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



Rutgers is a legit good team. They play ferocious defense and they scouted the gophers very well. Carr can get away with excessive dribbling at home. Not on the road. They were edging him like crazy and he wouldn't give up the ball. Our front court on the road consists of Oturu and Oturu. No help for Daniel and no depth. The gophs need two wins on the road. It's tough to see where they will take place.

It's too bad that Pitino couldn't find more time for Ihnen during the preseason. They need shooting!
 

That might have been one of the worst moving screens I’ve ever seen. A pulling guard in football is more set than Harper was.

Gophers scored 46 points over the last 36.5 minutes of the game. Just a terrible effort all around. I don’t know what it is but Pitino’s teams are always so lackadaisical on the road. Can anyone breakdown Pitino’s home/road records in the Big Ten?
You are right Pitino’s team are the only team that play worse on the road
 

That's awful. And with the road record, what the hell are we doing? How is going to improve?
It’s all bad luck. Oh, and the refs fault.
Program is headed in the right direction. ?
 




No they are not. Everybody is worse on the road but some are over 60 % win percentage on the road and way above 75% at home.
 

I am not really disappointed or surprised by the loss, but I was disappointed by the way it occurred. Not a lot of effort out there today and to basically never be in the game after the 10-2 start and get dominated on the glass were not good signs for future road games. After a nice effort at Purdue, this is two bad efforts in a row on the road now and 3 out of 4 in total in league play after starting with one of the worst games I've seen from this program at Iowa.

I actually think the Gophers chances of winning at Ohio State are/were better than at Rutgers. Ohio State is really disconnected right now and focus so much on getting Wesson the ball that they are very easy to defend at times. They are going to need to bring a much better defensive effort to get it done though.

If they don't win at Ohio State, all is not lost but the margin for error just continues to get slimmer. They need at least 2 on the road (3 if they don't beat Michigan State at home) to finish with a winning conference record. They will only have 5 chances left after Wednesday.
 




I am not really disappointed or surprised by the loss, but I was disappointed by the way it occurred. Not a lot of effort out there today and to basically never be in the game after the 10-2 start and get dominated on the glass were not good signs for future road games. After a nice effort at Purdue, this is two bad efforts in a row on the road now and 3 out of 4 in total in league play after starting with one of the worst games I've seen from this program at Iowa.

I actually think the Gophers chances of winning at Ohio State are/were better than at Rutgers. Ohio State is really disconnected right now and focus so much on getting Wesson the ball that they are very easy to defend at times. They are going to need to bring a much better defensive effort to get it done though.

If they don't win at Ohio State, all is not lost but the margin for error just continues to get slimmer. They need at least 2 on the road (3 if they don't beat Michigan State at home) to finish with a winning conference record. They will only have 5 chances left after Wednesday.

Wouldn't it be 1 on the road to finish with a winning conference record if they win out at home?
 


Yeah that’s not what I said. 11 BT road wins in 6.5 years is really bad.
Everything about his record his bad. His home record is atrocious too. I think part of the issue with the road record is that our offense relies so much on dribble penetration from one guard and is usually heavily reliant on getting to the line. The road team isn't going to have some huge free throw advantage, so you simply need to have more shot makers which would be aided by an offense with more ball movement to get better looks. In 2016, when he had 4 of those 11 BT road wins, the Gophers had 6 different guys lead them in scoring at least once during B1G play. In addition to those 6, Eric Curry provided more of a threat on the offensive end (more with his passing than his shooting IMHO) than most of the other bench/role guys in his tenure. When he's had to play non-threats like Konate in the past or Hurt, Omersa, Williams this year (not saying the last two can't be threats at some point in their careers) it's so much easier for the opposition to stop an offense that is so largely dependent on high screen and roll and post entry. It's so easy to know where to help from defensively. If you run a high screen and roll with Carr and Oturu and Williams or Omersa is in the corner, there's no reason for their defender to not plant themself on the block and dare Carr to make that pass while making the drive/roll more difficult. That's why I am a bit concerned with what Rutgers did today in that I am not sure Pitino has a counter for it. He either needs more gifted offensive players or an offense that moves the ball and screens better to get some easy looks for the less talented guys.
 




