Gophers BigTen Championship?

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GopherNation

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What are your thoughts on the Gophers being in the mix for the BigTen Regular season Championship?

This Gophs have 4 potential NBA players in Sampson, Devoe, Trevor and Rodney. Sampson and Mbakwe will make up the best front court in the Big Ten this year. We are bringing back one of the best on ball defenders in the big ten in Al Nolen. The emergence of Devoe Joseph and the experience this team got last year was tremendous and will no doubt help this team take it to the next level.

I still think Purdue and Michigan State will be the favorites to win the conference, but I think we will be right in the mix. I expect this team to be ranked in the 10-20 range all year long and I expect a 25+ win season between the regular season and BigTen Tourney.
 


Gophers have a very good team, but the Big Ten is stacked. There is a chance to win the Big Ten but more realistic target is top 4. Expect MSU and Purdue to battle for the crown. tOSU could be good if their freshman are as advertised.

I hope Colt 45 picks up where he left off at the end of last season. I like his aggresiveness and size / power. Hope he plays a lot. No reason he should have any fouls left at the end of the game.
 

This season will be interesting, I think getting Nolen back is huge, he is a great defender and seemed to be improving his shot last year. Adding Mbakwe with our current big men Colton and RS III should make them dominant on the boards. We get Hoff back for his senior year, shoots lights out. Looking forward to seeing how Devoe does this year, and how Rodney develops. But the Big Ten is extremely tough, sure Evan Turner is gone but Ohio State completely reloaded. Purdue returning their big 3, Michigan State, Illinois, Wisconsin, will all be tough games.
 

I think the first 5 big ten games will tell us if we can win. At Wis, MSU and Ohio S - home with Indiana and Purdue! If we can get 3 wins - I say we will be in the race!
 


Definitely going to be tough to pull off a championship this year. It's an attainable goal, but the team will have to get through some pretty tough squads to end up at the top. Michigan State is probably the favorite with Purdue not far behind. Ohio State is no slouch either, but I definitely think that the Gophers are a top-four team in the BT this year.
 

My money is on Purdue. I think they are the best team by far in the big ten. MSU will be tough as well, but I think we could finish anywhere around 3rd to 4th.
 

GopherNation said:
What are your thoughts on the Gophers being in the mix for the BigTen Regular season Championship?

This Gophs have 4 potential NBA players in Sampson, Devoe, Trevor and Rodney. Sampson and Mbakwe will make up the best front court in the Big Ten this year. We are bringing back one of the best on ball defenders in the big ten in Al Nolen. The emergence of Devoe Joseph and the experience this team got last year was tremendous and will no doubt help this team take it to the next level.

I still think Purdue and Michigan State will be the favorites to win the conference, but I think we will be right in the mix. I expect this team to be ranked in the 10-20 range all year long and I expect a 25+ win season between the regular season and BigTen Tourney.
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Had Gophers W 4 B10 games they SHOULD have W (Pur & Mich St at home, IU & NWU on road), they would have been 13-5 and possibly W B10 last year.
 

Let me remind you that 4 BT teams are in the top 10, and they arent us. so top 4 may be hard to do for those of you who expect it, also wisconsin and NW arent slouches either. Ill be happy w 5th or even 6th, but i feel they can go top 4. just not a given.
 



I would be surprised with more than 11 B10 wins. I would expect a top 5 finish. Anything above that would be gravy, IMO. This is a good team on paper, but far from a great one. No proven go to player is the biggest question mark, IMO...
 

Friend Of Tubby said:
Had Gophers W 4 B10 games they SHOULD have W (Pur & Mich St at home, IU & NWU on road), they would have been 13-5 and possibly W B10 last year.
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13-5 (aka Wisconsin's record) would still have not won the title even if everything in your scenario had happened. There was another 14-4 team other than MSU and Purdue, and even though people think they're the least likely to win it this season, they did in fact win it last season (contrary to popular opinion entering the season).
 

OSUfan said:
13-5 (aka Wisconsin's record) would still have not won the title even if everything in your scenario had happened. There was another 14-4 team other than MSU and Purdue, and even though people think they're the least likely to win it this season, they did in fact win it last season (contrary to popular opinion entering the season).
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That's why I said POSSIBLY above. Those Gopher W would have been early in B10 schedule and COULD have impacted later games.
 

why don't we just say we could have won all 18 games? how would our games have impacted other games?
 



rychart45 said:
why don't we just say we could have won all 18 games? how would our games have impacted other games?
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Because the Gophers were blown out of several games.

They led almost the entire way vs. Purdue and Mich St at home and had solid leads late in the away games at IU and NWU. All 4 should have been Gopher W.
 

GopherNation said:
What are your thoughts on the Gophers being in the mix for the BigTen Regular season Championship?

This Gophs have 4 potential NBA players in Sampson, Devoe, Trevor and Rodney. Sampson and Mbakwe will make up the best front court in the Big Ten this year. We are bringing back one of the best on ball defenders in the big ten in Al Nolen. The emergence of Devoe Joseph and the experience this team got last year was tremendous and will no doubt help this team take it to the next level.

I still think Purdue and Michigan State will be the favorites to win the conference, but I think we will be right in the mix. I expect this team to be ranked in the 10-20 range all year long and I expect a 25+ win season between the regular season and BigTen Tourney.
Click to expand...

Perhaps you should let Mbakwe play a couple of games before saying that he and Sampson will be the best frontcourt. Personally, I wouldn't trade frontcourts with you as an Illinois fan. Davis led the league in rebounding while Tisdale led the league in field goal percentage and second in free throw percentage and he is 25 pounds heavier this year. Add in Meyers Leonard, Jereme Richmond, Tyler Griffey, and Bill Cole. In the backcourt, first team all conference point guard Demetri McCamey and Big Ten FOY DJ Richardson are joined by Brandon Paul, Joseph Bertrand, and uber-athlete Crandall Head, Luther's little brother. Like you, I absolutely expect my team to compete for the top of the league. Right now, I would have Minnesota about 5th or 6th. I would say 5th but I always seem to underrate Wisconsin. Four NBA players? That is a lofty prediction, too.

Now, am I overrating a few of my own players? Likely. But I would contend that you are, also.
 

The Gophers have 4 potential NBA players. That is an absolute true statement. As far as Minnesota not having the best front court, well, you are right, the jury is still out on that. I do believe we have one of the strongest front courts in the big ten though. As far as Illinois is concerned, I expect the Gophers to sweep that series. I see Illinois as the 6th best team in the Big Ten, barely squeaking into the NCAA Tourney.

1. Purdue
2. MSU
3. Minnesota
4. OSU
5. Wisconsin
6. Illinois
 

Then you could argue we could have lost at home to Penn St. and Northwestern, or on the road at Penn St. or Illinois. The point is - that's basketball. You win some close games, you lose some close games. You can't just cherry pick the ones that help your argument. And I still don't know how the outcomes of our games would have affected the outcomes of other games later in the season.
 

Gophers only play Illinois once (at the barn). So hopefully Gophers will win. Illinois has a very good roster so may pass up the Gophers (hope not).

It will be interesting to see how Wisconsin does after losing the two guards. If anything happens to Taylor they might be in trouble. Play once in Wisconsin.

Shame the Gophers only play these teams once, since they may be fighting for 4th place.

Hopefully the Gopher juniors (Devoe, Ralph, Colt) make a leap in development like Jon Leuer did last year.
 

combes1 said:
Perhaps you should let Mbakwe play a couple of games before saying that he and Sampson will be the best frontcourt. Personally, I wouldn't trade frontcourts with you as an Illinois fan. Davis led the league in rebounding while Tisdale led the league in field goal percentage and second in free throw percentage and he is 25 pounds heavier this year. Add in Meyers Leonard, Jereme Richmond, Tyler Griffey, and Bill Cole. In the backcourt, first team all conference point guard Demetri McCamey and Big Ten FOY DJ Richardson are joined by Brandon Paul, Joseph Bertrand, and uber-athlete Crandall Head, Luther's little brother. Like you, I absolutely expect my team to compete for the top of the league. Right now, I would have Minnesota about 5th or 6th. I would say 5th but I always seem to underrate Wisconsin. Four NBA players? That is a lofty prediction, too.

Now, am I overrating a few of my own players? Likely. But I would contend that you are, also.
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http://kenpom.com/team.php?team=Illinois Illini have a lot of talent but were 21-15. About like Gophers.
 

rychart45 said:
Then you could argue we could have lost at home to Penn St. and Northwestern, or on the road at Penn St. or Illinois. The point is - that's basketball. You win some close games, you lose some close games. You can't just cherry pick the ones that help your argument. And I still don't know how the outcomes of our games would have affected the outcomes of other games later in the season.
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The 4 games I listed were "given away" by the Gophers.
 

GopherNation said:
What are your thoughts on the Gophers being in the mix for the BigTen Regular season Championship?

This Gophs have 4 potential NBA players in Sampson, Devoe, Trevor and Rodney. Sampson and Mbakwe will make up the best front court in the Big Ten this year. We are bringing back one of the best on ball defenders in the big ten in Al Nolen. The emergence of Devoe Joseph and the experience this team got last year was tremendous and will no doubt help this team take it to the next level.

I still think Purdue and Michigan State will be the favorites to win the conference, but I think we will be right in the mix. I expect this team to be ranked in the 10-20 range all year long and I expect a 25+ win season between the regular season and BigTen Tourney.
Click to expand...

