MaroonGopher
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- Sep 9, 2010
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Though the Gophers are unbeaten, I think they have a long way to go in verifying their No. 15 ranking.
Good teams – and even just OK teams – can get hot and win, say, five games in row like Minnesota has done.
Great teams sustain that level of play throughout a season and crush opponents that need to be crushed. As crazy as it sounds, I think the Gophers’ next two games at home against North Dakota State and Virginia will go just as far in confirming that this team is a genuine top 20 squad than the three wins in Puerto Rico did.
Against the generally unathletic and undersized Bison, Minnesota should win by 15-25 points. Last season, NDSU’s tallest player was 6-foot-9 freshman Jordan Aaberg, and he has missed time this season with a concussion.
The Bison do have a fine player in Mike Tveidt, but he’s only one guy. As a 6-7 wing akin to launching 3-pointers, he’ll likely be Rodney Williams’ responsibility early on.
Everyone in the vast frigid village of Fargo seems to be slobbering over Minnesota prep prospect Marshall Bjorklund. Personally, I have never seen him play, so I can’t really comment on his abilities, but I do know he’ll be situated on the blocks at 6-6½. Bjorklund should be extra motivated against the Gophers too considering he didn’t even receive a scholarship offer from them. That sounds all fine and dandy until he tries backing down the much taller and beefier Trevor Mbakwe and Colton Iverson.
Minneapolis Washburn product Dylan Hale is also on NoDak State’s roster, but he won’t be eligible until next season after transferring from Texas State (that’s an peculiar move from San Marcos, Texas to Fargo, North Dakota).
Contrary to what many assumed a couple years ago, it doesn’t look like former Hopkins floor-burning point guard Marcus Williams will be on the team either. He could have probably started as early as last season for the Bison, but he’s decided to focus on football. One of NDSU’s primary PGs is 5-9, 155 pound Nate Zastrow, and I’m not kidding. Needless to say, he looks a little anomalous out there with his over-sized jersey and super long shorts.
I think Virginia is going to give the Gophers a little more trouble than many people think. Though the only glimpse I have of them is from their ass whooping they took against a very talented Washington team, the Cavs play a brand of basketball that is conducive to upsets.
Virginia was 13th in the nation last season in fewest turnovers per game, giving the ball away only 10 times per 40 minutes. That means they won’t beat themselves. The Cavs can also lull teams to sleep with their Wisconsin-esc swing-style of offense. If Minnesota gets impatient, things could get close. And if it’s close in the end against an ACC team, anything can happen.
However, Virginia is young and lacks the overall offensive firepower to contend for an NCAA berth, so I think the Gophers should win. It’s not even worth predicting the score as the margin could be anywhere between 2-20 points. The first 5-7 minutes of each half will be critical. Minnesota cannot afford a slow start against a clock-controlling team like VA.
This will also be Devoe Joseph’s first meaningful not game since the NCAA Tournament last season. Though delightful on paper, no one can really forecast what type of impact he is going to have right away. I think Tubby is going to ease DJ back into the line-up, so I doubt he’ll play more than 20 minutes. Things were clicking just fine without him, so there is no need to scuttle his return. It’s a pretty interesting scenario playing out here, though, as Joseph – perhaps the team’s top natural scorer – will need to fight, claw and scrap for every minute of playing time. Theoretically, that means he should be working harder in practice, and if he’s going that, everybody profits.
Good teams – and even just OK teams – can get hot and win, say, five games in row like Minnesota has done.
Great teams sustain that level of play throughout a season and crush opponents that need to be crushed. As crazy as it sounds, I think the Gophers’ next two games at home against North Dakota State and Virginia will go just as far in confirming that this team is a genuine top 20 squad than the three wins in Puerto Rico did.
Against the generally unathletic and undersized Bison, Minnesota should win by 15-25 points. Last season, NDSU’s tallest player was 6-foot-9 freshman Jordan Aaberg, and he has missed time this season with a concussion.
The Bison do have a fine player in Mike Tveidt, but he’s only one guy. As a 6-7 wing akin to launching 3-pointers, he’ll likely be Rodney Williams’ responsibility early on.
Everyone in the vast frigid village of Fargo seems to be slobbering over Minnesota prep prospect Marshall Bjorklund. Personally, I have never seen him play, so I can’t really comment on his abilities, but I do know he’ll be situated on the blocks at 6-6½. Bjorklund should be extra motivated against the Gophers too considering he didn’t even receive a scholarship offer from them. That sounds all fine and dandy until he tries backing down the much taller and beefier Trevor Mbakwe and Colton Iverson.
Minneapolis Washburn product Dylan Hale is also on NoDak State’s roster, but he won’t be eligible until next season after transferring from Texas State (that’s an peculiar move from San Marcos, Texas to Fargo, North Dakota).
Contrary to what many assumed a couple years ago, it doesn’t look like former Hopkins floor-burning point guard Marcus Williams will be on the team either. He could have probably started as early as last season for the Bison, but he’s decided to focus on football. One of NDSU’s primary PGs is 5-9, 155 pound Nate Zastrow, and I’m not kidding. Needless to say, he looks a little anomalous out there with his over-sized jersey and super long shorts.
I think Virginia is going to give the Gophers a little more trouble than many people think. Though the only glimpse I have of them is from their ass whooping they took against a very talented Washington team, the Cavs play a brand of basketball that is conducive to upsets.
Virginia was 13th in the nation last season in fewest turnovers per game, giving the ball away only 10 times per 40 minutes. That means they won’t beat themselves. The Cavs can also lull teams to sleep with their Wisconsin-esc swing-style of offense. If Minnesota gets impatient, things could get close. And if it’s close in the end against an ACC team, anything can happen.
However, Virginia is young and lacks the overall offensive firepower to contend for an NCAA berth, so I think the Gophers should win. It’s not even worth predicting the score as the margin could be anywhere between 2-20 points. The first 5-7 minutes of each half will be critical. Minnesota cannot afford a slow start against a clock-controlling team like VA.
This will also be Devoe Joseph’s first meaningful not game since the NCAA Tournament last season. Though delightful on paper, no one can really forecast what type of impact he is going to have right away. I think Tubby is going to ease DJ back into the line-up, so I doubt he’ll play more than 20 minutes. Things were clicking just fine without him, so there is no need to scuttle his return. It’s a pretty interesting scenario playing out here, though, as Joseph – perhaps the team’s top natural scorer – will need to fight, claw and scrap for every minute of playing time. Theoretically, that means he should be working harder in practice, and if he’s going that, everybody profits.
