***OFFICIAL IOWA AT MINNESOTA IN-GAME THREAD!!!***

We lost to #21 in the country by 3 points.

Ugly game without question, why waste time attributing blame when every starter on our roster seemed determined to reign supreme as Gopher Bungler-in-Chief.

This result, at worst, has an insignificant impact on my overall opinion about Patino's status with the team going forward.

Dramatically calling for Patino's head because of one bad game is short-sighted.
Supporting removal without a viable alternative candidate in mind, only magnifies the shallow nature of this assessment. We can still make the NCAA tournament and the season is not over.

Critics would be ill advised to dispose of their Patino dolls just yet, re-stock your candles, re-chalk your pentagrams and sharpen your needles for Wednesday.
So 46-78 is good enough for you huh? Is seven years enough time to evaluate a coach? This program is stuck in neutral and will not get better under RP.
 

If Pitino is allowed to return next year, you get exactly what you deserve. This should have been a 20 point win today. Iowa is terrible on the road and was missing a starter. Their one win on the road was against Northwestern and have been non-competitive against almost everyone else. Nebraska handled them. Purdue put up 100...and this isn't even that version of Iowa. You had a whole week off! You started the game with the worst individual defender on the team defending a conference player of the year candidate. That was your gameplan. You don't score in the last 5 minutes plus at home against one of the worst defensive teams in the conference.

I've never been angrier with the Pitino debacle than I am at this moment. Everything about today was pathetic.

Agree with everything. Still....I'm more upset with keeping Demir in at the end of the game. Inhen has already proven to be a much better player despite being a true freshman. Forget about the offensive end of the court where Demir provides little.....Inhen is a physical player capable of playing good defense and going up for contested rebounds. Demir gives us none of that.

Pitino is on bought time now. Sure....there is plenty of blame to put on the players....but he's the head coach. And the team looked completely lost in the last five minutes of the game. One 10 second violation is bad. Two is unforgivable. Again....Demir should not have been on the court. He shouldn't even be starting. I have no idea what Pitino was thinking.

Time for a fresh start.
 

Not sure what to say... Just getting back from the game. Lots of blame to go around. Tough loss for the EOY goals (but they all are). Lots of coaching mistakes, lots of missed opportunties by the players, Barn was full and got loud a few times but overall it was less than impressive, Garza made a huge impact in spite of playing half the game. Iowa traveled well. All-in-All - l I have to lay this one at Pitino's feet. The first 10 points by Iowa from the Demir on Garza test and the lack of prepration the press resulting 2 strait turnovers were total killers. There were a few other miscues but there were also some nice decisions along the way like having a focus of getting Garza into foul trouble so I can let some of those go.

In any case, no time to sulk and complain as the season continues to be on the line. Indiana needs to be crushed at home on Wednesday. As Stan says - Git er done Pitino. A lot of work to do.
 

We lost to #21 in the country by 3 points.

Ugly game without question, why waste time attributing blame when every starter on our roster seemed determined to reign supreme as Gopher Bungler-in-Chief.

This result, at worst, has an insignificant impact on my overall opinion about Patino's status with the team going forward.

Dramatically calling for Patino's head because of one bad game is short-sighted.
Supporting removal without a viable alternative candidate in mind, only magnifies the shallow nature of this assessment. We can still make the NCAA tournament and the season is not over.

Critics would be ill advised to dispose of their Patino dolls just yet, re-stock your candles, re-chalk your pentagrams and sharpen your needles for Wednesday.

What? People have been calling for his removal for at least the past couple of years. I've always been against that. Now I've changed my mind. "One bad game"......have you been watching for the past several years?

You can't even get his name right. It's 'PITINO'.
 



We lost to #21 in the country by 3 points.

Ugly game without question, why waste time attributing blame when every starter on our roster seemed determined to reign supreme as Gopher Bungler-in-Chief.

This result, at worst, has an insignificant impact on my overall opinion about Patino's status with the team going forward.

Dramatically calling for Patino's head because of one bad game is short-sighted.
Supporting removal without a viable alternative candidate in mind, only magnifies the shallow nature of this assessment. We can still make the NCAA tournament and the season is not over.

Critics would be ill advised to dispose of their Patino dolls just yet, re-stock your candles, re-chalk your pentagrams and sharpen your needles for Wednesday.

