Keep an eye on Northwestern tonight

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SelectionSunday

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I know St. John's (6-3, RPI of #53) has been a mild disappointment this season including a yucky loss to Fordham, but I think undefeated Northwestern gets its first real test tonight at 8:30 p.m. in the championship game of the MSG Holiday Festival. Though there likely won't be much of a crowd, this game should tell us something about the Wildcats. It's a true road game in one of college basketball's great venues (Madison Square Garden). This is a chance for the Wildcats to enhance their legitimacy. My only regret is the MSG Holiday Festival is no longer aired on the Fox College Sports (FCS) stations. Those of you with satellete dishes can view it on the MSG Network, but no such luck for Comcast subscribers with the Sports Pack package.

5 other games to keep an eye on tonight?

(1) Look for Lipscomb to win @ Alabama.

(2) Don't be surprised if USC (in Knoxville) makes it three losses in a row for Tennessee.

(3) VCU @ UAB -- Both teams likely need this one to have any hopes of an at-large bid down the road.

(4) Does Cincinnati fall from the ranks of the unbeaten when it plays at Miami of Ohio?

(5) Dan Monson's Long Beach State squad -- battle-tested with one of the nation's most difficult nonconference schedules -- might have the goods to pull off an upset @ Arizona State tonight.
 

I'll be perusing the game on MSG tonight, thanks SS.

St. John's (with all apologies to Ga. Tech) will present a more physical, athletic frontcourt than NW has seen to-date, so it will be interesting to see how Murkovic and others handle their true first test down low. Can the Wildcats keep shooting 145% from 3-point range, or will they have to find another way to score and win this game? Plus, Steve Lavin knows the Big Ten and NW pretty well, so he should have some idea how to slow them down or deal with the 1-3-1 if NW plays that for a significant stretch.
 

I'll always pull for the Big Ten, but I'll have a hard time not rooting for Lavin tonight. I really liked his work with ESPN, seems like a very decent chap.

I'd say if the Wildcats win tonight, we'll probably see them in the top 25 next week. Not that they'd necessarily deserve it with the schedule they've played, but winning in New York City has a way of garnering extra attention.
 

SelectionSunday said:
I'll always pull for the Big Ten, but I'll have a hard time not rooting for Lavin tonight. I really liked his work with ESPN, seems like a very decent chap.

I'd say if the Wildcats win tonight, we'll probably see them in the top 25 next week. Not that they'd necessarily deserve it with the schedule they've played, but winning in New York City has a way of garnering extra attention.
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That combined with the fact they're already receiving a significant amount of votes in the poll could put them in if about 3 or 4 of the top 25 go down this week. There's not many undefeateds left, so that stands out as well.
 

Say what you want about Northwestern but they have taken care of business and thoroughly beaten their cupcakes and beat GT by 20 - who hammered Richmond who hammered Purdue.

7 of their 8 wins are by double digits. There's a certain local club that is having trouble stepping on ther throat of an opponent.
 


Art, I agree the Gophers have not sufficiently put away opponents this season. It's been a source of frustration, cases in point Cornell and Akron.

In Tubby's first 3 seasons for the most part we hammered nonconference competition at The Barn much moreso than we have in 2010-11, though I'd argue the overall home nonconference schedule is significantly more challenging this season than the previous three. (Please note, I made this argument before the season started and yes I'm aware it's not saying much compared to Tubby's previous nonconference home schedules.)

You are definitely more of a "half empty" than "half full" kind of guy, there's no question about that. In all seriousness, is there something you really like about this particular Gopher team, or the Gopher program in general? Anything?
 

Art Vandelay said:
Say what you want about Northwestern but they have taken care of business and thoroughly beaten their cupcakes and beat GT by 20 - who hammered Richmond who hammered Purdue.

7 of their 8 wins are by double digits. There's a certain local club that is having trouble stepping on ther throat of an opponent.
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So what? Is this supposed to prove that NU is better than UM? Any thoughts on the h2h results, final b10 standings, who makes the tourney, etc?