Everything about his record his bad. His home record is atrocious too. I think part of the issue with the road record is that our offense relies so much on dribble penetration from one guard and is usually heavily reliant on getting to the line. The road team isn't going to have some huge free throw advantage, so you simply need to have more shot makers which would be aided by an offense with more ball movement to get better looks. In 2016, when he had 4 of those 11 BT road wins, the Gophers had 6 different guys lead them in scoring at least once during B1G play. In addition to those 6, Eric Curry provided more of a threat on the offensive end (more with his passing than his shooting IMHO) than most of the other bench/role guys in his tenure. When he's had to play non-threats like Konate in the past or Hurt, Omersa, Williams this year (not saying the last two can't be threats at some point in their careers) it's so much easier for the opposition to stop an offense that is so largely dependent on high screen and roll and post entry. It's so easy to know where to help from defensively. If you run a high screen and roll with Carr and Oturu and Williams or Omersa is in the corner, there's no reason for their defender to not plant themself on the block and dare Carr to make that pass while making the drive/roll more difficult. That's why I am a bit concerned with what Rutgers did today in that I am not sure Pitino has a counter for it. He either needs more gifted offensive players or an offense that moves the ball and screens better to get some easy looks for the less talented guys.
[/QUOT
We are 84th in defense. This is a roster i really like but we are 0-6 on the road. It is not too late but we have to play great defense.
 

We are 84th in defense. This is a roster i really like but we are 0-6 on the road. It is not too late but we have to play great defense.
The biggest issue on defense today was obviously the defensive glass, but what do you see being the consistent theme to the struggles on that end of the court? Outside of Demir, the other 6 guys who get consistent minutes have the athletic ability to play good defense which should make for one of Pitino's strongest defensive teams of his tenure, but it hasn't been that. I noticed some communication issues (especially in the Northwestern and Michigan games) and transition issues in the Iowa game while the team got destroyed on the glass against MSU and Rutgers. Other games, the rebounding has been fine and the transition defense has been fine, but the end result (at least according to fg% allowed) has not been.
 

The biggest issue on defense today was obviously the defensive glass, but what do you see being the consistent theme to the struggles on that end of the court? Outside of Demir, the other 6 guys who get consistent minutes have the athletic ability to play good defense which should make for one of Pitino's strongest defensive teams of his tenure, but it hasn't been that. I noticed some communication issues (especially in the Northwestern and Michigan games) and transition issues in the Iowa game while the team got destroyed on the glass against MSU and Rutgers. Other games, the rebounding has been fine and the transition defense has been fine, but the end result (at least according to fg% allowed) has not been.
Well that rebounding is not finishing that possession . Block put intiation is slow and worse i see too many times where guys are not low and wide, poor communication on help. We can not afford to be 11th or 12th in the conference on defense.
 


Overall record 122-99
NCAA tournament 7 years, record 1-2
Big Ten record 44-64
B1G road wins 11

Listen, I hoped like everyone Pitino would be just like his dad and turn us into Kent/L'Ville etc, but honestly after 6+ years how can anyone be so set that he is the man and will do anything worthwhile here? Have we had bad luck? sure, guess what EVERYONE DOES over 7 years. Is winning on the road (especially in conference) tough YES. Do we have some years we don't live up to expectations, sure, they are kids that can happen once in a while. But, when it happens essentially every year, how can people think this isn't just who he is? We never EVER have a bench, we always have 3-5 guys who cant even see the floor, we can never win on the road, we are never even close to contention in the conference. And this is not even going to begin harping on how many guys he has missed in MN recruiting. Im not even talking about Tre/Tyus/Hurt. Look at Terry at stanford, Macura at X, Sims at Texas, Wright at Colorado, we arent losing guys to blue chip programs here! Imagine a team that has Wright or Terry to play 24 min a PG and not just Carr. Imagine having Theo John/Sacar Anim on the roster not Hurt/Freeman who cant play 2 min without it being a disaster.

Richard seems like a great guy and all that jazz, but the fact is he just cant get it done here. Would a new coach? who knows, but at least its a chance! Im sure all you people who love Pitino were the same ones who just were livid we got rid of Claeys, look what happened there. I am just confounded on how many people here still think he is some sort of gift from the basketball gods that we have no business replacing! Like PJ says, thats the past, dont accept our previous failures, WE CAN BE A BETTER PROGRAM.
 

