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Gopher_In_NYC said:
We played excellent after the Iowa debacle and went toe-to-toe with them at their house.

Heck yes, Ben deserves another year. Anyone who isn’t completely biased can see the improvement.
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1st halves against Purdue and Iowa were special and show what this team is capable of. There is potential for this to be a really good team next year if the core stays together.

Way this team is playing they will win enough down the stretch to ensure there is zero doubt about Johnson keeping his job. Keep the roster together, add some pieces, keep developing and 24-25 has the potential to be a special year.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
We played excellent after the Iowa debacle and went toe-to-toe with them at their house.

Heck yes, Ben deserves another year. Anyone who isn’t completely biased can see the improvement.
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This.
 




Gopher_In_NYC said:
We played excellent after the Iowa debacle and went toe-to-toe with them at their house.

Heck yes, Ben deserves another year. Anyone who isn’t completely biased can see the improvement.
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This team has fight. I've been disappointed with some of the losses, but this team is most definitely improved. .500 conference would be an excellent goal, then make some noise in the BTT.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
We played excellent after the Iowa debacle and went toe-to-toe with them at their house.

Heck yes, Ben deserves another year. Anyone who isn’t completely biased can see the improvement.
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And the Iowa debacle was a surprise pounding of Iowa in the first half. And led Purdue at the half!

Still bummers to lose, but you're 100% right.
 

DarthGopher said:
This team has fight. I've been disappointed with some of the losses, but this team is most definitely improved. .500 conference would be an excellent goal, then make some noise in the BTT.
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The fact the they haven’t quit and play hard is a testament that Ben hasn’t lost the team and that he has their respect.

I thought the Iowa loss might be too much and we were going to get blown out and the opposite happened - so that shows how much I know.

I’m excited for every game and hope we have a great crowd on Sunday- these guys deserve it.
 





MNVCGUY said:
Played really well on the road against a team that has a legit shot at winning the National Championship. Sucks we didn’t win but no true fan should be disappointed by the effort against Purdue.
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Purdue is incredibly overrated. Just watch for another low seed to take Edey off his game come NCAA tourney and the rest of their supporting cast can’t win the game. They are a one man team.

While it was an entertaining game to watch, let’s be somewhat real here: we couldn’t miss from deep in the first half, then by the end of the game the %’s came back to reality. The one thing that bothered me was when Payne and Garcia had foul trouble CBJ out in Fox in the second half and essentially seeded multiple layup / lob dunks to Edey…with no defense. He should at least have put in Wilson for beef (I know he had the hook and hold)…but that was after Edey got off at the rim with littles on him.
 

Wet_Blanket_Guy said:
Purdue is incredibly overrated. Just watch for another low seed to take Edey off his game come NCAA tourney and the rest of their supporting cast can’t win the game. They are a one man team.

While it was an entertaining game to watch, let’s be somewhat real here: we couldn’t miss from deep in the first half, then by the end of the game the %’s came back to reality. The one thing that bothered me was when Payne and Garcia had foul trouble CBJ out in Fox in the second half and essentially seeded multiple layup / lob dunks to Edey…with no defense. He should at least have put in Wilson for beef (I know he had the hook and hold)…but that was after Edey got off at the rim with littles on him.
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They aren't over rated. But they are, as. you say, very susceptible to style differences, speed and if Edey gets in foul trouble then they are just a standard, good but not great team. If Edey stays on the court- they are pretty tough to beat. They have a great player in Smith and good complimentary guys and they all understand that it starts and ends with Edey.
 

If we are part of w.w. I think you make a few calls and see who's interested. If the right fish are willing to bite you still make a move.... With that said... I enjoyed the game last night.. I won't take moral victories in year 3 of the new era of nil and how quickly teams can be transformed but the team is much more fun to watch and a much more enjoyable product is being put on the court for the most part on a weekly basis
 



Wet_Blanket_Guy said:
Purdue is incredibly overrated. Just watch for another low seed to take Edey off his game come NCAA tourney and the rest of their supporting cast can’t win the game. They are a one man team.

While it was an entertaining game to watch, let’s be somewhat real here: we couldn’t miss from deep in the first half, then by the end of the game the %’s came back to reality. The one thing that bothered me was when Payne and Garcia had foul trouble CBJ out in Fox in the second half and essentially seeded multiple layup / lob dunks to Edey…with no defense. He should at least have put in Wilson for beef (I know he had the hook and hold)…but that was after Edey got off at the rim with littles on him.
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Purdue isn't incredibly overrated. They are not unbeatable and could definitely get knocked out in the tournament if they get the wrong matchup or Edey gets in foul trouble. But that doesn't change the fact that they are a very good team and have a player that is a massive matchup problem for pretty much every college basketball team because they just don't have players his size to compete.

