B1G Game 4: Gophers host Northwestern 1-8-26

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Ignatius L Hoops

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Joe McKeown is in his 18th and final season at Northwestern. Wildcat basketball and his players became respectable during his run,

Among the players opposing teams have to respect is Grace Sullivan. The 6’4” senior forward who transferred to Evanston from Bucknell before last season, is currently the leading scorer in conference games at 29.5 points per game. She poses some obvious problems for Minnesota’s rotating posts.

Here’s Northwestern’s 0-4 conference start with Sullivan’s stats:

Ohio State 70-79 ; 37 points, 8 rebounds in 37 minutes

@ Washington 73-94: 30 points, 8 rebounds in 37 minutes

@Oregon: 54-87: 23 points, 3 rebounds in 28 minutes

Iowa 58-67: 28 points, 7 rebounds in 40 minutes

(155) Grace Sullivan Highlights vs. Ohio State | Northwestern Women's Basketball | 12/07/2025 - YouTube
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Niko in his 1st year now down to 7 healthy players for most part and has found a way to get 2 big 10 ranked W's! He has developed 1 redshirt freshman and 1 true freshman to play 15 quality big 10 minutes vs a ranked team to get the W. Come on Coach P...lets go!
 

USC choked away 4th quarter vs Nike U so that'll be a must win Sunday since they'll be out of top 25 next week
 

Minnesota should beat Northwestern by double-digits.

I think others are too optimistic about the upcoming USC game. Gophers are 1-2 in Big games, beating only Indiana winless in Big games.

I'm not sure what to think of this team. Coach Plitzuweit's system is tops. She is the best coach since Brenda Friese (Oldfield). Yet look at the results, 1-2.

Losing Mallory Heyer, with strong local ties, for more equitable compensation at Oregon is a significant failure. I don't see why I have to have loyalty to Coach P. If Gophers don't make the NCAA tournament, then what are we to think?

The Bracketology folks think Minnesota is a talented NCAA tournament team. Minnesota is currently at a 9 seed. I'm not sure what to think. There is so much good happening, much stronger than the last two years of Whaylen. Yet 1-2.

Coach Megan Duffy with Marquette made the NCAA tournament the last two seasons and now sitting on a #4 seed at Virginia Tech. Did AD Mark Coyle make the wrong coaching hire? Coach P needs to make the NCAA tournament in this season.

I'm not sure what to think of this season's team. A little coach heat is deserved.

Missing Mallory Heyer...
 

WinMinGophers! said:
Minnesota should beat Northwestern by double-digits.

I think others are too optimistic about the upcoming USC game. Gophers are 1-2 in Big games, beating only Indiana winless in Big games.

I'm not sure what to think of this team. Coach Plitzuweit's system is tops. She is the best coach since Brenda Friese (Oldfield). Yet look at the results, 1-2.

Losing Mallory Heyer, with strong local ties, for more equitable compensation at Oregon is a significant failure. I don't see why I have to have loyalty to Coach P. If Gophers don't make the NCAA tournament, then what are we to think?

The Bracketology folks think Minnesota is a talented NCAA tournament team. Minnesota is currently at a 9 seed. I'm not sure what to think. There is so much good happening, much stronger than the last two years of Whaylen. Yet 1-2.

Coach Megan Duffy with Marquette made the NCAA tournament the last two seasons and now sitting on a #4 seed at Virginia Tech. Did AD Mark Coyle make the wrong coaching hire? Coach P needs to make the NCAA tournament in this season.

I'm not sure what to think of this season's team. A little coach heat is deserved.

Missing Mallory Heyer...
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She was a good rebounder, but she doesn't offer much else. She needed to become a sharpshooter from deep, and she's at 30% while taking less shots this season.

She wasn't the answer.
 


TruthSeeker said:
She was a good rebounder, but she doesn't offer much else. She needed to become a sharpshooter from deep, and she's at 30% while taking less shots this season.

She wasn't the answer.
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Good point. Her long shots too often bounced off the rim.

Who's fault is that? Why did she regress under Coach Dawn? Maybe too much D in limited time to practice and not enough O? Maybe it is the player? Why did shooter McKenna Johnson's shot percentage underwhelm and never pan out?

I don't know. Not sure what to think.
 
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Heyer is missed.. rebounding… grit.. she brought physicality.. ran the court.. cut..

Cohesion! In the back of my mind I wonder how unhappy Braun and Battle are/were because she left.. not unhappy with Heyer but the Coach?? Both Battle and Braun’s games are so off. I wonder..Just an off the wall observation…. I would even put Heyer at the 5… if she were here.
 

Roland Brooks said:
Heyer is missed.. rebounding… grit.. she brought physicality.. ran the court.. cut..

Cohesion! In the back of my mind I wonder how unhappy Braun and Battle are/were because she left.. not unhappy with Heyer but the Coach?? Both Battle and Braun’s games are so off. I wonder..Just an off the wall observation…. I would even put Heyer at the 5… if she were here.
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Agree Heyer is missed. Could have even used her more like an Annika Stewart at the 5 position. Certainly didn't thank any of the coaches on her exiting post.
 

After watching Niko's team beat a ranked team I was wounding if it is against the rules for a women's basketball team to beat a ranked team? I was asking for a friend named Dawn.
 



Fair question. The Gopher women will definitely beat some fringe Top 25 teams like the men have..
 

TruthSeeker said:
She was a good rebounder, but she doesn't offer much else. She needed to become a sharpshooter from deep, and she's at 30% while taking less shots this season.

She wasn't the answer.
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Heyer didn't need to be a great perimeter shooter. Her rebounding and defensive effort was a big part of her game and it's being missed. Heyer was a very physical player and that's what the Gophers could use right now. Heyer made enough shots to keep people honest guarding her. Need I say she was my favorite Gopher.
 

Roland Brooks said:
Fair question. The Gopher women will definitely beat some fringe Top 25 teams like the men have..
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With USC losing they maybe down to 4-6 opportunities left this year with UCLA, Iowa, Michigan St, Nebraska, Washington, Ohio State, Illinois maybe? Depending on how those teams do if they state in top 25 or not.
 

Sometimes it takes a bit for the chemistry to gel, while moving towards peaking around tournament time.
I’m looking forward to see how it plays out.
 



WinMinGophers! said:
. . .

Coach Megan Duffy with Marquette made the NCAA tournament the last two seasons and now sitting on a #4 seed at Virginia Tech. Did AD Mark Coyle make the wrong coaching hire? Coach P needs to make the NCAA tournament in this season.
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Think you’re confused about Virginia Tech, currently 1-3 in the ACC, 56 in the NET and not currently projected to make the tourney, let alone as 4 seed.
 


Yes, Heyer would have helped this season, especially with Woodson out. But let's not kid ourselves, if Braun and Battle threw up fewer bricks and not look like deer in the headlights against the press, we could have won those games (Maryland and MIchigan). They are no longer freshmen and they are supposed to be the team leaders. So far, they are falling short.
 

Cobra said:
Sometimes it takes a bit for the chemistry to gel, while moving towards peaking around tournament time.
I’m looking forward to see how it plays out.
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Hope you are right! Need to first start with securing a W vs NW at home.
 

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