I think they split with the Badgers in their matchups, if they learn to finish games I think they have every chance to end up higher, having a bench should help a lot
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Jon Rothstein: Big Ten Preseason Power Rankings (#12. Minnesota)
- Thread starter BleedGopher
- Start date
I think they split with the Badgers in their matchups, if they learn to finish games I think they have every chance to end up higher, having a bench should help a lot
The Gophers arguably should have swept Wisconsin last year and absolutey should have split their games with Iowa. Iowa was absolutely atrocious on the road last year: they would have had just one road win in conference play last year if not for the Gophers literally beating themselves..and that other win was over Northwestern. Yes, Iowa gets Bohanon back, but how much better can their offense get? He won't help their defense and arguably makes them worse on that end of the floor. They were a great home team last year, but were kind of the anti-Minnesota with some fortunate bounces on their home floor. If I had to pick Wisconsin or Iowa to win the conference (and I'd pick neither), I'd pick the Badgers with their better record last year and the fact that they've shown they can win road games.
So the Gophers advantage over these teams last year was having the best player on the court (Yes I know Garza was nominated for the Wooden Award, he's not better than Oturu who is also a plus on the defensive end), so the question becomes do the players the Gophers add equal or exceed what Daniel Oturu brought to the roster. I don't know how good Brandon Johnson will be, but the little bit I've seen of him has me confident he will be at least a slight upgrade over what the Gophers got from Alihan Demir. I have only seen the "good" Both Gach (I think I saw him play Nevada before Minnesota, then the Gophers, then Kentucky) so I don't want to be too bullish on him since his overall stats were not great. I will say he's an upgrade in size and athleticism over Willis at the 3. Robbins is certainly a downgrade from Oturu at the 5, but how much of a downgrade? It concerns me that he's stepping up to a conference that is both more athletic and more physical than the MVC, but he has been improving at a rapid rate for 2-3 years now. On the bench, Mashburn Jr. at one point was one of the better scorers in the EYBL and has a much better pedigree than Greenlee. So how big are the upgrades at the 3, 4, and backup 1 spots and can they overcome the downgrade at the 5?
Minnesota has done nothing to earn the benefit of the doubt in these power rankings, so I don't blame Rothstein for placing them where he did. I do think Minnesota (on paper) matches up well with the teams he's picked first and second in the conference.
So the Gophers advantage over these teams last year was having the best player on the court (Yes I know Garza was nominated for the Wooden Award, he's not better than Oturu who is also a plus on the defensive end), so the question becomes do the players the Gophers add equal or exceed what Daniel Oturu brought to the roster. I don't know how good Brandon Johnson will be, but the little bit I've seen of him has me confident he will be at least a slight upgrade over what the Gophers got from Alihan Demir. I have only seen the "good" Both Gach (I think I saw him play Nevada before Minnesota, then the Gophers, then Kentucky) so I don't want to be too bullish on him since his overall stats were not great. I will say he's an upgrade in size and athleticism over Willis at the 3. Robbins is certainly a downgrade from Oturu at the 5, but how much of a downgrade? It concerns me that he's stepping up to a conference that is both more athletic and more physical than the MVC, but he has been improving at a rapid rate for 2-3 years now. On the bench, Mashburn Jr. at one point was one of the better scorers in the EYBL and has a much better pedigree than Greenlee. So how big are the upgrades at the 3, 4, and backup 1 spots and can they overcome the downgrade at the 5?
Minnesota has done nothing to earn the benefit of the doubt in these power rankings, so I don't blame Rothstein for placing them where he did. I do think Minnesota (on paper) matches up well with the teams he's picked first and second in the conference.