Conference Wins

What will be the Gopher's final regular season conference record this year?

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golfing18now

golfing18now

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I'm having a hard time trying to decide how many conference games this Gophers team will win. I'm curious what others think.
 

I'll go with 12. 8-1 at home, 4-5 on the road. No reason this team can't do it. The B1G isn't as bad as the smart-*ss twitter commentators like to say, but the road games certainly are more winnable than last year.

Now I wouldn't put money on that. Tubby-ball had become so ingrained in my brain it's hard to get past the idea of 9 wins.
 

10-8 would be my safe guess. 7-2 at home (losses to UW + 1 unexpected), 3-6 on the road. Capable of better, though.

All bets off if Gophers win the first 2 road games. Then expectations would skyrocket, as they should.

Purdue is a game they need to win, and should win. Ominous sign, I think, if lose to Boilers.
 

I went with 11 as an optimist but think it's more likely 10. The road is certainly the key to the top of the league (a platitude yes but true). Successful teams have to pluck road wins from NW, Pur, Iowa, PSU, Rut and yes even Mich. Winning 4 of 6 from that group separates you from the pack. Wins @ IL and IN also attainable, but do we have what it takes? It's on the road that our guards have to be the productive, low turnover, high energy group we've seen during the cupcake festival, unlike past turnover machines.

The second game @ MD may be as tough as any the gophers will face this year and another barometer game. Terps fans are intense.

Also, notice 2 of final 3 conf games are @ MSU and Whisky. I hope we already have our 10 wins before game 14.
 

I'd sign up for 10-8 right now, though I obviously hope for more. It's been a decade (!!!!!! WTF!!!!!!) since a Gopher basketball team has been above .500 in conference play.

My concerns going in to conference play are as follows: rebounding, team health, and one or more of our key guys being "Joe Coleman'd". The inability to control defensive rebounds is a problem and playing zone probably doesn't help that issue. This team has a number of guys who "forget" to put a body on someone, lacks size at the 4, and generally doesn't have a lot of guys who play above the rim. Got to rebound as a team and their might be a need for more minutes for Elliott, especially against a team like Purdue. The health thing is pretty self explanatory, an injury to any one of the core 7 guys puts this team in a world of hurt. The last thing I was more worried about a couple of games ago than I am now, but I am still somewhat concerned about a key contributor or two being shut down by conference opponents who will have the Gophers thoroughly scouted. Not everything that worked in the non-conference schedule will work in the B1G and the ability to adjust to what the defense takes away will be crucial.
 


I think there will be a pileup around 9-9 in the Big10 with possibly 8 teams with a record of 8-10 to 10-8. Teams in this pile are Minnesota, Maryland, Ohio state, Nebraska, Michigan St, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois. No real dominant teams after Becky. A home loss to Purdue, Northwester, Indiana, Penn, or Rutgers pushes a team out of the 64 without a finals appearance in the B10 tournament.
 

so the only time on the schedule we're huge underdogs is at wisconsin (a team that we beat last year and are probably more improved than) anything under double digit wins has to be a huge letdown....if we can figure out this rebounding thing there is no reason we shouldn't be top 4 in the BIG
 

I think we'll be underdogs several times on the road but not huge underdogs. MD will definitely favored at home as it's a highly hostile venue against what appears to be a good team.

But I generally agree Schegmeister. Gophers have the talent to be top 4. They have to prove it to us all.
 

With the Big Ten's bad performance so far I think 10-12 wins isn't out of the question.
 



We are a better team than a year ago- there's just more talent and they have been with the coach another year. The conference is not as strong. Still it is hard for a Gopher an- after the past 15+ years to get convinced that we will actually have a big year. I said 10-8 but I am hoping for better. 10-8 might mean sweating it out come Selection Sunday.
 

We don't improve our rebounding and we don't win in the B1G. The Purdue game will be huge. We need to come out a win this game against two towers who will make it tough on us down low. That being said...I'm optimistic that we win 10 games.
 

I'd sign up for 10-8 right now. 11 is very doable. Any more than that would be a surprise.

11 or more = A. Lock
10-8 = B. Probably safe.
9-9 = C. Squarely on bubble.
8-10 = D. NIT. A big disappointment.
7 or less = F.
 

BOUNDOUTPASSDUNK said:
I think we'll be underdogs several times on the road but not huge underdogs. MD will definitely favored at home as it's a highly hostile venue against what appears to be a good team.
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Eh. Far down the list on tough conference arenas to play in. XFinity Center is a newish pro-style arena. The students are still on winter break. We aren't a hated rival but a novelty to them. They've done surprisingly well this year, but they've mostly underachieved under Turgeon and they are a pretty thin team.

The only unusual thing working against us is that I think this is their first-ever Big Ten home game, so there will be a little more pomp and circumstance.
 



Rebounding is an issue...a big issue and will cost us a couple of games.
 

GopherinPhilly said:
Rebounding is an issue...a big issue and will cost us a couple of games.
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Can't disagree with this notion. Mo's a great offensive weapon, but he just isn't good on the boards. Our power forwards King and Buggs certainly won't be rebounding at a high rate. This is why EE and Bakary must step up and crash the boards hard when they are in.
 


I'll factor in our inability to go better than .500 in conference and win road games. I'll say 9-9 and squarely on the bubble.
 

I went 9-9 because I just don't trust this team yet. If we had McNeil I'd probably say 10-12 wins.
 

WanderingGopher said:
Eh. Far down the list on tough conference arenas to play in. XFinity Center is a newish pro-style arena. The students are still on winter break. We aren't a hated rival but a novelty to them. They've done surprisingly well this year, but they've mostly underachieved under Turgeon and they are a pretty thin team.

