***OFFICIAL ILLINOIS AT MINNESOTA COVID RESCHEDULED IN-GAME THREAD!!!***

Donate To GopherHole

Illinois looks like a Final Four team. They are two to three levels above the gophers. Cockburn is one of the best inside college players I've seen in years and I'm not saying that because he smacks us every year. His footwork, touch, strength and agility around the basket is unmatched. I'm not sure how his game translates to the NBA. He doesn't appear to have passing skills or an outside game. Man, he sure can dance around the hoop.

I think this was a good "lesson" game for the gophers. The players were probably starting to believe all the love they've been getting. It will be interesting to see how they play at IU.
 

jamiche said:
Illinois looks like a Final Four team. They are two to three levels above the gophers. Cockburn is one of the best inside college players I've seen in years and I'm not saying that because he smacks us every year. His footwork, touch, strength and agility around the basket is unmatched. I'm not sure how his game translates to the NBA. He doesn't appear to have passing skills or an outside game. Man, he sure can dance around the hoop.

I think this was a good "lesson" game for the gophers. The players were probably starting to believe all the love they've been getting. It will be interesting to see how they play at IU.
Click to expand...
Imagine how they would have looked at full strength with Curbelo as well. Agree that Illinois looks like a very dangerous team given what they can do both inside and outside.

Intentionally stayed away from the game thread during the game because it tends to be really toxic during a loss but was relieved to see most seeming to keep things in perspective in the last few pages at least.

Margin for error is so slim with this team that they need both stars to play well and shots have to be falling for them to have any chance against a quality opponent.
 

cncmin said:
Is it wrong for me to now hope Cockburn gets injured? What a dink. And why are Ill starters still on the floor? Starting to think Illinois is a bunch of punks.
Click to expand...
Yes, it’s wrong. Ask anyone in the conference. Kofi is a really good guy. Never has a bad day. Always personable and funny.

Kofi only played 24 minutes. They hadn’t played in 2 weeks. They needed court time. Underwood doesn’t try to run up the score. Never has.

Illinois had been averaging 12 threes a game Over the last 8 games and only had 6. Plummer had been averaging four threes and got zero. Frazier had been averaging 15 a game over the last 5 and barely scored.

I like your team. It is a big man away from top half of the league.
 

combes1 said:
Yes, it’s wrong. Ask anyone in the conference. Kofi is a really good guy. Never has a bad day. Always personable and funny.

Kofi only played 24 minutes. They hadn’t played in 2 weeks. They needed court time. Underwood doesn’t try to run up the score. Never has.

Illinois had been averaging 12 threes a game Over the last 8 games and only had 6. Plummer had been averaging four threes and got zero. Frazier had been averaging 15 a game over the last 5 and barely scored.

I like your team. It is a big man away from top half of the league.
Click to expand...
Good post. Dont sweat CNC, hes the dink
 


GopherWeatherGuy said:
Can Thompson actually still redshirt despite playing a few minutes earlier this season? If he can't, why would he not play some in this game?
Click to expand...
I believe the rule in all sports other than football is still, as soon as you touch the court/field, you've participated in the season, which means it counts as one of your four participated seasons.
 






Lion King said:
If COCKBURN changed his name to Ko Burn then he should change the spelling.
Click to expand...
Never really have been able to figure out how the spelling and pronunciation match up.
 


WriterGoph said:
Let's get Indiana on Sunday and this one hurts a lot less.
Click to expand...
For me it hurts not at all. Pretty much expected since I think this Illinois team is going deep come tourney time. Eric Curry is not a small man but he was dwarfed out there. Add Illinois's guard play and I'd bet playing 10 times we would have 0 victories, maybe 1 or 2 morale victories. Not to say the Gophers couldn't play better, but I had very little hope. I do think the disappointment over the way we played is a good sign since expectations have been raised.
 