I think winning the BigTen this year is possible. People forget that OSU lost Turner. I don't care who is coming in. They won't be able to replace Turner. Purdue lost Kramer. That is a huge loss. Kramer was the most consistent player in that team. JJ is my favorite but at times he forgets to show up. MSU lost Allen that is also huge. Their other key player is having a knee issue.

I know that each team has lost only one key player but look at us when we lost Al last year. We really would have won at least 5 more games last year.

Also, remember Tubby is about to deliver his magic. He has been patient for a while. He has a full roster and will make them work hard this year.

Go Gophers
 

Barring injury to key players I have to admit I'll be disappointed if the Gophers aren't 4th or better this year.
 

I think 4-6 is the likely landing spot for the gophers. As long as we play well finish in the top 5 and are definitely are in the tourney..not on the fence I will be happy. Anything higher is a bonus. For us to challenge for the title we would need a level of consistency from Iverson, Sampson, and Rodney that we haven't seen yet. We aren't deep like last year. Our best players need to bring it every night.
 

Its a long season and you never know how injuries, academics and other things will factor in but I do believe the Gophers can realistically compete for a Big Ten title this year.

Underrated:

Gophers- The addition of Trevor and the return of Nolen will be huge. Iverson has improved (he's better than Sampson IMO). Devoe should be helped by Nolen coming back and should lead us in scoring. A friend of mine talked to someone very in the know about the team who said that Tubby feels like this is his best team he's had since he's been here. He also said that Chip will be getting a lot of PT, so we may have found a gem there.

Illinois- As spelled out by the Illini fan on the first page of this thread, this team basically returns everyone and their group of true sophomores will only be better. They also had in a group of freshman who many think can contribute right away. Illinois will be very tough this year.

Overrated:

Michigan St- Kailin Lucas is coming off an achilles injury, who knows how he will rebound. They will obviously be well coached, but this isn't the guaranteed top 3 team in the nation that everyone is talking about.

Ohio St- With the way Turner dominated the ball last year I have a lot of questions of who will shoulder that load. Who is playing point guard for this team? Buford, Lauderdale, Diebler, etc...those are all good players, plus the addition of a freshman PF that is highly ranked, they have talent. I just wonder who's going to run the offense. This team is a big question mark. I could see them winning the league or finishing 5th or 6th.

If I had to guess right now...

1. Purdue
2. Illinois
3. Michigan St
4. Minnesota
5. Ohio St
6. Wisconsin

One thing we can all probably agree on? Iowa will suck.
 

Gophers Have 3 B10 Titles In Past 70 Years

1972, 1982 (I think), and 1997.

It's time for another B10 title.
 

Dirk Diggler said:
Its a long season and you never know how injuries, academics and other things will factor in but I do believe the Gophers can realistically compete for a Big Ten title this year.

Underrated:

Gophers- The addition of Trevor and the return of Nolen will be huge. Iverson has improved (he's better than Sampson IMO). Devoe should be helped by Nolen coming back and should lead us in scoring. A friend of mine talked to someone very in the know about the team who said that Tubby feels like this is his best team he's had since he's been here. He also said that Chip will be getting a lot of PT, so we may have found a gem there.

Illinois- As spelled out by the Illini fan on the first page of this thread, this team basically returns everyone and their group of true sophomores will only be better. They also had in a group of freshman who many think can contribute right away. Illinois will be very tough this year.

Overrated:

Michigan St- Kailin Lucas is coming off an achilles injury, who knows how he will rebound. They will obviously be well coached, but this isn't the guaranteed top 3 team in the nation that everyone is talking about.

Ohio St- With the way Turner dominated the ball last year I have a lot of questions of who will shoulder that load. Who is playing point guard for this team? Buford, Lauderdale, Diebler, etc...those are all good players, plus the addition of a freshman PF that is highly ranked, they have talent. I just wonder who's going to run the offense. This team is a big question mark. I could see them winning the league or finishing 5th or 6th.

If I had to guess right now...

1. Purdue
2. Illinois
3. Michigan St
4. Minnesota
5. Ohio St
6. Wisconsin

One thing we can all probably agree on? Iowa will suck.
Click to expand...

Very well said. Thank you. I forgot about Illinois. Their coach is Keady's twin brother (better looking one). Like Purdue, they always play good defense.

Hopefully, IU will suck too. I cannot stand their coach.

Go Gophars
 

You don't think Penn St. feels like they "gave away" our win at their place? And you still haven't answered my question about our games affecting the outcome of other games.
 

rychart45 said:
You don't think Penn St. feels like they "gave away" our win at their place? And you still haven't answered my question about our games affecting the outcome of other games.
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No.

And early W over Mich St and Pur might have influenced later games by Gophers and opponents.
 

Coulda', woulda', shoulda'. ... close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
 

With this years Big Ten schedule, we will find out very quickly whether or not this team will compete for a title. I think this year's tougher non-conference schedule should have them confident going into the gauntlet starting at the Kohl Center.
 

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