Does the transitive property apply for all teams? Let me take a shot...

UNLV beat Wisky
UC Santa Barbara beat UNLV
Portland beat UCSB

Therefore - Portland >>> Wisky

How's that? Is it pertinent? Will you please leave?
 

The Gophers don't put teams away but they keep on winning. I think if Tubby played a shorter rotation (7 or 8) with the top 5-6 getting big minutes they likely would hammer teams. Instead Tubby seems to be seeing what his freshman offer, I think this is good. Couple that with the fact that your best scoring option (Devoe) has not yet played with your senior point guard. Moreover a solid non-conference schedule and one loss looks pretty good to me.

As far as I can tell the Gophers seem to play to their competition but keep winning. That is fine by me.
 

GoGoGophers said:
So what? Is this supposed to prove that NU is better than UM? Any thoughts on the h2h results, final b10 standings, who makes the tourney, etc?

Does the transitive property apply for all teams? Let me take a shot...

UNLV beat Wisky
UC Santa Barbara beat UNLV
Portland beat UCSB

Therefore - Portland >>> Wisky

How's that? Is it pertinent? Will you please leave?
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Wow, your reading comprehension is baaaaaad.
 



Not a fan of the 5-for-5 subbing

Well stated Winnipeg. Put me firmly in the camp that I hope to see the rotation significantly shortened once the calendar hits December 28th. Certainly I'd like to see an end to the initial 5-for-5 substitution Tubby employs, otherwise in the Big Ten I think we'll be playing catch up more often than not in the second half. I like it when Tubby mixes and matches his subbing, which he does more often in the second half.
 


SelectionSunday said:
Art, I agree the Gophers have not sufficiently put away opponents this season. It's been a source of frustration, cases in point Cornell and Akron.

In Tubby's first 3 seasons for the most part we hammered nonconference competition at The Barn much moreso than we have in 2010-11, though I'd argue the overall home nonconference schedule is significantly more challenging this season than the previous three. (Please note, I made this argument before the season started and yes I'm aware it's not saying much compared to Tubby's previous nonconference home schedules.)

You are definitely more of a "half empty" than "half full" kind of guy, there's no question about that. In all seriousness, is there something you really like about this particular Gopher team, or the Gopher program in general? Anything?
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Art, I would be interested in hearing the answer to this question as well. What do you think are the biggest couple positives with this year's Gopher team?
 

Winnipegopher said:
The Gophers don't put teams away but they keep on winning. I think if Tubby played a shorter rotation (7 or 8) with the top 5-6 getting big minutes they likely would hammer teams. Instead Tubby seems to be seeing what his freshman offer, I think this is good. Couple that with the fact that your best scoring option (Devoe) has not yet played with your senior point guard. Moreover a solid non-conference schedule and one loss looks pretty good to me.

As far as I can tell the Gophers seem to play to their competition but keep winning. That is fine by me.
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Yes. It is obvious to anyone that watches the games that this plays a factor in the margin of victory, although it is not enough of a factor to totally dismiss the fact that they have not consistently put weaker teams away.
 



SelectionSunday said:
I know St. John's (6-3, RPI of #53) has been a mild disappointment this season including a yucky loss to Fordham
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Hodger, I sincerely hope you use the phrase "Yucky Loss" this year when projecting the field for the tournament, in place of the more common, but less entertaining, "Bad Loss."
 


Damn, I was really hoping to watch this one. Hopefully I can catch a stream somewhere.
 

Winnipegopher said:
The Gophers don't put teams away but they keep on winning. I think if Tubby played a shorter rotation (7 or 8) with the top 5-6 getting big minutes they likely would hammer teams. Instead Tubby seems to be seeing what his freshman offer, I think this is good. Couple that with the fact that your best scoring option (Devoe) has not yet played with your senior point guard. Moreover a solid non-conference schedule and one loss looks pretty good to me.