Mulligan said:
For me it hurts not at all. Pretty much expected since I think this Illinois team is going deep come tourney time. Eric Curry is not a small man but he was dwarfed out there. Add Illinois's guard play and I'd bet playing 10 times we would have 0 victories, maybe 1 or 2 morale victories. Not to say the Gophers couldn't play better, but I had very little hope. I do think the disappointment over the way we played is a good sign since expectations have been raised.
Click to expand...
Yeah, we certainly didn't play great but Illinois is a horrible matchup for us as well. Will be interesting to see how the team bounces back against Indiana.
 



jamiche said:
Illinois looks like a Final Four team. They are two to three levels above the gophers. Cockburn is one of the best inside college players I've seen in years and I'm not saying that because he smacks us every year. His footwork, touch, strength and agility around the basket is unmatched. I'm not sure how his game translates to the NBA. He doesn't appear to have passing skills or an outside game. Man, he sure can dance around the hoop.

I think this was a good "lesson" game for the gophers. The players were probably starting to believe all the love they've been getting. It will be interesting to see how they play at IU.
Click to expand...
You're never as good as you look when you win, and you're never as bad as you look when you lose, but man, Illinois looked great. They have it all and can do it all, and they play defense.

As for the losing team, Illinois is excellent, but I was disappointed with the Gophers' energy and intensity, especially in the first half and especially on defense. Too many easy baskets for the Illini where one of our guys needed to step up and get in the way and didn't.

In both losses--both to elite teams--I could sense the doubt in our guys' minds whether they belonged on the same floor as the other team. An understandable lack of confidence considering our roster but disheartening nonetheless. This will have to be an emphasis of the coaches: not to get discouraged or down; just keep playing and doing your thing.
 

My positive take on the game that ~ last year they beat us 94 to 63 in Feb ~

This year 76 to 63 early January ~

I'd say Ben Johnson and company ie Coaches ~

Have this team and future players extremely bright for Gopherland ~

Enjoy watching BJ on the sidelines with the camera shows is reactions ~

Calm and steady on the outside but I'm certain churning on the inside ~

Looking forward to the future of Gopher Basketball ~
 

MNVCGUY said:
Yeah, we certainly didn't play great but Illinois is a horrible matchup for us as well. Will be interesting to see how the team bounces back against Indiana.
Click to expand...
What are the other horrible matchups for MN? Any, or is Ill the only one in the conference?
 

pigtail said:
My positive take on the game that ~ last year they beat us 94 to 63 in Feb ~

This year 76 to 63 early January ~

I'd say Ben Johnson and company ie Coaches ~

Have this team and future players extremely bright for Gopherland ~

Enjoy watching BJ on the sidelines with the camera shows is reactions ~

Calm and steady on the outside but I'm certain churning on the inside ~

Looking forward to the future of Gopher Basketball ~
Click to expand...
Good post.

In the second half at one point, we had just turned it over on a dumb play. The camera was focused on Ben and he looked like he was about ready to rip someone a new one. He had that look in his eye of being very displeased with what was going on, but was calm and collected while the camera was on him. I would have thrown a coat, towel or an expletive at that point!
 

BarnBurner said:
What are the other horrible matchups for MN? Any, or is Ill the only one in the conference?
Click to expand...
Not sure, honestly haven't had a chance to see many of the other teams in action so far. But Illinois is a terrible matchup for us given our current roster.

Thankfully there are very few guys like Kofi around the league because we simply can't match up with a guy who is 7'0" 285, especially when the supporting cast around him is playing well also.

Healthy and playing smart basketball (limiting turnovers) this team should be able to hang with most teams in the conference not named Illinois. But margin for error is super small, foul trouble, poor shooting, injuries.....could all make it very difficult to compete.

If I had to guess, blowouts like last night will not be a common occurrence for this team. I would expect lots of hard fought, close games, that could go either way most nights.
 

BarnBurner said:
What are the other horrible matchups for MN? Any, or is Ill the only one in the conference?
Click to expand...
There are quite a few. I would put Ohio State and Purdue at the top of the list, but I think Illinois is tougher because they have excellent guard play to go along with skilled big men. Better than the others. The best chance the Gophers have against good big men is to pressure the guards and prevent the big man from getting the ball.

I think Curry getting in shape is helping the Gophers narrow the gap on inside play as the season progresses, at least against teams who have a merely good, but not outstanding, post game.
 

pigtail said:
My positive take on the game that ~ last year they beat us 94 to 63 in Feb ~

This year 76 to 63 early January ~

I'd say Ben Johnson and company ie Coaches ~

Have this team and future players extremely bright for Gopherland ~

Enjoy watching BJ on the sidelines with the camera shows is reactions ~

Calm and steady on the outside but I'm certain churning on the inside ~

Looking forward to the future of Gopher Basketball ~
Click to expand...
76-53

Good post, though. I agree.
 

effort, playing smart, and good shooting will keep you in games where you have a small talent deficit.