It's not just one game.
 

Now do some of you finally get it? I've said the last couple years Lil' Ricky's teams start B10 games 6 down just on coaching matchup. Add in mediocre recruiting and it's clear he's not the guy. With Oturu all but gone, now would be perfect year for a change. Would Jacobson at UNI be interested? He's been there like 14 years, and not much more he can accomplish there.
 

What? People have been calling for his removal for at least the past couple of years. I've always been against that. Now I've changed my mind. "One bad game"......have you been watching for the past several years?

You can't even get his name right. It's 'PITINO'.
I have watched every game on the schedule over the past three seasons. You are right, I spelled Pitino’s name wrong. Anything of substance to add?
 




I've said the last couple years Lil' Ricky's teams start B10 games 6 down just on coaching matchup. Add in mediocre recruiting and it's clear he's not the guy.

Don't forget poor player development. How could Bakary and Hurt not be better as seniors?
 

I thought we called timeout to set it up. Is this wrong?

Incorrect, Gophers had no timeouts left. That said, the in-bounds pass has to get to half-court.

I can't believe there is ZERO talk of Oturu missing the front end of a 1-and-1 with 3.8 seconds left and Garza fouled out. That is just simply unacceptable. You get that game to OT without Garza and the Gophers win. It may not be pretty, but they win.

Players have to execute better in the last 5 minutes. The sets were good, but they have to execute. Demir loses a dribble, Ihnen can't catch a pass under the basket and Carr throws one away after a miscommunication. Today is a gut punch for sure, but the path is still there. Win your last 3 home games and win 2 of at Northwestern/Wisconsin/Indiana and you're in.

Hell, they could make a BTT run. Anything is possible in this league this year.
 

Incorrect, Gophers had no timeouts left. That said, the in-bounds pass has to get to half-court.

I can't believe there is ZERO talk of Oturu missing the front end of a 1-and-1 with 3.8 seconds left and Garza fouled out. That is just simply unacceptable. You get that game to OT without Garza and the Gophers win. It may not be pretty, but they win.

Players have to execute better in the last 5 minutes. The sets were good, but they have to execute. Demir loses a dribble, Ihnen can't catch a pass under the basket and Carr throws one away after a miscommunication. Today is a gut punch for sure, but the path is still there. Win your last 3 home games and win 2 of at Northwestern/Wisconsin/Indiana and you're in.

Hell, they could make a BTT run. Anything is possible in this league this year.

Ok, Oturu hits the free throws. We win in OT

That was still putrid basketball and gross.

Nothing really changes.

Of course, if skippy doesn't have a week to think about putting Demir on Garza with zero help, we aren't down 8-0 in the blink of an eye and we don't need Oturu's free throws.
 

Incorrect, Gophers had no timeouts left. That said, the in-bounds pass has to get to half-court.

I can't believe there is ZERO talk of Oturu missing the front end of a 1-and-1 with 3.8 seconds left and Garza fouled out. That is just simply unacceptable. You get that game to OT without Garza and the Gophers win. It may not be pretty, but they win.

Players have to execute better in the last 5 minutes. The sets were good, but they have to execute. Demir loses a dribble, Ihnen can't catch a pass under the basket and Carr throws one away after a miscommunication. Today is a gut punch for sure, but the path is still there. Win your last 3 home games and win 2 of at Northwestern/Wisconsin/Indiana and you're in.

Hell, they could make a BTT run. Anything is possible in this league this year.

Second game in a row Oturu kills them at the line. Huge comeback against PSU, and he goes to the line with a one and one to cut the lead to one point. He misses the first. Everything goes wrong after that. Today speaks for itself. Couldn't even make the first to make it interesting.

He’s great. He’s our MVP. I love him. But my god. Two games in a row you do that? He’s a good FT shooter too. So it just smacks of choking.
 



Second game in a row Oturu kills them at the line. Huge comeback against PSU, and he goes to the line with a one and one to cut the lead to one point. He misses the first. Everything goes wrong after that. Today speaks for itself. Couldn't even make the first to make it interesting.

He’s great. He’s our MVP. I love him. But my god. Two games in a row you do that? He’s a good FT shooter too. So it just smacks of choking.

