Gophers having good season

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GopherNation

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I can't believe all the negativity with the Gophers. The expectations going into this year was a 4th or 5th place finish in the Big Ten. Right now we are 6th with the easiest part of our Big Ten schedule coming up.

We have competed in every game other than the OSU one. The way we lost was bad, but a road game in the big ten against a superior opponent isn't a bad loss whether we lose by 30 or 1.

We are 11-1 at home, with our only loss coming in a great game against MSU with our starting PG out of the game.

We have only had two bad losses to Portland and Indiana all year. If you discount those games, our losses have come against teams with a combined 88-26 record.

Luckily the tourney committee doesn't look at who you have lost to, but who you have beat. Well we have beat #10 Butler, and now #13 Ohio State. And we still have opportunities to beat #7 Purdue and #16 Wisconsin at home.

Most importantly we have beat another Big Ten bubble team in NW, and have an opportunity to sweep other Bubble teams in Michigan, and Illinois.

So far the Gophers have had a decent season, but are still very much in contention.
 

good post and good points. Still plenty of games left, if we deserve to be in the tournament we can play our way in. Time to get a hot streak going.....
 

Great points...seems that the negativity stems from thoughts of what we "could have been" if not for all of off the court issues...
 

This team does not have a Evan Turner kind of player to lead. No Trevor and no Royce has hurt. They were going to be the core to lead this team to a new level of play. Talent. Talent. Got to have talent.
 

GopherNation said:
I can't believe all the negativity with the Gophers. The expectations going into this year was a 4th or 5th place finish in the Big Ten. Right now we are 6th with the easiest part of our Big Ten schedule coming up.

We have competed in every game other than the OSU one. The way we lost was bad, but a road game in the big ten against a superior opponent isn't a bad loss whether we lose by 30 or 1.

We are 11-1 at home, with our only loss coming in a great game against MSU with our starting PG out of the game.

We have only had two bad losses to Portland and Indiana all year. If you discount those games, our losses have come against teams with a combined 88-26 record.

Luckily the tourney committee doesn't look at who you have lost to, but who you have beat. Well we have beat #10 Butler, and now #13 Ohio State. And we still have opportunities to beat #7 Purdue and #16 Wisconsin at home.

Most importantly we have beat another Big Ten bubble team in NW, and have an opportunity to sweep other Bubble teams in Michigan, and Illinois.

So far the Gophers have had a decent season, but are still very much in contention.
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This is the definition of a just happy to be here fan. We are past that now. A top ten recruiting class and a hall of fame coach everyone had high expectations for this season. Once we start excepting mediocrity and NIT bids it will be like having Mason again. And yes I know Mason was the football coach, but he was the definition of average teams. He always coached teams with high expectations to disappointing seasons and many fans around here excepted it.
 


Can we please stop with the jabber about no Trevor and no Royce and what if's and could have been's. Ya play the game with what ya have and don't have. I had a friend who had no arms and legs. He played 2nd base. The base, not the position. :)

His name was Matt.
 

Honyocker said:
This team does not have a Evan Turner kind of player to lead. No Trevor and no Royce has hurt. They were going to be the core to lead this team to a new level of play. Talent. Talent. Got to have talent.
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A lack of a star player is huge for this team, but over the long term Tubby is going to need time in order to build consistently strong recruiting classes. There are definitely guys on the team that would not get an offer if they were being recruited today.
 

Not A Good Season

Forget the two recruits who haven't see the the floor, we brought back every key player from last year and are a worse team at this point. One decent win- OSU at home. No signature wins.
 

akgopher said:
Forget the two recruits who haven't see the the floor, we brought back every key player from last year and are a worse team at this point. One decent win- OSU at home. No signature wins.
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If you don't count beating #10 team in the country at a neutral site a signature win, I don't know what is a signature win.
 



