviously.”

As a result, NU’s usual stars couldn’t find their rhythm against the Golden Gophers. Senior forward Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah finished with 6 points and 8 rebounds, marking the first time she didn’t hit double-digit figures in at least one of the two categories in the entirety of this season’s conference play. Sophomore guard Lindsey Pulliam, NU’s leading scorer, recorded just 10 points and tied her second-lowest total on the year.

 

[NerdyLaundry]

Once we get to the B1G tournament, it just won't work with such little rest between games. And if we don't win more than 1 in the tournament, we won't make the NCAA (but we are moving closer to an invite to the NIT). Nevertheless, let's enjoy the win today.

Not a pretty win, but a win is a win is a win. The game shouldn't have been as close as it was, but a super solid OT showing that I'll take.

Where do people think the team needs to be to get in to the Tournament? Currently 6-7 in the B1G with an overall of 17-7 right now with 5 left to play (3 very tough games, 1 winnable toss up and 1 they better not lose). I think they have it in them win 3 of the final 5 putting them at 20-9 and 9-9 in B1G Conference play. I think if they pull that off with 1 solid win if they lose close in the tournament they should go dancing. Obviously I'd like 3 more wins and at least 2 in the conference tournament to leave no doubt, but we'll see. Thoughts?

 

[tripledouble]

Welcome to the board, Nerdy. I don't think 3 regular season wins will do it. With an RPI of 111 and strength of schedule of 192, that's not going to play well with the Selection Committee. IMO, it will take at least 4 regular season wins and probably a conference tourney win to even get them into NCAA tourney conversation. The powderpuff non-conference schedule and the terrible loss to Illinois have placed the Gophers in a deep hole.

 

[Shades]

They have to go 11-7 just for bubble consideration. It’s not going to happen, and I’m the usually the optimistic one here. My call is they have to win the Big Ten tournament to get into the NCAA’s. By not bringing back Hubbard, it seems they’ve already chosen the future over the present.

 

[thatjanelpick]

Not a pretty win, but a win is a win is a win. The game shouldn't have been as close as it was, but a super solid OT showing that I'll take.

Where do people think the team needs to be to get in to the Tournament? Currently 6-7 in the B1G with an overall of 17-7 right now with 5 left to play (3 very tough games, 1 winnable toss up and 1 they better not lose). I think they have it in them win 3 of the final 5 putting them at 20-9 and 9-9 in B1G Conference play. I think if they pull that off with 1 solid win if they lose close in the tournament they should go dancing. Obviously I'd like 3 more wins and at least 2 in the conference tournament to leave no doubt, but we'll see. Thoughts?

Maybe 20 wins in conference play would get them in, but that seems really ambitious to me and I don't even think that would be a lock. Honestly, at this point, with that disaster of an RPI and the heinous Illinois loss, I'm thinking the only way they avoid the WNIT is if they win the B1G tournament and get the auto bid. (Anyone know the highest RPI to get a non-auto bid? I can't imagine any triple-digit RPI team has ever gotten a non-auto bid but am I nuts?)

 

[CutDownTheNet]

Maybe 20 wins in conference play would get them in, but that seems really ambitious to me and I don't even think that would be a lock. Honestly, at this point, with that disaster of an RPI and the heinous Illinois loss, I'm thinking the only way they avoid the WNIT is if they win the B1G tournament and get the auto bid. (Anyone know the highest RPI to get a non-auto bid? I can't imagine any triple-digit RPI team has ever gotten a non-auto bid but am I nuts?)

RPI is now ranked #111 with current SoS rank #145. Using its normal totally-RPI-based prediction algorithm, RealtimeRPI's Gamer predicts we go 2-3 in our remaining games, losing all 3 away games but winning both home games (including MSU, which it says we squeak by, by 2 points). That makes Gamer's end-of-season prediction be an RPI rank #99 and SoS rank #103.

Technically, that's a two-digit RPI, but they're not even going to be on the table for discussion with a #99, so they won't even consider our win portfolio.

We're probably not going to beat Maryland w/o some sort of super-human effort, but it's remotely possible that we could beat @Purdue and @Rutgers. If so, there's a remote chance we might be in discussion. Otherwise, Shades is probably right that the automatic bid for winning the Big-Ten playoff tournament might be our best chance. Actually, we might have a better chance of doing that than one might think. All depends on whether we can beat Iowa and Maryland, I think. All other teams, we're at least in the hunt for beating them on any given game.

 

[hungan1]

21 wins- if they can muster that much between the regular Big Ten play and the Big Ten Tournament. This is what will get them at the door step to the NCAA Tournament.

It is going to be tough playing a difficult remaining schedule. Win or lose, they are looking good for next season. Red shirting Hubbard for next season will give them an extra year of veteran presence.

 

[tripledouble]

I wonder if we'll ever know if and when Hubbard could have come back. If it was just the past 3 or 4 games, I agree with the staff in holding her out and getting a redshirt year for her. Another issue may have been the fear that she would reinjure her foot. That seems to happen often with basketball foot injuries. Hubbard is a very versatile player and it will be great to have her back and healthy next year. Hard to say what this year's team would have done with Hubbard in the lineup. I am thinking that they might have won an extra BIG game or two. That being said, I'm still not sure they would have been an NCAA tourney team. (And that means that they won't be one without her this year either.)

Hubbard will fit well into the Gophers full court defensive scheme, presuming they carry that forward into next year. She's a good outside shooter who will also drive to the hoop and she will also get some assists. I'm just hoping that some of next year's recruits will be able to contribute much more quickly than this year's recruits.

 

[shakenbake]

I wonder if we'll ever know if and when Hubbard could have come back. If it was just the past 3 or 4 games, I agree with the staff in holding her out and getting a redshirt year for her. Another issue may have been the fear that she would reinjure her foot. That seems to happen often with basketball foot injuries. Hubbard is a very versatile player and it will be great to have her back and healthy next year. Hard to say what this year's team would have done with Hubbard in the lineup. I am thinking that they might have won an extra BIG game or two. That being said, I'm still not sure they would have been an NCAA tourney team. (And that means that they won't be one without her this year either.)

Hubbard will fit well into the Gophers full court defensive scheme, presuming they carry that forward into next year. She's a good outside shooter who will also drive to the hoop and she will also get some assists. I'm just hoping that some of next year's recruits will be able to contribute much more quickly than this year's recruits.

I am sure the Freshman this year would have also wanted to contribute more......injuries happen.

If Hubbard was ready to go 100% heading into Big Ten play they would have played her.

The coaches are looking out for the players first and their health.


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[hungan1]

I wonder if we'll ever know if and when Hubbard could have come back. If it was just the past 3 or 4 games, I agree with the staff in holding her out and getting a redshirt year for her. Another issue may have been the fear that she would reinjure her foot. That seems to happen often with basketball foot injuries. Hubbard is a very versatile player and it will be great to have her back and healthy next year. Hard to say what this year's team would have done with Hubbard in the lineup. I am thinking that they might have won an extra BIG game or two. That being said, I'm still not sure they would have been an NCAA tourney team. (And that means that they won't be one without her this year either.)

Hubbard will fit well into the Gophers full court defensive scheme, presuming they carry that forward into next year. She's a good outside shooter who will also drive to the hoop and she will also get some assists. I'm just hoping that some of next year's recruits will be able to contribute much more quickly than this year's recruits.

It is always a risk to rush a player back. Why play less than 100% healthy and risk injury? Look at Shannon Brooks. It could happen to anyone.

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

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Yesterday, it was great to see the alumnae at the half.