Does a win at MSU get us in the Rankings?

[Whathavewedone]

Question is simple... Does a win on Wednesday crack the top 25? I myself haven't decided yet. I think it gets us very close.

Hyperbole for effect. But really, 3-7 in the next 10 games would be a miracle,
this is NOT a top 25 team. B10 doesn't have any real top 25's outside of OSU,
and IFFY IU/MSU.

 

[notagopherfan]

MSU has been pretty dominate at home so far in the Big Ten. i wouldn't look for an upset here. They get high % shots, they rebound well and play great defense. They beat MN in all the major areas, points per game, rebounds per game, assists per game and fg%. But this is why you play the game. Typically Tom and Tubby play close games. Block a lot of shots, get some steals that lead to points, and get to the free throw line a lot and this game could be very close. I think gophers lose by 7 unless all of the above happens and gophers make 6 or more 3 pointers.

 

[GophersOnTheRise]

Hyperbole for effect. But really, 3-7 in the next 10 games would be a miracle,
this is NOT a top 25 team. B10 doesn't have any real top 25's outside of OSU,
and IFFY IU/MSU.

Yeah you're right. I think from now on they are planning on only putting about 10 teams in the list of top 25 since there are so few teams that are worthy.

 

[scher215]

Hyperbole for effect. But really, 3-7 in the next 10 games would be a miracle,
this is NOT a top 25 team. B10 doesn't have any real top 25's outside of OSU,
and IFFY IU/MSU.

Yet the media calls it the best conference in the nation. Hm.

 

[Monty519]

Hyperbole for effect. But really, 3-7 in the next 10 games would be a miracle,
this is NOT a top 25 team. B10 doesn't have any real top 25's outside of OSU,
and IFFY IU/MSU.

You aren't paying attention to college basketball if you think the only top 25 worthy B1G squad is OSU.

3-7 a miracle LOL, wow. Don't get me wrong, 3-7 can happen, but I would call that more of the low case scenario, than a "miracle" if they even manage that.

 

[mryan1125]

i don't know what game you watched but the gophers absolutely ripped northwestern with great passing. They are 24th in the country in assists. Northwestern is 26th in the country though. However, gophers had 19 assists on 30 made baskets, 10 steals and 12 turnovers. They didn't pass as well against the 1-3-1 at times but i think their passing is fine unless every team from here on out plays a 1-3-1.

No one on the team is good enough to beat his man off the dribble and take it to the rim? LOL!!! in the last 2 games joe coleman has 24 free throw attempts. We know he's not a perimeter shooter so how is he getting to the line so much? Austin could be the same but his mindset isn't as agressive but Rodney, joe and Austin could live at the free throw if they wanted to. Those 3 are great athletes.

I think the Gopher's have great passing at times, but I think the numbers tell a different story than how the game actually looked watching it from start to finish. The Gopher's all still have a tendency to hold on to the ball for a few seconds too long instead of moving it to the open man (or making the "extra pass"). The few times the Gophers do this, they get great looks because the defense is way out of position. These are situations that Coleman is great at taking advantage of when he gets to the hoop (or the freethrow line). But my point was, when a play breaks down, and there are 5 seconds left on the clock, who do you feel comfortable with having the ball knowing that he has to take his defender one on one and get a good shot off? I don't trust Rodney because he doesn't have a consistent pull up J, and neither does Austin for that matter. Joe Coleman doesn't have any shot to speak of, and if you actually look at his dribbling, he still looks a little uncomfortable making skill moves to get around his guy (most of his takes are straight line dribble right at the hoop). That leaves Welch, who I somewhat trust with his pull up J, but he's slow and short, and I wonder if he can get it off against better competition. That's why I'm saying that passing and ball movement is important for these guys, because if the defense gets out of position, they all are athletic enough to take advantage of it, but if they let the defense reset by holding onto the ball, we aren't good enough to play one on one ball. This is exactly what happens on some of those infuriating possessions where they run the clock all the way down, leave the ball in Maverick's hands, and let him chuck up whatever terrible shot he creates for himself.

 

[PokeysLittleDog]

MSU has been pretty dominate at home so far in the Big Ten. i wouldn't look for an upset here. They get high % shots, they rebound well and play great defense. They beat MN in all the major areas, points per game, rebounds per game, assists per game and fg%. But this is why you play the game. Typically Tom and Tubby play close games. Block a lot of shots, get some steals that lead to points, and get to the free throw line a lot and this game could be very close. I think gophers lose by 7 unless all of the above happens and gophers make 6 or more 3 pointers.

Living in Lansing, I'll be there (as always). I'm not expecting a win, but as you said, that's why they play. Be nice to silence the Green for once...instead of getting Lansing State Journal inserts balled up and tossed at me for 2 hours!

 

[Whathavewedone]

You aren't paying attention to college basketball if you think the only top 25 worthy B1G squad is OSU.

3-7 a miracle LOL, wow. Don't get me wrong, 3-7 can happen, but I would call that more of the low case scenario, than a "miracle" if they even manage that.

We shall see. But despite what POLLS may say, claiming any more than those
3 teams as top 25 is UNREALISTIC. Michigan lost to Arkansas, hardly evidence
on behalf of their case. And if you look at MSU's resume outside the con. sched.,
not real impressive. Wisconsin? Would they beat any top 40 team on the road?
And while I was ready to get on board with IU, but it's starting to look like they
just went out of their minds against UK and OSU, and maybe aren't legit top 25,
though I wouldn't kick them just yet.

Bust as to the other point, where will 4 wins come from in the next 10? I'd say it's MUCH more likely rto see 2-8 than 4-6.

 

[Whathavewedone]

Yet the media calls it the best conference in the nation. Hm.

Yeah, the media. I guess they still think OSU will win the 2011 con. football title too. B10's been get a free ride on rep for a few seasons now. Not been nearly as good as media types seem to believe.

 

[Whathavewedone]

Yeah you're right. I think from now on they are planning on only putting about 10 teams in the list of top 25 since there are so few teams that are worthy.

Hmmm, I don't recall saying there aren't 10 teams worthy of top 25. I said there aren't 4 B10 teams worthy of top 25.

 

[Whathavewedone]

If they beat MSU AND Illinois I'd be pretty surprised if they aren't ranked. Take a look at the teams in the bottom of the top 25 and compare their resume to what ours would be with those two wins. They're closer than you think. Of course all of this is irrelevant if they don't win both games, so might as well just focus on getting the wins first.

If. Uh huh, if. And IF I pick all the numbers, I'll win the lottery too.

 

[BigGopherFan]

There's a ton of time left, as you say, but I think the Gophers have been a fascinating team this season. With all the junk that has happened to them on/off the court in the past few years, they had every excuse to lie down and fall into another tailspin. The craziest thing in all of this is the fact that Mbakwe's injury may have been some sort of sick, twisted blessing in disguise for the team's chemistry. I can't reiterate enough how much I wish he was healthy...but the shift in the lineup has allowed for the emergence of Rodney and Coleman as key cogs.

It's really interesting to note that no one on here has been talking about Cobbs, Devoe, Royce, etc. much in the past week or so.

Back on topic, though. I think 2-0 gets us into the top 25. To be honest, going 1-1 is going to be a feat in itself. We can't underestimate Illinois.

Speaking of Devoe, he made Sports Illustrated recently as a major contributor in the college basketball segment. He even got a cutout picture and everything. Cobbs, Devoe, Royce, Williams and Mbakwe. All have been in the program in the last 2 and a half years. We have one and currently sit two wins away from being in the top 25. Crazy.

 

[notagopherfan]

I think the Gopher's have great passing at times, but I think the numbers tell a different story than how the game actually looked watching it from start to finish. The Gopher's all still have a tendency to hold on to the ball for a few seconds too long instead of moving it to the open man (or making the "extra pass"). The few times the Gophers do this, they get great looks because the defense is way out of position. These are situations that Coleman is great at taking advantage of when he gets to the hoop (or the freethrow line). But my point was, when a play breaks down, and there are 5 seconds left on the clock, who do you feel comfortable with having the ball knowing that he has to take his defender one on one and get a good shot off? I don't trust Rodney because he doesn't have a consistent pull up J, and neither does Austin for that matter. Joe Coleman doesn't have any shot to speak of, and if you actually look at his dribbling, he still looks a little uncomfortable making skill moves to get around his guy (most of his takes are straight line dribble right at the hoop). That leaves Welch, who I somewhat trust with his pull up J, but he's slow and short, and I wonder if he can get it off against better competition. That's why I'm saying that passing and ball movement is important for these guys, because if the defense gets out of position, they all are athletic enough to take advantage of it, but if they let the defense reset by holding onto the ball, we aren't good enough to play one on one ball. This is exactly what happens on some of those infuriating possessions where they run the clock all the way down, leave the ball in Maverick's hands, and let him chuck up whatever terrible shot he creates for himself.

it's not to offend you but if you knew anything about how to run a flex offense you wouldn't say such things. Not to mention, they have only been running it for a few games but Tubby has been using it his whole career, so he knows how to teach it. Flex offense is about waiting for the players coming off screens and cuts to come open. Cross picks, down picks and players with the ball also have to read the defense. This is where the term basketball IQ comes from. Because the man with the ball at any given time has to make a decision.

For instance if an offensive player is coming from the paint off of a down pick he faces the ball and curls to the elbow(often called a curl move) the guard with the ball has a read to make because there could be a wide open layup for the player making the screen depending on how the defenders play it. This doesn't happen in milliseconds despite what you may think. It takes a couple of seconds. Meanwhile the player with the ball can "dribble", "shoot it if he's open", pass to the curl man, or pass to the screener for a layup. if nothing is there, then you reset or perhaps the coach yells out a different set.

Secondly, Welch isn't slow. You don't average almost 11 points a game, shoot 42% from 3 point land because you are short and slow. The kid has been a god send for the gophers. He's averaging 13 points in the 3 game winning streak. Also, Rodney, Austin and Joe are more than good enough to get off a shot in crunch time. Just watch it develop, these guys are getting better every game. i can see it, i don't know why you can't.

 

[RoyalGopher]

Anyone think Ingram gets minutes to help guard Green?

 

[scher215]

Anyone think Ingram gets minutes to help guard Green?

Tubby did say Ingram should expect to see additional minutes since the game will likely be more physical.

 

[notagopherfan]

If i know Tubby, he'll tell Ingram to get in there to mix it up. He's got 5 fouls to use if wants to use them.

 

[GophersOnTheRise]

If. Uh huh, if. And IF I pick all the numbers, I'll win the lottery too.

You're saying the chances of the Gophers winning their next two games are slim. I get it. But that isn't the point. The question is if they would be ranked in that hypothetical scenerio and the answer is most likely yes. Is that really that complicated?

 

[GophersOnTheRise]

Hmmm, I don't recall saying there aren't 10 teams worthy of top 25. I said there aren't 4 B10 teams worthy of top 25.

Yeah you just seem like the bitter and pessimistic type that thinks everyone sucks so I was just translating your thoughts for you. Plus, if MSU isn't a top 25 caliber team then there aren't 25 teams out there who are.

 

[matt]

Hmmm, I don't recall saying there aren't 10 teams worthy of top 25. I said there aren't 4 B10 teams worthy of top 25.

In your opinion, what are the top 25 teams in college basketball?

 

[KSBGopher]

Yeah you just seem like the bitter and pessimistic type that thinks everyone sucks so I was just translating your thoughts for you. Plus, if MSU isn't a top 25 caliber team then there aren't 25 teams out there who are.

What, you mean he's one of the 90% on the forum that can't help but be a self-loathing Gopher fan that loves to complain that Tubby can't get top recruits and win an NC in the five years he has been with the team?

 

[Whathavewedone]

Yeah you just seem like the bitter and pessimistic type that thinks everyone sucks so I was just translating your thoughts for you. Plus, if MSU isn't a top 25 caliber team then there aren't 25 teams out there who are.

Let's see, looking back over my posts I don;t see anywhere where i said
everyone sucks. And I didn't say that MSU wasn't top 25, I said they're iffy.
Which they are. They've played better as the season progressed and seem to
be so now, but that wasn't the case earlier, and also must be tempered with
the cold hard reality that much of the "playing better" is coming against the B10.
What you contrarians don't seem to grasp (and I admit you're far from alone)
is the B10 is no juggernaut. Obviously there, by definition, must be 25
top 25 caliber teams. You just can't seem to realize that no set number
of those have to be in the B10.

OSU absolutely is. michigan and Illinois have teased around it, but don't
look like it now. IU has had it's moments, and has the wins against top 10
teams to establish the case. MSU probably has to be in there, but is
much shakier than polls would suggest. beyond that it it LAUGHABLE
to try to make a case for anyone. So that's 3 teams with a decent/good
resume. There's time left to improve and build a better case, but if
the conference is headed for March in its present state, then they're
going to be disapointed, and get disabused of their notion of their
strength.

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

What, you mean he's one of the 90% on the forum that can't help but be a self-loathing Gopher fan that loves to complain that Tubby can't get top recruits and win an NC in the five years he has been with the team?

Saying that people are upset because Tubby can't win an NC is hyperbole. There is a big difference between not having won a tournament game and not having won a national title. If we are the national runner-up and there are people complaining, then saying they are upset for not having won an NC would be appropriate criticism.

Having said that, this run Tubby has us on is pretty exciting. I'm hoping for a big win tonight.

 

[Moses87]

They would have to beat both MSU and the Illini to get ranked.

If they win both, they'll have an RPI around 25 and a 17-5(5-4) record...It would merit a ranking with most teams losing at least once per week nowadays.

 

[stocker08]

Let's see, looking back over my posts I don;t see anywhere where i said
everyone sucks. And I didn't say that MSU wasn't top 25, I said they're iffy.
Which they are. They've played better as the season progressed and seem to
be so now, but that wasn't the case earlier, and also must be tempered with
the cold hard reality that much of the "playing better" is coming against the B10.
What you contrarians don't seem to grasp (and I admit you're far from alone)
is the B10 is no juggernaut. Obviously there, by definition, must be 25
top 25 caliber teams. You just can't seem to realize that no set number
of those have to be in the B10.

OSU absolutely is. michigan and Illinois have teased around it, but don't
look like it now. IU has had it's moments, and has the wins against top 10
teams to establish the case. MSU probably has to be in there, but is
much shakier than polls would suggest. beyond that it it LAUGHABLE
to try to make a case for anyone. So that's 3 teams with a decent/good
resume. There's time left to improve and build a better case, but if
the conference is headed for March in its present state, then they're
going to be disapointed, and get disabused of their notion of their
strength.

You could pick out any number of teams in the top 25 that have a questionable loss or two. Flordia for example. Are they a sketchy top-25 team? I mean they have losses against OSU, Syracuse, Rutgers, and Tennessee. They should have easily beaten the last two. All top 25 teams past the first five will have games they "should" have won. I think you are just upset that Kentuckys only loss came at the hands of a big ten team. The only one they have played by the way.

 

[Gopher Warrior]

You guys gonna freak out again when Minnesota is 3-6?

 

[SelectionSunday]

When or if?

3-6 is certainly possible after this week, but 4-5 certainly wouldn't be a stretch.

 

[scher215]

You guys gonna freak out again when Minnesota is 3-6?

Definitely don't expect a win tonight, I don't know If I even expect it to be close. MSU is much better than people give them credit for. But do I think it is perfectly reasonable to beat Illinois at home. 4-5 is how I'd guess this week ends.

 

[Monty519]

You guys gonna freak out again when Minnesota is 3-6?

Seriously? "when"? Weren't the same things being said about this team coming back 0-6 to play NW at home? I saw numerous "no way we beat Indiana" posts and columns, and yet, they somehow found a way. 3-6 is of course, entirely possible, maybe even the most likely of outcomes. But 5-4 or 4-5 is also possible. I don't think beating Illinois at home is that farfetched considering how the first meeting played out.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Yeah, the media. I guess they still think OSU will win the 2011 con. football title too. B10's been get a free ride on rep for a few seasons now. Not been nearly as good as media types seem to believe.

Over the past four years:

The B1G is 25-20 in the ACC-B1G Challenge

52.3% of teams in the B1G have made it to the tourney. The only conference higher is the Big East at 53.1%.

A B1G team has made it to the Sweet 16 nine times, the second most behind the Big East's 12. In the past two years the B1G put more teams in the Sweet 16 than any other conference, including the Big East.

The Big East has had four teams make the Final 4. The ACC is second at three, B1G third with two. No other conference has more than one.

The only argument against the B1G is that it doesn't have a championship since 2000, but one team's success doesn't make the entire conference great in my opinion. For instance, Duke won it all in 2010. They were the only team from their conference to make it to the Sweet 16 that year.

How exactly has the B1G been getting a free ride on rep?