They'd been choking for 5 straight minutes. What's a couple of more seconds?
 

Too lazy to read this thread. Last 5 minutes and 20 seconds of a home game and ya can’t score a point?

Richard Pitino’s teams are the antithesis of PJ Fleck’s teams when it comes to mental toughness.

Guys were scared to shoot and looked lost those last 5 minutes.

This will never change under Richie Rich.
 

Now do some of you finally get it? I've said the last couple years Lil' Ricky's teams start B10 games 6 down just on coaching matchup. Add in mediocre recruiting and it's clear he's not the guy. With Oturu all but gone, now would be perfect year for a change. Would Jacobson at UNI be interested? He's been there like 14 years, and not much more he can accomplish there.

If "Get it" means I have to spend my time complaining incessantly about the coach I am going to need to pass. Big Game in less than 3 days, gotta lot of work to do this year guys. You're on the outside looking in. Need to run off a string of wins to turn things around.

Also, nobody has declared. Odds are still pretty good that Garza and Oturu match up against each other next year at the Barn.
 

Second game in a row Oturu kills them at the line. Huge comeback against PSU, and he goes to the line with a one and one to cut the lead to one point. He misses the first. Everything goes wrong after that. Today speaks for itself. Couldn't even make the first to make it interesting.

He’s great. He’s our MVP. I love him. But my god. Two games in a row you do that? He’s a good FT shooter too. So it just smacks of choking.
Oturu got outplayed by Garza today- that's for sure. Everyone is complaining about Pitino so I hate to pile on...but I cannot understand why up 8 with 5 minutes to go, he didn't have Oturu posting up as low as possible and working the ball to get a touch by him every time up court. If they decide to deny him the ball deep that means that they are doubling him and someone else is open. instead he was posting up 15 feet away making it easy for a defender to double down on him without leaving a perimeter player free.
 

Too lazy to read this thread. Last 5 minutes and 20 seconds of a home game and ya can’t score a point?

Richard Pitino’s teams are the antithesis of PJ Fleck’s teams when it comes to mental toughness.

Guys were scared to shoot and looked lost those last 5 minutes.

This will never change under Richie Rich.
Iowa had a 13-0 run to end the game.
 

If "Get it" means I have to spend my time complaining incessantly about the coach I am going to need to pass. Big Game in less than 3 days, gotta lot of work to do this year guys. You're on the outside looking in. Need to run off a string of wins to turn things around.

Also, nobody has declared. Odds are still pretty good that Garza and Oturu match up against each other next year at the Barn.

Call me crazy, but I have higher expectations than winning 35% of conference games over a 7 year period. Is that too much to ask for? But if you're good with that...
 

I can't believe there is ZERO talk of Oturu missing the front end of a 1-and-1 with 3.8 seconds left and Garza fouled out. That is just simply unacceptable. You get that game to OT without Garza and the Gophers win. It may not be pretty, but they win.
Werent they up 8 with Garza out of the game?

Why would OT have magically been different?

And blaming that loss on a 1 and 1 free throw situation is ... a comically narrow view of the game.
 

Oturu got outplayed by Garza today- that's for sure. Everyone is complaining about Pitino so I hate to pile on...but I cannot understand why up 8 with 5 minutes to go, he didn't have Oturu posting up as low as possible and working the ball to get a touch by him every time up court. If they decide to deny him the ball deep that means that they are doubling him and someone else is open. instead he was posting up 15 feet away making it easy for a defender to double down on him without leaving a perimeter player free.
Why did they spot Garza 8 to start the game? Why did a halfhearted half court trap catch the Gophers looking as confused as a JV team, leading to 2 consecutive turnovers? Why could Iowa get an entry pass to Garza seemingly at will, but the Gophers cant seem to find Oturu? Why does a zone defense always confuse the team?

And on and on.

These are coaching issues. Some coaches have the ability to consistenly get their team to perform at a level better than the sum of its parts. Some coaches, the opposite.

Pretty clear which group Pitino falls into.
 


So 46-78 is good enough for you huh? Is seven years enough time to evaluate a coach? This program is stuck in neutral and will not get better under RP.
Coyle has earned my confidence when it comes to the ADs ability to make good hiring/firing decisions
 

Call me crazy, but I have higher expectations than winning 35% of conference games over a 7 year period. Is that too much to ask for? But if you're good with that...