But that was not a small talent deficit on the floor Tuesday night. For big chunks of the game, that looked like the varsity playing against the B-squad.

this does not mean the season is over. But, I think it is a wake-up call. The Gophers have almost no margin of error. To win games in the B1G, they need to play their "A" game.

if they don't play their "A" game, they can lose to any team in the conference.

Hopefully, Sunday is a bounce-back game.
 

Bad Gopher said:
You're never as good as you look when you win, and you're never as bad as you look when you lose, but man, Illinois looked great. They have it all and can do it all, and they play defense.

As for the losing team, Illinois is excellent, but I was disappointed with the Gophers' energy and intensity, especially in the first half and especially on defense. Too many easy baskets for the Illini where one of our guys needed to step up and get in the way and didn't.

In both losses--both to elite teams--I could sense the doubt in our guys' minds whether they belonged on the same floor as the other team. An understandable lack of confidence considering our roster but disheartening nonetheless. This will have to be an emphasis of the coaches: not to get discouraged or down; just keep playing and doing your thing.
Click to expand...
You made a really good point about energy and intensity, except I thought it was more on offense than defense. Defensively, they just couldn't keep up with the Illini. Too fast, too skilled, too strong. Offensively, early on the gophers had a number of shots roll out that were going in previously. Then Kofi started swatting balls out of the air. They got psyched out and became tentative. Battle wasn't running non stop trying to get open. Charlie Daniels started thinking he was an offensive weapon. The whole thing was a mess.

Regardless, Illinois was a much better team. The gophers at their best might have kept it under ten.
 


combes1 said:
Yes, it’s wrong. Ask anyone in the conference. Kofi is a really good guy. Never has a bad day. Always personable and funny.

Kofi only played 24 minutes. They hadn’t played in 2 weeks. They needed court time. Underwood doesn’t try to run up the score. Never has.

Illinois had been averaging 12 threes a game Over the last 8 games and only had 6. Plummer had been averaging four threes and got zero. Frazier had been averaging 15 a game over the last 5 and barely scored.

I like your team. It is a big man away from top half of the league.
Click to expand...
Underwood doesn’t try to run up the score. Never has. Until last night of course. And I’m glad Kofi is a really good guy. Doesn’t mean he wasn’t showboating to a defeated team last night. I’ve seen far worse, but don’t try to act like none of us should care.

Hopefully both will be better sports in the future and/or they can avoid the karma bug.
 



BarnBurner said:
What are the other horrible matchups for MN? Any, or is Ill the only one in the conference?
Click to expand...

Anyone with significant size and athleticism in the front court; so, Illinois, Michigan State, and Purdue at a minimum. I don't expect to win any games against those opponents. I haven't been watching Ohio State so I can't really say anything about them.
 

BarnBurner said:
What are the other horrible matchups for MN? Any, or is Ill the only one in the conference?
Click to expand...
That’s a good question.

Other than Illinois, I’d definitely have Purdue up there. 2 quality bigs, deep roster. Don’t know how Gophers will counter Williams & Edey, not to mention Ivey.

Of the 4 or best 5 teams, OSU and Wisconsin are the ones I think Gophers can knock off. Liddell is a beast, but other than that Buckeyes don’t have anyone else that makes you say wow. Badgers are good, and they now have a star, but the rest of that roster? Meh.
 

SelectionSunday said:
That’s a good question.

Other than Illinois, I’d definitely have Purdue up there. 2 quality bigs, deep roster. Don’t know how Gophers will counter Williams & Edey, not to mention Ivey.

Of the 4 or best 5 teams, OSU and Wisconsin are the ones I think Gophers can knock off. Liddell is a beast, but other than that Buckeyes don’t have anyone else that makes you say wow. Badgers are good, and they now have a star, but the rest of that roster? Meh.
Click to expand...
I would agree with this. Haven’t watched enough to say for sure

I’m more curious of who 6-14 you think we match up worst against.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom