Minnesota-Butler predictions

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BigGopherFan

BigGopherFan

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It looks like 99 percent of people on here have picked Minnesota to beat Butler. I respect everyone's opinion, but now I would like to hear why everyone thinks the Gophers will win. Remember, Butler is a top 10 team and Minnesota is ranked 24th, meaning this would certainly be considered an upset, especially since it's on a neutral court. It's not like it's at the Barn. I'm just wondering why it's so overwhelmingly Gophers over Butler on here. Let's be realistic.
 

I feel like Butler is greatly overrated to start the year... and perhaps the gophers are underrated. Also, our athleticism is superior...and its not even close. The only way Butler wins this game is if they shoot the 3 above average, which is possible.
 

You're surprised that the people on this site picked the Gophers over Butler? Of course they did.
 

Down with Goldy said:
You're surprised that the people on this site picked the Gophers over Butler? Of course they did.
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I guess I thought people could come in with an objective/educated view. The fact that 99 percent of people on here think the Gophers will win is a little surprising.
 

I dont know what to think about this game. It will really depend on which gophers team comes to play. I didnt think that the gohers had a very good chance at beating louisville last year either... and I think that the strong defense that won the game last year will have a definite impact against butler. But if the Gophs get out slow like they have been, they could be buried pretty quickly. Im guessing that Tubby has a pretty good strategy picked out already, which will probably include some unexpected twists. Butler has Hayward but they dont have Rodney. Who knows. The Gophs could win in a blowout. The Media would definitely be surprised.:clap:
 


BigGopherFan said:
It looks like 99 percent of people on here have picked Minnesota to beat Butler. I respect everyone's opinion, but now I would like to hear why everyone thinks the Gophers will win. Remember, Butler is a top 10 team and Minnesota is ranked 24th, meaning this would certainly be considered an upset, especially since it's on a neutral court. It's not like it's at the Barn. I'm just wondering why it's so overwhelmingly Gophers over Butler on here. Let's be realistic.
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Yes, let's be realistic. Who on here honestly thinks Butler is not significantly overrated? Other than the Xavier win last year can you name one good win they had last season? At least they beat Loyola last year. Oh wait....
 

woohoo said:
Butler has Hayward but they dont have Rodney.
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I've been very impressed with Rodney thus far, but this is not a fair comparison at this point in their careers. I've seen a handful of Butler games (a handful last year and the Northwestern game), and Gordon Hayward is an extremely talented player. Rodney has the potential to develop to that level, but I don't think it's a fair comparison yet.

Personally, I think the game will be close because Butler plays a fairly B10-like style. Both teams are solid. Unless one plays very well or very poorly, I think it'll be a very good game.

Just my thoughts.
 

Tubby has a track record of winning these kinds of games.
 

BigGopherFan said:
It looks like 99 percent of people on here have picked Minnesota to beat Butler. I respect everyone's opinion, but now I would like to hear why everyone thinks the Gophers will win. Remember, Butler is a top 10 team and Minnesota is ranked 24th, meaning this would certainly be considered an upset, especially since it's on a neutral court. It's not like it's at the Barn. I'm just wondering why it's so overwhelmingly Gophers over Butler on here. Let's be realistic.
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Tubby.
 



BigGopherFan said:
It looks like 99 percent of people on here have picked Minnesota to beat Butler. I respect everyone's opinion, but now I would like to hear why everyone thinks the Gophers will win. Remember, Butler is a top 10 team and Minnesota is ranked 24th, meaning this would certainly be considered an upset, especially since it's on a neutral court. It's not like it's at the Barn. I'm just wondering why it's so overwhelmingly Gophers over Butler on here. Let's be realistic.
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Part of the problem is that those rankings are based on human votes. In other words, on opinion. Nobody knows how anybody matches up this early in the season, which is why there are always lots of upsets and craziness when it comes to college basketball. We won't know for sure until the game is actually played. Personally, I like our chances if we play a full 40 minutes, maintain defensive intensity and can get some jump shots to fall early.

Butler is a disciplined team that runs their offensive and defensive schemes to death. And they're highly efficient and well schooled in almost all areas of the game. They play disciplined and have some nice players, especially Gordon Hayward, who seems to do it all for them. The Gophers have better all-around athletes, but Butler is so fundamentally sound, they more than make up for it. It's going to be a tight game down to the finish imo. What happens after that? We'll all just have to see. :)
 

BigGopherFan said:
It looks like 99 percent of people on here have picked Minnesota to beat Butler. I respect everyone's opinion, but now I would like to hear why everyone thinks the Gophers will win. Remember, Butler is a top 10 team and Minnesota is ranked 24th, meaning this would certainly be considered an upset, especially since it's on a neutral court. It's not like it's at the Barn. I'm just wondering why it's so overwhelmingly Gophers over Butler on here. Let's be realistic.
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It is kind of interesting that you mentioned that Butler is a top 10 team and the Gophers are ranked 24. The AP Poll has Butler at 11, Gophers at 24. The Coaches Poll has Butler at 10, Gophers at 18. The Fox Sports Poll has Butler at 15, Gophers at 21.

Your rationale took the top rank for Butler, the lowest rank for the Gophers, even from different polls. Not valid reasoning IMO.

Earlier post about early season polls being based on opinion is right on. I call the game a toss-up, hence i picked OUR Gophers.
 