Brew_recruit said:
This is the definition of a just happy to be here fan. We are past that now. A top ten recruiting class and a hall of fame coach everyone had high expectations for this season. Once we start excepting mediocrity and NIT bids it will be like having Mason again. And yes I know Mason was the football coach, but he was the definition of average teams. He always coached teams with high expectations to disappointing seasons and many fans around here excepted it.
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We aren't past that though. Look at the players on the floor and tell me they are better than Purdue, Michigan State, and Ohio State. They just aren't, as much as you and me both want them to be. I still am expecting an NCAA bid, but we were projected fourth or fifth in the big ten with Royce, with Trevor, with Al, and now we have none of them, and we are still contending for a top 4 spot in the Big Ten. Tubby is coaching these players to their full potential, and if you don't think so you are dead wrong.
 

maliksealy said:
If you don't count beating #10 team in the country at a neutral site a signature win, I don't know what is a signature win.
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How good did that #10 team turnout to be? How much does that win mean now?
 

Butler win

akgopher said:
How good did that #10 team turnout to be? How much does that win mean now?
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Butler is currently ranked #15, a ranking that will likely only improve. They have won 11 straight, are 12-0 in conference, and don't have another ranked team on their schedule.

That Butler win looked good then and will look good when the Selection Committee is considering our team.
 




MNPurdueFan said:
A lack of a star player is huge for this team, but over the long term Tubby is going to need time in order to build consistently strong recruiting classes. There are definitely guys on the team that would not get an offer if they were being recruited today.
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He has been building strong recruiting classes. They have not all panned out, but all programs will run into problems here and there. As for not having any star players, I would say that you could make the argument for Westbrook. He can make his own shots and score around the rim better than almost any big ten guard. He may not be in the same league as some other big ten teams elite players, but he makes a HUGE difference on our team.

I would rather have an all around good team than a decent team with one all-star.
 


GopherNation said:
I can't believe all the negativity with the Gophers. The expectations going into this year was a 4th or 5th place finish in the Big Ten. Right now we are 6th with the easiest part of our Big Ten schedule coming up.

We have competed in every game other than the OSU one. The way we lost was bad, but a road game in the big ten against a superior opponent isn't a bad loss whether we lose by 30 or 1.

We are 11-1 at home, with our only loss coming in a great game against MSU with our starting PG out of the game.

We have only had two bad losses to Portland and Indiana all year. If you discount those games, our losses have come against teams with a combined 88-26 record.

Luckily the tourney committee doesn't look at who you have lost to, but who you have beat. Well we have beat #10 Butler, and now #13 Ohio State. And we still have opportunities to beat #7 Purdue and #16 Wisconsin at home.

Most importantly we have beat another Big Ten bubble team in NW, and have an opportunity to sweep other Bubble teams in Michigan, and Illinois.

So far the Gophers have had a decent season, but are still very much in contention.
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I have to strongly disagree with your statements: "I can't believe all the negativity with the Gophers. The expectations going into this year was a 4th or 5th place finish in the Big Ten."

My expectations were much higher. Before the season began, I expected that we would compete for a Big Ten Title and rank in the top 10 to 15 nationally all year long. To be at a point where we are longshots to make the NCAA tourney is extremely dissapointing. So I totally understand the negativity.
 

GopherFish said:
I have to strongly disagree with your statements: "I can't believe all the negativity with the Gophers. The expectations going into this year was a 4th or 5th place finish in the Big Ten."

My expectations were much higher. Before the season began, I expected that we would compete for a Big Ten Title and rank in the top 10 to 15 nationally all year long. To be at a point where we are longshots to make the NCAA tourney is extremely dissapointing. So I totally understand the negativity.
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Well said. The homers in here all think it is a successful season if we even take the floor. I expected more from this team this year. Tubby expected this team to be better. Due to Maturi's poor handling of a few off court problems and Nolen skipping class we are having a poor year. Next year is looking worse, unless we get some impact recruits. We are NIT bound with 18 wins. The NCAA committee wont even look our way unless we put together a huge run. We need 20 wins! We need to beat both WI and Purdue without losing any weird ones.
 

GopherNation said:
I still am expecting an NCAA bid, but we were projected fourth or fifth in the big ten with Royce, with Trevor, with Al, and now we have none of them, and we are still contending for a top 4 spot in the Big Ten.
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Projected fourth in what was expected to be a much stronger Big Ten.
 

GopherNation said:
I can't believe all the negativity with the Gophers. The expectations going into this year was a 4th or 5th place finish in the Big Ten. Right now we are 6th with the easiest part of our Big Ten schedule coming up.

We have competed in every game other than the OSU one. The way we lost was bad, but a road game in the big ten against a superior opponent isn't a bad loss whether we lose by 30 or 1.

We are 11-1 at home, with our only loss coming in a great game against MSU with our starting PG out of the game.

We have only had two bad losses to Portland and Indiana all year. If you discount those games, our losses have come against teams with a combined 88-26 record.

Luckily the tourney committee doesn't look at who you have lost to, but who you have beat. Well we have beat #10 Butler, and now #13 Ohio State. And we still have opportunities to beat #7 Purdue and #16 Wisconsin at home.

Most importantly we have beat another Big Ten bubble team in NW, and have an opportunity to sweep other Bubble teams in Michigan, and Illinois.

So far the Gophers have had a decent season, but are still very much in contention.
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Great post. Thank you.
 


stocker08 said:
He has been building strong recruiting classes. They have not all panned out, but all programs will run into problems here and there. As for not having any star players, I would say that you could make the argument for Westbrook. He can make his own shots and score around the rim better than almost any big ten guard. He may not be in the same league as some other big ten teams elite players, but he makes a HUGE difference on our team.
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I would say he has had one real recruiting class that was not affected by the down years under Monson. This years class will be his second.

Westbrook is a good player, but the star comment was in reference to Evan Turner who would be the best player on any team in the Big Ten.
 

Well naturally the top 4 teams in the Big Ten are ranked in the top 25. That is a radical comment. Does that really make Minnesota's position in the standings more impressive? Today's win was a good win and I am happy with it. But,

Oh Butler, good for the Gophers and all. Seriously, Butler would be a .500 team in the Big 10. I understand the win will help us, but it is a bit of a farce.

The comments in this thread don't mention Mich State being a bad loss. Comments mention the Ohio State loss. I don't get those, on the road, just a flat game. So what? That loss to Ohio State was not good, but it doesn't come close to comparing to the Mich State loss. Mich St was a really bad loss. If I am on the selection committee and saw that game, any fence sitting goes against the Gophers. If the players end up going to the NIT, the players know that the Mich State loss is the diff.

The Gophers are not having a good season. It is disappointing. There is still time though. The team could still go 12-6, or much worse, depends on the will to win. Athletically, the team will finish this year with a win in every home game remaining, and on the road win two out of three. But it could very well end up much worse as well. It is going to end up being what is in the Gopher's heart and drive. As I have said before this team is very athletic, more than any team in years. But something is still amiss. It will be fun, or painful, to watch what ends up happening.
 

The gophers season has been a mild disappointment but that doesnt mean it cant improve. We have 2 big home games vs Wisky and Purdue. This week however is the most important week of the season. Minnesota needs to go 2-0 no questions asked and then win at least if not both of the games vs Wisky and Purdue.
 

I really do appreciate your optimism because I continue to foresee and even expect a postseason NCAA Tournament berth, but many of your points are just misguided and, frankly, wrong. I've responded accordingly.

I can't believe all the negativity with the Gophers. The expectations going into this year was a 4th or 5th place finish in the Big Ten. Right now we are 6th with the easiest part of our Big Ten schedule coming up.
I think most people picked this team to finish behind Michigan State and Purdue, but ahead of Ohio State and Wisconsin. I expected them to sit around #15 in the Top 25 all season and legitimately compete for a Big Ten title. Injuries, arrests and ineligibility aside, this has been a terribly disappointing season overall and completely understand the negativity. Yes, the easy part of the schedule is coming up, but has the team really inspired any confidence that they can take care of the games they need to win in order to secure an NCAA berth? I'm as optimistic as anyone, but I still ground myself in reality.

