B1G Game 4: Gophers host Badgers: (1-7-17)

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Ignatius L Hoops

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Minnesota goes for its ninth straight win against the Badgers. Last season, Minnesota won 84-77 in Madison after fighting off several late Badger rallies. And we really, really need to continue the Badger futility. First year Badger head coach Jonathan Tsipis’s squad has struggled from the start (5-10 overall and (0-2) in conference).


Common opponent: North Carolina. The Gophers lost to UNC 91-77. Minnesota waivered down the stretch after battling back and forth with the Tar Heels. Against the Badgers, North Carolina broke to a 47-25 halftime lead and then coasted to a 72-59 victory.


B1G Badger Losses: Michigan 73-56, @ Rutgers 68-52.

Against Michigan, the Wolverines Hallie Thome scored 37 points (she was 13-15 from the field, 11-13 from the foul line and captured 14 rebounds). Michigan pulled away in the second half. At Rutgers the Badgers had 22 turnovers (15 in the first half) and no Badger scored in double figures.


Some defensive schemes are more hope than plan (from last nights Rutgers loss:

http://host.madison.com/wsj/sports/...cle_3798ada6-9e14-5ca9-a530-4449d0664c61.html

UW coach Jonathan Tsipis said the game plan was to challenge Rutgers to shoot over the zone defense. And he was counting on the percentages catching up with the Scarlet Knights after they hit five of seven 3-point attempts in the first quarter to take a 20-13 lead.

“We kept talking to the team about that, let that part ride,” Tsipis said. “Let’s prove they can do that for a whole game.

“They shot it a lot better. That was kind of the gamble. We wanted to take away the high post and the post players.”

Sophomore guard K.K. Sanders hit a career-high four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points to lead Rutgers, which also got 15 points from junior Shrita Parker


Starters:

Malayna Johnson: 6’4” F Jr. (7.5 points/game)
Courtney Fredrickson: 6’2” F Fr (3.5 points/game)
Kendra Van Leeuwen: 5’10” G Fr (7.0 points/game and 5.5 assists/game)
Cayla McMorris: 6’-0” G Jr. (8.5 points/ game and 5.5 rebounds/game)
Marsha Howard: 5’10” F So. (7.5 points/game)


Others:

Avyanna Young: 6’1” F Sr. (7.0 points/game)
Ashley Kelsick: 5’7” G So. (5.0 points/game and 4.5 assists/game) (Boston College transfer who just became eligible).
Suzanne Gilreath: 5’4” G Fr. (8.0 points/game)
 

Not to push the panic button too soon, but I would view this game as a must win for multiple reasons. One, Wisconsin is a more than beatable team (especially averaging only 54 ppg as a team and gophers being at home). Secondly, a loss to this team would most certainly be on the same level as the New Mexico loss last year. One thing I keep reminding myself with the frustration of this team is, technically we have not seen a single game this year where the gophers were at full strength. Fernstrom became eligible just as Hubbard went out with Mono. and honestly if it takes Hubbard a little bit to get back into the grove, we may not actually see a fully 100% ready to go gopher team until end of mid to end of conference season and most likely by then tournament hopes may already be gone. However two things stand out to me with this team; One being that even if this year's team isn't a tournament team or a great big ten season there is at least hope for next year. frankly any of the four seniors we lose this season I don't view as major losses. Yes they are solid (at times) but all have major holes in their game. What we do return (barring any injury/transfer) is Fernstrom, Bell, Wagner, Hubbard, Brunson, T.Bello, Edwards, Kaposi and they add the top 60 recruit in Destiny Pitts. To me, that will probably be the most complete team Marlene has had since her first 10 games with the Gophers when she had Banham, Wagner, Zahui and Kelley. Another thing at least that gives me hope is just look at the mens bball team. they had a horrible year last year but key pieces returned, transfers had time to prepare and big recruits came in..sounds very similar to next year's womens bball team. and lastly if this year and next year are a bust, it looks like this current AD at the U of M is a no nonsense kind of guy and marlene might be gone after next year if there is no turnaround.
 

I agree with almost everything you said, bball. If this team has any hopes of dancing in March, they'll have to beat Wisconsin at home. One thing that concerns me is that the bottom teams in the conference (Rutgers, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois) appear to be closer to the middle teams than I thought they'd be. And re: Destiny Pitts, I am wondering if she is capable of playing the point. Bell is a very good player and I like what she brings to the offense, however, unless she cleans up the turnover problems and starts making better decisions, I don't view her as a point guard on an NCAA tourney team. And yes, we should all take some optimism from the complete turnaround of the Gopher men's team. Admittedly they couldn't go any lower than they were last year and they had to improve, but the amount of improvement they've made has been remarkable. And you're right about the AD being willing to "pull the trigger" if there is no turnaround. He listed one of his reasons for firing Claeys as attendance and I would expect that he'll have a similar stance with women's basketball. Winning is the easiest cure for those problems. I wouldn't be surprised if Gopher men's basketball attendance increases substantially now that they have people's attention again.
 

My thing on Bell is that its really hard to come down on her for turnovers, while yes I feel sometimes its a bad pass or kind of going in out of control, I view a lot of her turnovers as at least trying to make something often when there is nothing. Also I feel at least 2 or 3 times a game, Bell gets credited for a turnover however it was the right pass at the right time and either the post player wasn't ready or the guard (Wagner more than once) has now moved from the spot. My guess with Pitts is with her height and scoring she is going to be looked at to fill the role of Hedstrom/Starr as the 3/4. Maybe we can luck out and she can be a mix of both with having Hedstrom's 3-point shooting but Starr's handles, speed and passing ability. and in regards to the bottom teams, from what I have seen it really looks like some of the teams that we viewed as middle of pack really are closer to the bottom than we thought. Iowa/Gophers/Penn St all look rough in conference season. With Bell struggling with turnovers and Hubbard out, I don't see why they don't try a starting 5 of Brunson/Bell/Wagner/Tinjum/Fernstrom. That would at least give Bell some help with ball handling running plays. Plus with Bell's ability to score, maybe running plays for her off the ball wouldn't be the worst thing.


tripledouble said:
I agree with almost everything you said, bball. If this team has any hopes of dancing in March, they'll have to beat Wisconsin at home. One thing that concerns me is that the bottom teams in the conference (Rutgers, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois) appear to be closer to the middle teams than I thought they'd be. And re: Destiny Pitts, I am wondering if she is capable of playing the point. Bell is a very good player and I like what she brings to the offense, however, unless she cleans up the turnover problems and starts making better decisions, I don't view her as a point guard on an NCAA tourney team. And yes, we should all take some optimism from the complete turnaround of the Gopher men's team. Admittedly they couldn't go any lower than they were last year and they had to improve, but the amount of improvement they've made has been remarkable. And you're right about the AD being willing to "pull the trigger" if there is no turnaround. He listed one of his reasons for firing Claeys as attendance and I would expect that he'll have a similar stance with women's basketball. Winning is the easiest cure for those problems. I wouldn't be surprised if Gopher men's basketball attendance increases substantially now that they have people's attention again.
Click to expand...
 

http://m.startribune.com/gophers-wo...-row-over-wisconsin/409953395/?section=sports

Some Edwards and Hubbard info:

Stollings said guard Gadiva Hubbard, the top-scoring freshman in the Big Ten (13.8 points per game), is expected to return sometime in the next two weeks. She has missed four games because of mononucleosis. Center Jessie Edwards, who missed the Maryland game because of the flu, played only five minutes at Indiana and is expected to play limited minutes Saturday.
 


No word on Barnes? It's almost like she's no longer on the team. Barnes is better than Lamke.
 

The conference schedule has just started and you guys are talking about next season already. I hope the team focus is better than this. They need to worry about this season. They need to focus on the next game. The season is not over. Don't make me go PJ Fleck on ya. I'll eat your conversations for breakfast.

I don't even know where to begin with Bell. I can blame Bell for the turnovers. It's not good enough just to try. I'm not impressed with her ability to score. All she's doing is playing 1-on-5, because that's all she's good at. But that's not going to win the Gophers games. Teams figure out she's not a good facilitator so they become easy to defend. She had 11 turnovers against IND, so she's not showing any signs of improving. If you recognize that Bell should be moved off the ball, then you are blaming her because she's the primary problem. She's innately not good at PG. The article Ignatius posted was 80% talking about the turnovers. Their solution is gonna be to "slow things down". They're gonna be a run-and-gun team that slows things down. That's their identity.

The individual players are good. But they stink playing together as a team. You know that means.
 

I get the reluctance to label this a "must-win" so early in the season but I think it is a must-win. If the Gophers don't beat the (terrible) Badgers at home, then it's time for a new coach.
 

Shades said:
No word on Barnes? It's almost like she's no longer on the team. Barnes is better than Lamke.
Click to expand...

It's Karly's day.

http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/010617aaa.html

Playing against Wisconsin on Saturday, will you have some family and friends making the trip?
Of course. The first time playing against Wisconsin last year I heard the slogan is “Better dead than red.” I’ve got to “hate” my home team but still love my home people at the same time.

Is it a special game for you?
Yeah. Playing against your home team for another state is something that you enjoy.

The team has a tough schedule this year. Is that what you were hoping for when you made the jump to Division I and the Big Ten last season?
Yeah. A level to compete against some of the best conferences is always great.

You still have a big portion of the season to create more memories, but what have been some of your favorites so far?
Being able to compete against teams like South Carolina, Florida State, going to the Bahamas and playing Georgia and North Carolina, is always exciting.

There’s a bit of a tradition of you doing bus karaoke. How did that start?
You should really ask my teammates, maybe Carlie Wagner or Joanna Hedstrom and Coach Nik. They always love my singing
 




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Not sure I'm in love with this strategy. Wagner gets rest this way, I suppose.
But I'd say Wagner is more important to us than that defender is to Wisconsin.

They seemed to be using the same strategy against Indiana.
 

Lots of PT for lots of players in this one. I wish Kaposi hadn't got in foul trouble so quickly. She made an early entrance in the first quarter and had a chance for extended PT but she got two quick fouls. She did the same in the second half. She must be climbing the rotation totem pole a bit as she is seeing more and earlier action lately. Earlier this year, I wasn't convinced she was in the Gophers' plans. Good games for both Bell and Wagner. And Tinjum averaging over 8 rebounds per game in BIG play. Northwestern next in what I view as another must win game for the Gophers against much tougher competition. I only wish Nia Coffey had preceded her brother as a Gopher.
 

One of the better games this season from Wagner. 24 pts (10-17), 6 reb, 5 ast, 1 to, 2 stl.... passes were crisp. They almost always call a foul on her when she plays tight defense.

Liked Bell better in this one, but she still has issues with her decision-making. Kept her to's down to a tolerable 4.

Kaposi deceptively quick, but picks up fouls too easy.
 



I was bummed Taiye Bello got yanked so quickly on her first entry into the game, in which she notched a foul in just a few seconds on the court, but I was glad we were able to see more of her. She's fast. I think she can contribute if she has more chances to get in the flow of games.
 

WI. is a really bad team so glad Wagner and Bell bright their A game. Loved 1/2 time show and PJ Fleck in the Barn !
 

It was nice to briefly see Barnes, too. Guess we won't be seeing Sue Key anymore? She wasn't there and she is not on the roster anymore.

Btw, does anyone else think it's odd to keep showing that Destiny Pitts video at games? The subliminal message seems almost to be, "Yeah, this season isn't going great but wait til next year." (And is Pitts the only recruit the Gophers have in the next three classes?)
 

Thanks for mentioning Key. I'd kind of stopped looking for her. As far as Shades' screen shot: I remember a non conference game last season where Banham and Wagner stood at mid court with their defenders while the team went three on three. It was actually kind of fun.

And one other no show: Assistant coach Tamisha Augustin was out after her achilles surgery this week and

Bell was not guardable by the Badgers. Most teams have some difficulty with Kenisha. Ashley Deary, however...well it should be fun Wednesday night.

My favorite Badger of the day was Suzanne Gilreath (#3) who launched 15 shots in 15 minutes (12 of them from three). She rarely participated in an offensive play and sort of randomly launched shots when it pleased her. She finished with 14 points and what looked like a lecture from Jonathan Tsipis. The Badgers are worse than they should be. It seems a total mismatch between players and coach.


Starters:

Hedstrom
Tinjum
Edwards
Bell
Wagner


Minutes Played:

36 Hedstrom
33 Wagner
27 Bell
21 Tinjum
19 Fernstrom
14 Brunson
14 Starr
13 Edwards
11 T Bello
4 Kaposi
3 Lamke
3 K Bello
2 Barnes
 

And another thing:

Taiye Bello could have had 10 points today; okay, eight points if I don't give her the eight foot jumper. She could not put away a put back.

Bell also missed a couple of late layups preventing her from getting 20 plus.

And could we send some players to rebounding camp to learn how to grab, rip and secure the ball?
 


The Gophers ran that back door lob at least three and I think four times today.
 

And Brunson had a couple of tough luck shots today...a 3-pointer and a 2-pointer which were halfway down before coming out. Thankfully, she actually nailed a 3 soon after. I continue to think that both Brunson and T. Bello have good potential. And I'm starting to think that Kaposi might also have a chance to be a good player. I'm hoping that Brunson will be able to improve at the guard spot as much as McBrayer has improved for the men's team.
 

tripledouble said:
And Brunson had a couple of tough luck shots today...a 3-pointer and a 2-pointer which were halfway down before coming out. Thankfully, she actually nailed a 3 soon after. I continue to think that both Brunson and T. Bello have good potential. And I'm starting to think that Kaposi might also have a chance to be a good player. I'm hoping that Brunson will be able to improve at the guard spot as much as McBrayer has improved for the men's team.
Click to expand...

I'm with you on Brunson. I like that she's a naturally aggressive defender and, as the season progressed, she's cut down on the cheap fouls. Stat wise, Brunson has totaled 36 minutes in four Big Ten Games.

In 36 minutes of play (virtually a full game) she has 9 points (2-2 from the foul line); 2 rebounds; 4 assists (2 against Maryland); 8 turnovers (3 against Maryland); 1 steal and 3 fouls. So, at this point, her job is to give Bell a rest and not sink the ship.
 

I don't know if any of us would agree with the strategy of removing your top scorer (someone who is trying to overcome a severe shooting slump) from the offense to play 4 on 4. Can you imagine Ohio State doing that with Mitchell or Northwestern doing that with Coffey. I really question Stollings basketball acumen.
 

Not to be a jerk but Wagner had been struggling so much to score that what I honestly thought was going on was Minnesota saying, "We want your best defender out of these sets (ie, the person on Wagner). Let's see your other four defenders beat our offense." After I got used to it, I didn't hate it. And it, coupled with playing a lousy team, did seem to encourage Wagner to take her shots more in the flow of the game when she was part of the offense.
 

[video]http://scontent-ord1-1.cdninstagram.com/t50.2886-16/14661935_598236847046339_1731311019348721664_n.mp4[/video]

We should celebrate each win with a victory dance
 

http://host.madison.com/wsj/sports/...cle_d8c78baf-a379-5245-b86a-5561d83d29b3.html


“If you compare it to a fight,” UW coach Jonathan Tsipis said, “they came out at the bell and punched us in the face and continued to punch us in the face.”

Junior guard Carlie Wagner landed her share of those punches, scoring 10 of her game-high 24 points in the first quarter. She hit two 3-pointers to spark a 10-0 run that opened up a 22-9 lead.

Tsipis said he had a bad feeling when he saw Wagner already shooting around when the Badgers arrived at the arena 90 minutes before the game.

“She just had that determined look,” Tsipis said of Wagner, who was held to 11 points and didn’t make a 3-pointer in a loss to Indiana earlier in the week. “You can’t give a good shooter like that space. And when she got it going, then it became contagious.”
 

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