Purdue has beaten 5 teams that were ranked in the top 10 at the time they played them. They might not win it all but they are almost certainly going to be a #1 seed and are easily one of the best teams in college basketball this season.
 


MNVCGUY said:
Played really well on the road against a team that has a legit shot at winning the National Championship. Sucks we didn’t win but no true fan should be disappointed by the effort against Purdue.
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I mean I get it but this is the aw shucks nice hustle cloud that has hung over this program for a long time while we still find ways to lose. Lose to Purdue - I don’t care. But then if this type of game is indicative of something, we should get at least occasional wins over teams like IA and WI and we just don’t.
 

SamSquatch said:
I mean I get it but this is the aw shucks nice hustle cloud that has hung over this program for a long time while we still find ways to lose. Lose to Purdue - I don’t care. But then if this type of game is indicative of something, we should get at least occasional wins over teams like IA and WI and we just don’t.
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I get where you are coming from and in most cases I am not a fan of any sort of moral victory or whatever.

Game like last night falls into a different category to me though. Purdue is a legit contender and playing at home. The fact that we were able to take the fight to them the way we did is exciting for the future of this program provided the roster stays mostly in tact going into next year.
 

MNVCGUY said:
I get where you are coming from and in most cases I am not a fan of any sort of moral victory or whatever.

Game like last night falls into a different category to me though. Purdue is a legit contender and playing at home. The fact that we were able to take the fight to them the way we did is exciting for the future of this program provided the roster stays mostly in tact going into next year.
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Purdue impressed me last night. They took a pretty good punch from the Gophers in the first half when we really played well (making shots/tough on defense/Edey with foul trouble). But yet they put together a few good runs to make it a comfortable win in the end. Purdue is undoubtedly one of a handful of teams that could win the whole thing in the absence of any real dominant teams this year. It will likely come down to who gets hot like UConn did last year.

You really have hit on the key for the Gophers next year. For my money the additions of Hawkins/Mitchell/Christie has put this team on a new level. Obviously Garcia has been great too but somewhat expected. The sophomore class has been somewhat of a disappointment for me (Payne has had moments). The broader point is in this era of NIL/free agency, who stays and who goes and what kind of additions can they make? Whatever roster churn they have will be completely on Ben Johnson, good or bad. Nothing short of an NCAA berth will be acceptable in year four in my view. The excuses are gone.

But I'm with you on last night. Nothing to hang their head down over.
 

Wet_Blanket_Guy said:
Purdue is incredibly overrated. Just watch for another low seed to take Edey off his game come NCAA tourney and the rest of their supporting cast can’t win the game. They are a one man team.

While it was an entertaining game to watch, let’s be somewhat real here: we couldn’t miss from deep in the first half, then by the end of the game the %’s came back to reality. The one thing that bothered me was when Payne and Garcia had foul trouble CBJ out in Fox in the second half and essentially seeded multiple layup / lob dunks to Edey…with no defense. He should at least have put in Wilson for beef (I know he had the hook and hold)…but that was after Edey got off at the rim with littles on him.
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Your Hot take needs to be amended. Calling then overrated is down right silly.

They are tied for the Nation’s best record.

They have the measurably most difficult schedule.

They are ranked #2 by analytical measures.

Nope, by definition they are not overrated.

They have won 29 games two years in a row and will at least win that many this year.

The last couple years when teams beat them, they don’t stop Zach Edey. He gets his; don’t take a bunch of stupid fouls on Edey just for a WetBlanket’s vanity.

Teams that beat Purdue, do so by stopping their other good players. When FDU beat them, Zach Edey had 21 pts, 15 rbds. Last night, he had 24 pts, 15 rbds.
 

golfing18now said:
Purdue impressed me last night. They took a pretty good punch from the Gophers in the first half when we really played well (making shots/tough on defense/Edey with foul trouble). But yet they put together a few good runs to make it a comfortable win in the end. Purdue is undoubtedly one of a handful of teams that could win the whole thing in the absence of any real dominant teams this year. It will likely come down to who gets hot like UConn did last year.

You really have hit on the key for the Gophers next year. For my money the additions of Hawkins/Mitchell/Christie has put this team on a new level. Obviously Garcia has been great too but somewhat expected. The sophomore class has been somewhat of a disappointment for me (Payne has had moments). The broader point is in this era of NIL/free agency, who stays and who goes and what kind of additions can they make? Whatever roster churn they have will be completely on Ben Johnson, good or bad. Nothing short of an NCAA berth will be acceptable in year four in my view. The excuses are gone.

But I'm with you on last night. Nothing to hang their head down over.
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Issue for this team continues to be consistency. When they are on they are really really good....those first halves in the last two games were off the charts, especially when you factor in the slow start against Purdue. They just have to find a way to sustain it for an entire game.

Christie flashes superstar potential, Payne does as well. If Garcia goes pro it will be on them to find a great replacement, if Garcia, Christie, Payne, Mitchell, Hawkins all come back next year along with the majority of supporting cast, incoming freshman and who knows maybe a transfer of some kind.....that is a team that could be a ton of fun.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
We played excellent after the Iowa debacle and went toe-to-toe with them at their house.

Heck yes, Ben deserves another year. Anyone who isn’t completely biased can see the improvement.
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Very proud. The measure of a coach and team goes far beyond wins/losses. It is based on improvement trend, competitiveness, and attitude.

The Gophers and their coach are doing a great job on those measurements.

Now Ben has to face a big choice on whether to use Carrington much more and Hawkins less or ride with Hawk at the controls. He hurt us last night with bad shots and sloppy ball handling at the end when we still had a chance to win.
 

Wet_Blanket_Guy said:
Purdue is incredibly overrated. Just watch for another low seed to take Edey off his game come NCAA tourney and the rest of their supporting cast can’t win the game. They are a one man team.

While it was an entertaining game to watch, let’s be somewhat real here: we couldn’t miss from deep in the first half, then by the end of the game the %’s came back to reality. The one thing that bothered me was when Payne and Garcia had foul trouble CBJ out in Fox in the second half and essentially seeded multiple layup / lob dunks to Edey…with no defense. He should at least have put in Wilson for beef (I know he had the hook and hold)…but that was after Edey got off at the rim with littles on him.
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Silly. Purdue is really good. Do I think they will win the Natty? No
Will they win the B10 and have a good shot at a Final Four? Yep

• Purdue's schedule ranks as the most difficult in the country by a wide margin and its non-conference foes currently lead the Southern Conference by 2 games (Samford), the Ohio Valley by 3 games (Morehead State), the SEC (Alabama), the PAC-12 (Arizona) and the Atlantic Sun (Eastern Kentucky). Marquette (Big East) and Gonzaga (WCC) and are currently in second place in their respective conferences. Four of Purdue's non-conference opponents (Marquette - 8; Morehead St. - 7; Samford, Arizona - 5) have active win streaks of five or longer.
• In addition, Purdue leads the country in strength of schedule and teams that it has beaten rank 2nd (Michigan), 3rd (Alabama), 4th (Wisconsin), 5th (Tennessee), 6th (Xavier) and 7th (Arizona) in strength of schedule.
• The combined record of Purdue's non-conference opponents is 180-84 (.682) with seven of the 11 opponents already having won at least 17 games. Every non-conference team except one (Texas Southern, 9-13) have an overall record above .500.
• Purdue ranks in the NCAA's top 20 in wins (1st), off. efficiency (2nd), rebound margin (2nd), 3-point percentage (4th), assists per game (7th), scoring offense (5th), scoring margin (9th), fewest fouls per game (13th), defensive efficiency (14th) and assist / turnover ratio (17th).
• Purdue leads the country in quad-1 wins (8) and quad-1 and 2 wins combined (15). No one in the country has more than 13 Q-1 and Q-2 wins.
• Since the start of last season, Purdue is 51-8, the fourth-most wins nationally, while the eight losses are the second fewest behind Houston (7). The eight losses during that span have come by 1, 5, 6, 14, 8, 5, 4 (OT) and 16 points. Thirty-eight of the 51 wins have come against teams ranked in the KenPom top-100, including 27 against teams ranked in the top-50.
• Purdue was voted No. 2 in the AP Top 25 poll on Monday, for the fifth straight week. With its No. 2 ranking this week, Purdue has now been ranked in the top 5 of the AP poll for 31 straight weeks, the longest-active streak in America by 17 weeks (UConn - 14). It has been ranked in the top 3 in 25 of those 31 weeks. The 31 weeks of being ranked in the top 5 is the longest streak by a Big Ten team in the last 45 years.
• With the win over No. 6 Wisconsin, Purdue has won seven straight against AP Top-10 ranked teams, the longest streak ever by a Big Ten team.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Issue for this team continues to be consistency.
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that is it.

The Gophers are better than last year.

But even with measurable improvement, this team still has some very obvious flaws. they are very streaky, and when the shots are not falling, they go on negative runs where the opponents change the entire tempo and flow of the game in 4 or 5 minutes.

If the Gophers want to beat good teams, they have to find a way to limit the negative runs.

and the depth - IMHO - is still an issue. The Gophers are using a 7-man rotation, with JOJ getting limited minutes as the 8th man. all it takes is for 1 or 2 starters to get in foul trouble, and the depth is gone.

To Be Clear - the team is better. but not better enough to make the NCAA, and may not be better enough to make the NIT. If I'm not going to hand out participation trophies for the football team, I'm not going to hand them out for the basketball team.
 


SelectionSunday said:
The first part, I get, we all can have a differing opinion on that.

The second part? I don't know what game you were watching.
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Smith will be All B10 and is an excellent, albeit whiny PG. Gills doesn’t even start and knocked down 4 threes off the bench - they have depth and are fundamentally sound. Painter is an excellent coach as well.
 

LesBolstad said:
Silly. Purdue is really good. Do I think they will win the Natty? No
Will they win the B10 and have a good shot at a Final Four? Yep

• Purdue's schedule ranks as the most difficult in the country by a wide margin and its non-conference foes currently lead the Southern Conference by 2 games (Samford), the Ohio Valley by 3 games (Morehead State), the SEC (Alabama), the PAC-12 (Arizona) and the Atlantic Sun (Eastern Kentucky). Marquette (Big East) and Gonzaga (WCC) and are currently in second place in their respective conferences. Four of Purdue's non-conference opponents (Marquette - 8; Morehead St. - 7; Samford, Arizona - 5) have active win streaks of five or longer.
• In addition, Purdue leads the country in strength of schedule and teams that it has beaten rank 2nd (Michigan), 3rd (Alabama), 4th (Wisconsin), 5th (Tennessee), 6th (Xavier) and 7th (Arizona) in strength of schedule.
• The combined record of Purdue's non-conference opponents is 180-84 (.682) with seven of the 11 opponents already having won at least 17 games. Every non-conference team except one (Texas Southern, 9-13) have an overall record above .500.
• Purdue ranks in the NCAA's top 20 in wins (1st), off. efficiency (2nd), rebound margin (2nd), 3-point percentage (4th), assists per game (7th), scoring offense (5th), scoring margin (9th), fewest fouls per game (13th), defensive efficiency (14th) and assist / turnover ratio (17th).
• Purdue leads the country in quad-1 wins (8) and quad-1 and 2 wins combined (15). No one in the country has more than 13 Q-1 and Q-2 wins.
• Since the start of last season, Purdue is 51-8, the fourth-most wins nationally, while the eight losses are the second fewest behind Houston (7). The eight losses during that span have come by 1, 5, 6, 14, 8, 5, 4 (OT) and 16 points. Thirty-eight of the 51 wins have come against teams ranked in the KenPom top-100, including 27 against teams ranked in the top-50.
• Purdue was voted No. 2 in the AP Top 25 poll on Monday, for the fifth straight week. With its No. 2 ranking this week, Purdue has now been ranked in the top 5 of the AP poll for 31 straight weeks, the longest-active streak in America by 17 weeks (UConn - 14). It has been ranked in the top 3 in 25 of those 31 weeks. The 31 weeks of being ranked in the top 5 is the longest streak by a Big Ten team in the last 45 years.
• With the win over No. 6 Wisconsin, Purdue has won seven straight against AP Top-10 ranked teams, the longest streak ever by a Big Ten team.
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Wow and thanks.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
Smith will be All B10 and is an excellent, albeit whiny PG. Gills doesn’t even start and knocked down 4 threes off the bench - they have depth and are fundamentally sound. Painter is an excellent coach as well.
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I would add, Loyer did nothing on the offensive end, but he was largely responsible for shutting the faucet off Christie in the second half.
 


atsgopher said:
Your Hot take needs to be amended. Calling then overrated is down right silly.

They are tied for the Nation’s best record.

They have the measurably most difficult schedule.

They are ranked #2 by analytical measures.

Nope, by definition they are not overrated.

They have won 29 games two years in a row and will at least win that many this year.

The last couple years when teams beat them, they don’t stop Zach Edey. He gets his; don’t take a bunch of stupid fouls on Edey just for a WetBlanket’s vanity.

Teams that beat Purdue, do so by stopping their other good players. When FDU beat them, Zach Edey had 21 pts, 15 rbds. Last night, he had 24 pts, 15 rbds.
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The Kryptonite for Purdue for years, even before this remarkable era, has been guard play and specifically handling the press and speedy teams. If there is a vulnerability in them now, I think that's it. Guards are really good, but not particularly athletic, and are vulnerable to pressure. Painter did a great job of supplementing the roster with Jones, who is a lock down defender and can hit shots. He gives them speed at spots they have lacked.
 


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