I can see you're a math guy so I will break it down for you again in a different way

"Fan" Plus "Mediocre Coach" Plus "tough season" DOES NOT EQUAL Midnight being a "Whiny B" YMMV (and clearly does)
 


I put Carr’s turnover on Demir. He flashed unnecessarily behind Oturu to cause the confusion and then compounded it by not going for the ball. His lack of athleticism is to blame on Gabe’s turnover. If that’s Omersa or Oturu it’s a lob dunk.

Bottom line, anytime Alihan was involved the last five minutes it ended up in disaster.
I think that's a big stretch. Gabe committed the turnover and deserves most of the blame. He was wide open in the lane. Either way, Demir still didn't commit every single turnover in the last 5 minutes as he wasn't even in the game when there was one.

But I get your point. He was bad, especially at the end and probably shouldn't have been playing.
 
Last edited:

It's not just one game.

For me, this was the first disappointing loss of the season. Any road loss, short of Nebraska, is understandable (NOTE: Hell, Nebraska has improved markedly since the calendar turned to January, so I don't think a loss there even qualifies anymore).

Here, the 8 day rest and CJ injury created a recipe for disappointment. You gotta capitalize. However, the officials did not help our cause yesterday. Minnesota, by virtue of a short bench, thrives off moving their feet and playing sound defense. Yesterday, the officials leveled the playing field by refusing to call anything a foul. Furthermore, they swallowed the whistle multiple times to preserve Garza's fate in that game. If the whistles operate under normal conditions, Goldy wins going away. The gophers performed at or near their typical outputs on offense and defense. The Hawkeyes performed about 8 standard deviations above their average road defensive performance (sllight exaggeration). Officiating mattered greatly yesterday because the Hawkeyes were allowed to bump, grab, dislodge, the far more quick and athletic Gophers front line. NOTE: Kalscheur was Kalscheur yesterday. He took away Wieskamp. Oturo managed Garza once the Demir experiment failed. Nothing special. The Gophers played their usual D. And Iowa got away with play that usually gets them (or anyone else) into trouble with 9 out of 10 officiating crews in the Big 10. Congrats Iowa.

Now, you can't let it define your season...
1. Beat Indiana at the Barn
2. Beat NW. Scary only because it is the road this time.
3. Beat Nebraska. Getting better, but it is at home.
4. Beat Maryland at home? Why not. Crazier wins have happened. The gophers are collectively due a hot shooting game from the 3-point line.
5. Beat Wisconsin at the Kohl center? Why not. Would you trade the gopher roster for the badger roster? Nope. Didn't think so.
6. Beat Indiana on the road. Why not? They are no better / worse than Ohio State.

The gophers will be favored to win 3 more times. That's 9 big ten wins. Pulling off just one other win gets you to .500. That's why the Iowa loss hurts because the margin for error got smaller, but that doesn't mean that they "done" and we should fire Pitino. This is the single toughest Big Ten Conference in years. The conference is historically good.

Given this team's SOS / Pom Ratings / NET rankings, they should be in the field of 64 if they can just get to .500 or better. 1
 

Call me crazy, but I have higher expectations than winning 35% of conference games over a 7 year period. Is that too much to ask for? But if you're good with that...

Selective perception. NO ONE could have coached some of those teams. Injuries have harpooned more than one Pitino season. If Coffey is on this team, A) we are not one of the youngest teams in the country and B) we win at least 5 more games and can be talking about top 4-5 seed. You can't control everything as a coach.
 

Selective perception. NO ONE could have coached some of those teams. Injuries have harpooned more than one Pitino season. If Coffey is on this team, A) we are not one of the youngest teams in the country and B) we win at least 5 more games and can be talking about top 4-5 seed. You can't control everything as a coach.
Are you thinking that no one would have coached here for 7 years and not done better !
 

Also, nobody has declared. Odds are still pretty good that Garza and Oturu match up against each other next year at the Barn.

Let's hope so, because losing Oturo next season looks very similar to losing Coffee for this season. A team that could be pretty darn good, will again be very average and inconsistent. I know people like to think differently. But this team is no better and probably worse next year if Oturo leaves. Just as they are worse this season as soon as Coffey declared.
 




Top Bottom