We have competed in every game other than the OSU one. The way we lost was bad, but a road game in the big ten against a superior opponent isn't a bad loss whether we lose by 30 or 1.
Yes, we've competed, but we've lost and even gave up very close games. With the exception of today's Penn State buzzer-beater, the team has yet to prove that it can finish a game in crunch time. Too often this season have we seen them melt down in the final six minutes (read: Portland, Miami, Texas A&M, Michigan State) Playing anybody on the road in the Big Ten is difficult, but the Ohio State loss was just embarrassing. They aren't superior, as we saw when we beat them earlier in the season. Everyone competes, but the truly good teams can actually finish things off once in awhile.

We are 11-1 at home, with our only loss coming in a great game against MSU with our starting PG out of the game.
Indeed, the Gophers play very well at home. They should be 12-0, though, after giving up at 13-point lead in the final seven minutes, and well on their way to a tourney bid. Meltdowns like the MSU game undermine my confidence that they can take a game at home against either Wisconsin or Purdue, which are instrumental to their tournament chances.

We have only had two bad losses to Portland and Indiana all year. If you discount those games, our losses have come against teams with a combined 88-26 record.
If you discount the games? That's ridiculous. You cannot just forget about losses, especially to sub-par teams like Portland and Indiana. Those losses exposed weaknesses that still haven't been figured out. Namely, who do we go to in crunch time? How do we avoid becoming scared with a five-point lead with three minutes to go?

Luckily the tourney committee doesn't look at who you have lost to, but who you have beat. Well we have beat #10 Butler, and now #13 Ohio State. And we still have opportunities to beat #7 Purdue and #16 Wisconsin at home.
Actually, the committee looks very closely at who you lost to. The Indiana loss may very well be the nail in the coffin of the Gopher tournament hopes when all is said and done as their RPI is a disgustingly-high 225. Wins over Butler and Ohio State look very good, though, and I agree that the Purdue/Wisconsin opportunities present resume-building wins.

Most importantly we have beat another Big Ten bubble team in NW, and have an opportunity to sweep other Bubble teams in Michigan, and Illinois.
Again, I agree. Wins on the road against Northwestern or Michigan would go a long ways toward the Gopher tourney hopes, especially considering how well we'd expect them to play at Williams Arena. However, going on the road to Evanston, Ann Arbor and Champaign are difficult tasks, and while Minnesota may be the superior team on paper, road games in the Big Ten are a tall, tall task

So far the Gophers have had a decent season, but are still very much in contention.
Yes, their season has been decent at best. Decent to the point that they sit squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble. In order to make it into the field of 65 they need to take care of inferior teams at home and beat either Wisconsin or Purdue in order to feel comfortable on Selection Sunday. None of that sounds easy with the squad we've fielded all season.


www.fromthebarn.org
 

Lest U Missed It

The Gophers who were Sweet 16 potential are missing 3 key players from those preseason projections.

Both PF (White and Mbakwe) are out. And now PG Nolen is ineligible. Big losses, all.

The Gophers are still a potential NCAA team but have plenty of work to do.
 

Interesting thought: Big 10 schedule not the Gopher's friend this year. Completely invert it, and Gophers are 7-3 or 6-4. And taking on Mich State twice near the end. Fantasy of course, but hard not to imagine a better season.
 

preseason expectations

When this season started the Big Ten was considered by some to have a chance to be the number one conference. As it looks right now we are in a chase with Illinois, Northwestern, and maybe Michigan to be the 5th team invited to the dance. The Big Ten has gotten 7 bids before!

With Michigan falling, Coble getting injured, and Illinois also dissappointing this year, it has been a let down. The acc, big 12, and the big east are all better. Luckily the pac-10 is having its worst year in decades.

We were a tourney team last yr and returned almost everyone. We were adding a super recruiting class so the average fan is thinking a couple of wins in the tourney. Now we are on the outside looking in.
 

Friend Of Tubby said:
The Top 4 in Big 10 are MSU, Purdue, Wisky, and Ohio St - all Top 25 ranked teams.
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Are you implying that the Big Ten is as strong as it was predicted to be before the season or just throwing out stats that don't directly counter a discussion point made by another poster to further your stale pro-Tubby agenda? I'm thinking it's the latter. C'mon FOT, you're better than that. Anyone who follows the Big Ten knows that several teams in the league have underachieved to this point.
 

zipsofakron said:
I really do appreciate your optimism because I continue to foresee and even expect a postseason NCAA Tournament berth, but many of your points are just misguided and, frankly, wrong. I've responded accordingly.

I can't believe all the negativity with the Gophers. The expectations going into this year was a 4th or 5th place finish in the Big Ten. Right now we are 6th with the easiest part of our Big Ten schedule coming up.
I think most people picked this team to finish behind Michigan State and Purdue, but ahead of Ohio State and Wisconsin. I expected them to sit around #15 in the Top 25 all season and legitimately compete for a Big Ten title. Injuries, arrests and ineligibility aside, this has been a terribly disappointing season overall and completely understand the negativity. Yes, the easy part of the schedule is coming up, but has the team really inspired any confidence that they can take care of the games they need to win in order to secure an NCAA berth? I'm as optimistic as anyone, but I still ground myself in reality.

We have competed in every game other than the OSU one. The way we lost was bad, but a road game in the big ten against a superior opponent isn't a bad loss whether we lose by 30 or 1.
Yes, we've competed, but we've lost and even gave up very close games. With the exception of today's Penn State buzzer-beater, the team has yet to prove that it can finish a game in crunch time. Too often this season have we seen them melt down in the final six minutes (read: Portland, Miami, Texas A&M, Michigan State) Playing anybody on the road in the Big Ten is difficult, but the Ohio State loss was just embarrassing. They aren't superior, as we saw when we beat them earlier in the season. Everyone competes, but the truly good teams can actually finish things off once in awhile.

We are 11-1 at home, with our only loss coming in a great game against MSU with our starting PG out of the game.
Indeed, the Gophers play very well at home. They should be 12-0, though, after giving up at 13-point lead in the final seven minutes, and well on their way to a tourney bid. Meltdowns like the MSU game undermine my confidence that they can take a game at home against either Wisconsin or Purdue, which are instrumental to their tournament chances.

We have only had two bad losses to Portland and Indiana all year. If you discount those games, our losses have come against teams with a combined 88-26 record.
If you discount the games? That's ridiculous. You cannot just forget about losses, especially to sub-par teams like Portland and Indiana. Those losses exposed weaknesses that still haven't been figured out. Namely, who do we go to in crunch time? How do we avoid becoming scared with a five-point lead with three minutes to go?

Luckily the tourney committee doesn't look at who you have lost to, but who you have beat. Well we have beat #10 Butler, and now #13 Ohio State. And we still have opportunities to beat #7 Purdue and #16 Wisconsin at home.
Actually, the committee looks very closely at who you lost to. The Indiana loss may very well be the nail in the coffin of the Gopher tournament hopes when all is said and done as their RPI is a disgustingly-high 225. Wins over Butler and Ohio State look very good, though, and I agree that the Purdue/Wisconsin opportunities present resume-building wins.

Most importantly we have beat another Big Ten bubble team in NW, and have an opportunity to sweep other Bubble teams in Michigan, and Illinois.
Again, I agree. Wins on the road against Northwestern or Michigan would go a long ways toward the Gopher tourney hopes, especially considering how well we'd expect them to play at Williams Arena. However, going on the road to Evanston, Ann Arbor and Champaign are difficult tasks, and while Minnesota may be the superior team on paper, road games in the Big Ten are a tall, tall task

So far the Gophers have had a decent season, but are still very much in contention.
Yes, their season has been decent at best. Decent to the point that they sit squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble. In order to make it into the field of 65 they need to take care of inferior teams at home and beat either Wisconsin or Purdue in order to feel comfortable on Selection Sunday. None of that sounds easy with the squad we've fielded all season.


www.fromthebarn.org
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Great counters. The bottom line is that even while accounting for the loss of three expected contributors the team has still underachieved. Fortunately, there is plenty of time left in the season to right the ship and accomplish the pre-season goals that most of us had in mind.
 

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