Minnesota one of Fraschilla's "surprise Final Four contenders"

[zipsofakron]

The ESPN love continues. Fran Fraschilla listed four teams teams he thought warranted Final Four consideration - the Gophers are one of them. Others include Colorado State, Miami (FL) and Oregon.

It's an Insider article but here is Minnesota's blurb:

The Gophers are coming off back-to-back losses to top-five teams Indiana and Michigan, and they will surely lose a few more games before the end of the Big Ten season. Still, Tubby Smith's team has a lot of qualities that give them a chance to get to Atlanta once the NCAA tournament starts. This is an experienced team that advanced to the NIT Finals a year ago despite not being at full strength.

Minnesota's size inside manifests itself in the way it attacks the offensive boards and gets to the foul line. The Gophers lead the nation in Offensive Rebounding Percentage, retrieving 48 percent of their own missed shots, and they are converting 70 percent of the 25 free throws they are shooting a game. And seniors Trevor Mbakwe, back from last season's knee surgery, and Rodney Williams have the size and athleticism to challenge opponents' shots at the rim.

The Gophers have four players scoring in double figures, including Mbakwe. Sophomore guard Andre Hollins has been on a scoring tear since the end of last season, and junior guard Austin Hollins -- no relation -- is coming off a career-high 21 points against Michigan. He's been on fire behind the arc in conference play. Cutting down on turnovers would create more efficient offense as they are giving the ball away at a 22 percent rate.

Think about this: Once the Gophers run the gantlet of the Big Ten Conference, there should be few, if any, teams that will intimidate them once they get to the NCAA tournament.

Nothing particularly new or anything we haven't heard. I don't necessarily agree with the Final Four predictions until the Gophers truly solve the turnover problem. If they do, though, watch out. You can't overstate experience, and this squad will be extremely well-tested by the time March rolls around. I continue to believe the NIT run paid (and will continue to pay) huge dividends.

http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-col...rise-final-four-contenders-college-basketball

 

[GopherHoopsFan]

Is it just me, or does anyone else not like being lumped in with Miami, Colorado State, and Oregon? I like the recognition, but I read this as the Gophers are in a different tier of teams vying for greatness.

I mean he didn't include Kansas, Florida, Gonazaga, Louisville, Arizona........

 

[THE SCOUT!]

nothing new

 

[Gopherpride13]

Is it just me, or does anyone else not like being lumped in with Miami, Colorado State, and Oregon? I like the recognition, but I read this as the Gophers are in a different tier of teams vying for greatness.

I mean he didn't include Kansas, Florida, Gonazaga, Louisville, Arizona........

Thought the exact same thing.

 

[#1nHkyCfbBsbDncSolarDebat]

Thing is, Florida plays in one of the weakest conferences in America, Louisville just got beat in back to back games, including losing to VILLANONA, and Arizona needed to refs to give them a game that shouldn't have been theirs vs Colorado.

All they are saying is that Minnesota is NOT considered the front runner from their conf, Michigan is, same as Oregon is 2nd to Arizona and CSU to New Mexico and Miami to Duke. But he's saying that Minnesota, LIKE Oregon, CSU and Miami, can beat the frontrunner on a neutral court.

Minnesota ISN'T among the Top 4 or even 8 teams in the nation right now. But we are a solid #9, and only a string of wins away from moving up back into the Top 8 again, and maybe into the Top 4 if we can follow up the string of wins with a wins over IU at home, OSU and MSU on the road. But even if we lose those 3 games, I still think we are a solid #9 in the nation, but only if we can win games like the one we have to play tonight.