As far as I can tell the Gophers seem to play to their competition but keep winning. That is fine by me.
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Count myself as one that is not overly concerned with the margin of victory in some of the Rodent games this year. Why?


This is an endurance race, not a sprint.

Giving the freshmen lots of minutes is obviously big on two fronts; saves the legs of the starters for the long Big Ten grind, and second, there will be a few games in which the Gophers will need some significant minutes from some of these freshmen. The minutes they're getting now are huge, Tubby is well aware of that.

Think big picture. The goals for the season don't include running up the score on cupcakes in November and December. It's contending for the BT title, playing well in the BT Tournament, and advancing in the NCAA Tournament.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Count myself as one that is not overly concerned with the margin of victory in some of the Rodent games this year. Why?


This is an endurance race, not a sprint.

Giving the freshmen lots of minutes is obviously big on two fronts; saves the legs of the starters for the long Big Ten grind, and second, there will be a few games in which the Gophers will need some significant minutes from some of these freshmen. The minutes they're getting now are huge, Tubby is well aware of that.

Think big picture. The goals for the season don't include running up the score on cupcakes in November and December. It's contending for the BT title, playing well in the BT Tournament, and advancing in the NCAA Tournament.
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Ogee: Are you not aware of the fact that common sense comments like you just made are not allowed on the GopherHole? I understand most of the youngsters here are products of: "I want it all and I want it now!!!" They have no clue as to how to even throw snow. In fact, some of them are so dumb that they couldn't even pi$$ a hole in the snow. In addition, they pick up and eat yellow snow because they think it is banana flavored. Good comment from you, Ogee, I appreciated your insight.
 

I always thought yellow snow was lemon flavored & NOW you tell me it's been banana flavored all along ... I knew something was off about it.
 

High Priest of Good Times .. good to see you posting .. I see that LV may be getting a bit washed out .. stay dry my friend.
 


And down goes NU. Disappointed the game wasn't on tv.
 

freshtrout said:
High Priest of Good Times .. good to see you posting .. I see that LV may be getting a bit washed out .. stay dry my friend.
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Trout - I'm looking for Noah to come around the corner any minute now. If he does, I'm on board. After stopping at the house in Flagstaff for a couple days, we're making the drive to Univ. of PHX stadium yet again this weekend, catch the Cardinals last home game against the Cowboys. Hasn't been a good season for a Vikes/Cards fan. Good thing it's basketball season
 


If we had Northwestern's resume when you made this post you would've been talking about how we hadn't played anyone. So, I guess killing terrible teams might not mean much when it comes to playing real teams. Are you really trying to use the transitive property in basketball? I'm sure you could come up with some crazy stuff using Tennessee with that kind of nonsense. So much for you talking up Northwestern for beating up on garbage.

Art Vandelay said:
Say what you want about Northwestern but they have taken care of business and thoroughly beaten their cupcakes and beat GT by 20 - who hammered Richmond who hammered Purdue.

7 of their 8 wins are by double digits. There's a certain local club that is having trouble stepping on ther throat of an opponent.
Click to expand...
 

Win some, lose some, TJ. Thanks.

What has happened to Tennessee? Is all the off-the-court stuff catching up to them, or are they just in a little rut?
 




Tennessee lost an exhibition game before the season - that's never a good sign, I don't care who you are - you'd hope the exhibition loss could be explained by something bizarre that the coach never does (i.e., Boeheim having his team play all man-to-man defense), but I don't think that was the case for this Tennessee team. They just don't have the veteran leadership they had last year with JP Prince (5th year Sr), Wayne Chism (a key player for UT for 4 years), and Bobby Maze (starting PG), all of whom exhausted their eligibility (lord knows Bruce Pearl has never sent anyone to the NBA). This is a Vol club that had to replace three senior starters, two of whom were as experienced as it gets in college basketball - these are the growing pains you go through when you lose your leaders and have to find new ones from a group of guys that aren't ready to be leaders.
 

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