The only unusual thing working against us is that I think this is their first-ever Big Ten home game, so there will be a little more pomp and circumstance.
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Actually, depth is one of their best attributes.

They go about 10 deep.
 

MadtownGopher said:
I went 9-9 because I just don't trust this team yet. If we had McNeil I'd probably say 10-12 wins.
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You really think McNeil was worth 3 wins? Sorry no. The only guys who would cause that big of a swing are Big Dre and Little Dre.
 

If Morris plays effectively and 32 mpg and super fresh Mason logs 20 mpgwe won't miss McNeil.
 

BOUNDOUTPASSDUNK said:
If Morris plays effectively and 32 mpg and super fresh Mason logs 20 mpgwe won't miss McNeil.
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We'll miss the depth more than anything. Have to hope no one gets hurt or we don't have a lot of games where our guards get into foul trouble.
 

howeda7 said:
You really think McNeil was worth 3 wins? Sorry no. The only guys who would cause that big of a swing are Big Dre and Little Dre.
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Big Dre already has turf toe. Not having McNeil could really hurt us if we have a string of injuries or we get into foul trouble. Not to mention he was showing signs of having a breakout year. He would have really solidified this team, even if it was just as a 6th or 7th man.
 

GameDay said:
Can't disagree with this notion. Mo's a great offensive weapon, but he just isn't good on the boards. Our power forwards King and Buggs certainly won't be rebounding at a high rate. This is why EE and Bakary must step up and crash the boards hard when they are in.
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I think the way the team plays is more to blame for the weak rebounding than the individual abilities or efforts of the post players. Usually, we have only one post player and that player is frequently drawn away from rebounding position (usually with his back to the basket). This is also a problem on interior defense as both Elliot and Mo are drawn to the guy with the ball who is penetrating or going baseline, no one comes in to help on interior defense, and the player with the ball passes off to a teammate slipping behind our post player. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen our team get burned that way during this season. I think the situation is better when both Elliot and Bakary are playing at the same time off the bench because one of them can stay near the basket.
 

MadtownGopher said:
Big Dre already has turf toe. Not having McNeil could really hurt us if we have a string of injuries or we get into foul trouble. Not to mention he was showing signs of having a breakout year. He would have really solidified this team, even if it was just as a 6th or 7th man.
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I didn't see too much from McNeil in the few regular season games he played to suggest a breakout year. Granted, losing a guard made us really vulnerable to injuries or foul trouble, but the bright side is that both Mason and Buggs have probably played more minutes than they would have if McNeil were still on the team. Buggs could very well end up having a better season than McNeil would have.
 

So after this loss today. I tried to break down our schedule into home games and away games.

I think we need to win 7 home games and 3 road games to get into the tournament.

Home:
Ohio State - Toss-Up
Iowa - Toss-Up
Rutgers - W
Illinois - W
Nebraska - W
Purdue - W
Northwestern - W
Wisconsin - L
Penn State - W

Away:
Purdue - L
Maryland - L
Michigan - Toss-Up
Nebraska - Toss-Up
Penn State - W
Iowa - L
Indiana - Likely L
Wisconsin - L
Michigan State - Likely L

I think we run into trouble when it comes to getting those road wins. I don't see three on the schedule. I think we can get to 7 home wins if we play good basketball, but I don't even feel that confident that we'll beat Penn State on the road. Road games are tough in the big ten and we're about as bad as you can get at them. Do you guys see three road wins?
 

afurry91 said:
So after this loss today. I tried to break down our schedule into home games and away games. I think we need to win 7 home games and 3 road games to get into the tournament. Home: Ohio State - Toss-Up Iowa - Toss-Up Rutgers - W Illinois - W Nebraska - W Purdue - W Northwestern - W Wisconsin - L Penn State - W Away: Purdue - L Maryland - L Michigan - Toss-Up Nebraska - Toss-Up Penn State - W Iowa - L Indiana - Likely L Wisconsin - L Michigan State - Likely L I think we run into trouble when it comes to getting those road wins. I don't see three on the schedule. I think we can get to 7 home wins if we play good basketball, but I don't even feel that confident that we'll beat Penn State on the road. Road games are tough in the big ten and we're about as bad as you can get at them. Do you guys see three road wins?
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Yikes. Losing today really hurt.
 

It's going to take a couple surprise wins at this point. I'm real excited after today's choke job
 

Gophers are NIT bound after this loss. I'm predicting it now.
9-9 won't be good enough this year and I believe they will go 8-10 at best.

Home:
Ohio State - L
Iowa - W - Maybe
Rutgers - W
Illinois - W
Nebraska - W
Purdue - W
Northwestern - W
Wisconsin - L
Penn State - W

Away:
Purdue - L
Maryland - L
Michigan - L
Nebraska - L
Penn State - W
Iowa - L
Indiana - L
Wisconsin - L
Michigan State - L
 

Face The Facts said:
Gophers are NIT bound after this loss. I'm predicting it now.
9-9 won't be good enough this year and I believe they will go 8-10 at best.

Home:
Ohio State - L
Iowa - W - Maybe
Rutgers - W
Illinois - W
Nebraska - W
Purdue - W
Northwestern - W
Wisconsin - L
Penn State - W

Away:
Purdue - L
Maryland - L
Michigan - L
Nebraska - L
Penn State - W
Iowa - L
Indiana - L
Wisconsin - L
Michigan State - L
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That's what I would guess. Gonna have to steal two road wins IMO. Maryland would be huge but I'm not holding my breath.
 

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