BigGopherFan said:
I guess I thought people could come in with an objective/educated view. The fact that 99 percent of people on here think the Gophers will win is a little surprising.
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I am in fact "a big Gopher fan". Do not expect me to predict a loss. The word "fan" is short for fanatic. I post here because my heart is with the Gophers...completely. Always has been, always will be. The day I predict they lose to someone like Butler is the day Hell freezes over. Your moniker strikes me as a misnomer.
 

BigGopherFan said:
I guess I thought people could come in with an objective/educated view.
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In other words, if they don't agree with you, they're subjective or uneducated. Can your head fit through a standard doorway?
The fact that 99 percent of people on here think the Gophers will win is a little surprising.
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A little hyperbole to go with that whine? A majority think the Gophers will win but hardly 99%. And I'll be curious to see what the line actually is when it gets set. I doubt it will be as large as the spread your predicted score indicates.

But you're the proclaimed "Big Gopher Fan" so we'll see.
 



I think the fact that they only beat a northwestern team without coble and ryan (the only offense they have) by ten points speaks volumes of their overratedness
 

How bout their game today against Evansville which they won by only 4?
 

Someone said it already - Tubby has a track record of preparing exceptionally well for games like this. Ultimately it's up to the players, but Tubby and his staff will have scouted the hell out of Butler and imparted as much knowledge as they can to our players.

In the end, Butler's offense comes down to 3 players: Hayward, Howard and Mack. Hayward is a very talented player, 6'8" SF, kind of skinny, very good shooter. I doubt he's ever seen a defensive player like DJ though. DJ will be glued to him the whole game, has superior strength and athleticism, and I in general, I think DJ owns this match-up soundly.

Howard and Mack are more concerning to me - Howard is a very strong post player. Not as tall as Ralph or Iverson, but stronger and uses his body well. Fundamental position defense and boxing out will be critical in this matchup, but my HOPE is that Sampson's length at least slows him down.

Shelvin Mack is the real X-factor though. If he lights us up, we likely will not win. He's a big, physical guard who can shoot the 3 and penetrate. Ultimately, Joseph and Westbrook will end up guarding him for the majority of the night, and if Mack gets going, we're in trouble.

So, on our side, we have DJ, team athleticism/defense, and a coaching advantage.

On Butler's side, there's Mack's scoring, a possible rebounding advantage, and scoring in the early stages of the game.

Can't wait for Thursday!
 


I will echo the fact that most Gopher fans will pick the Gophers to win, it is called human nature to pick your favorite team.

On a more analytical note, I wwatched the Butler/NU game and I think the defense of our gaurds will give them trouble in getting the ball down and setting up offense. I predicted it as a 4 point win for the Gophers and feel it wil be that close.
 


I think the difference will be which team can execute in the half court better... I see the game being in the mid to upper 50's. I don't like how the gophers have played in the half court thus far this season yet I don't believe Butler has seen anybody as athletic as us. (I take that back, they saw LSU in the NCAA's last year and struggled against them for the most part) This game is going to be close and I hope Tubby can be the difference with the extra preparation that he will have compared to stevens from Butler.
 


Not sure why it's unrealistic to pick the Gophers in a game that they definitely can win in a very even matchup. Please tell us why you picked Butler, and by such a big amount.
________
SUZUKI CERVO
 

I'd say Gophers by 5 just because I want us to win.

I think the teams are pretty evenly matched. We are definitely a deeper team, and I believe our defense will prove to be much stingier than any they've seen thus far. However, I can't help but worry as we have been incredibly poor in the half court offense again this year. We've certainly done enough to win the games we've had, but I for one have not seen any significant improvement in the half court offense from last year.

I think our press can generate some turnovers and our defense can create some in the half court, too. Hopefully we can get a few easy buckets off that, and I think that will be the difference.

I can't wait to watch.
 

GopherFan75 said:
Not sure why it's unrealistic to pick the Gophers in a game that they definitely can win in a very even matchup. Please tell us why you picked Butler, and by such a big amount.
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Because he's objective/realistic. Didn't you know?
 

And highly educated to arrive at 99% picking the Gophers. :confused:
 

Dr.Don said:
It is kind of interesting that you mentioned that Butler is a top 10 team and the Gophers are ranked 24. The AP Poll has Butler at 11, Gophers at 24. The Coaches Poll has Butler at 10, Gophers at 18. The Fox Sports Poll has Butler at 15, Gophers at 21.

Your rationale took the top rank for Butler, the lowest rank for the Gophers, even from different polls. Not valid reasoning IMO.
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Was wondering the same thing. Butler could reasonably be stated to be the favorite. however, this early in the season, given how close they are in the polls, it would not be unexpected for the game to be close, with either the possible winner.
 


Beating Butler

I see DJ holding Hayward to 15. I see Howard getting his 15 inside. What I hope is we put Nolen on Mack and keep him from being that third guy to get 15.

I really wish we had some post scoring. DJ has been the best inside scorer so far. Iverson is the biggest disappointment this year. Sampson will shoot a fadeaway with me on him and I'm 6'. See Butler has one good post player in Howard and he's 6'8" 230. This is where a team could beat them.

Let's just say I hope our 3's are falling!
 

Not an upset either way

No matter who wins, I won't consider it an upset. Now if one team kills the other, that would be a surprise.
 

Butler is 6-1 versus the Big 10 in their last 7 games. 1 loss was at Ohio State by 3 last year.
 

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