Overall record 122-99
NCAA tournament 7 years, record 1-2
Big Ten record 44-64
B1G road wins 11

Listen, I hoped like everyone Pitino would be just like his dad and turn us into Kent/L'Ville etc, but honestly after 6+ years how can anyone be so set that he is the man and will do anything worthwhile here? Have we had bad luck? sure, guess what EVERYONE DOES over 7 years. Is winning on the road (especially in conference) tough YES. Do we have some years we don't live up to expectations, sure, they are kids that can happen once in a while. But, when it happens essentially every year, how can people think this isn't just who he is? We never EVER have a bench, we always have 3-5 guys who cant even see the floor, we can never win on the road, we are never even close to contention in the conference. And this is not even going to begin harping on how many guys he has missed in MN recruiting. Im not even talking about Tre/Tyus/Hurt. Look at Terry at stanford, Macura at X, Sims at Texas, Wright at Colorado, we arent losing guys to blue chip programs here! Imagine a team that has Wright or Terry to play 24 min a PG and not just Carr. Imagine having Theo John/Sacar Anim on the roster not Hurt/Freeman who cant play 2 min without it being a disaster.

Richard seems like a great guy and all that jazz, but the fact is he just cant get it done here. Would a new coach? who knows, but at least its a chance! Im sure all you people who love Pitino were the same ones who just were livid we got rid of Claeys, look what happened there. I am just confounded on how many people here still think he is some sort of gift from the basketball gods that we have no business replacing! Like PJ says, thats the past, dont accept our previous failures, WE CAN BE A BETTER PROGRAM.
Let's make you the coach! I'm sure the anti-Pitino clan will be real shocked if Carr transfers, Oturu leaves for the NBA, or Mashburn Jr. / Mitchell decide to decommit leaving us in a much worse situation.

Nice speech though. I like that you only use cold hard facts - Pitino will never get it done here, any of us who support Pitino don't want to see improvement, Pitino is responsible for local kids wanting to an out-of-state experience etc. If i remember correctly the poor guy was going to Dawson Garcia's 6AM high school shoot-arounds.

I'm sure Mark Coyle would find your crisp analysis beneficial as well ?
 

Everything about his record his bad. His home record is atrocious too. I think part of the issue with the road record is that our offense relies so much on dribble penetration from one guard and is usually heavily reliant on getting to the line. The road team isn't going to have some huge free throw advantage, so you simply need to have more shot makers which would be aided by an offense with more ball movement to get better looks. In 2016, when he had 4 of those 11 BT road wins, the Gophers had 6 different guys lead them in scoring at least once during B1G play. In addition to those 6, Eric Curry provided more of a threat on the offensive end (more with his passing than his shooting IMHO) than most of the other bench/role guys in his tenure. When he's had to play non-threats like Konate in the past or Hurt, Omersa, Williams this year (not saying the last two can't be threats at some point in their careers) it's so much easier for the opposition to stop an offense that is so largely dependent on high screen and roll and post entry. It's so easy to know where to help from defensively. If you run a high screen and roll with Carr and Oturu and Williams or Omersa is in the corner, there's no reason for their defender to not plant themself on the block and dare Carr to make that pass while making the drive/roll more difficult. That's why I am a bit concerned with what Rutgers did today in that I am not sure Pitino has a counter for it. He either needs more gifted offensive players or an offense that moves the ball and screens better to get some easy looks for the less talented guys.

That's exactly why I wish Ihnen had gotten more time in the preseason. (I know he missed a couple of games due to injury.) He's tall with a huge wingspan and can shoot from the outside. At this point he doesn't have enough game experience to be useful.
 

The last 3 verbal commits are fairly impressive and while a NCAA tournament berth is a minority probability I am fine with keeping Pitino around next season...At least he’s is earning his salary albeit by big ten standards as he is 11th in coaching pay.
 

my thoughts after letting this game sink in a bit.

1. Rutgers is a good team! Defense is legit.
2. with Geo Baker coming back, Rutgers is a Top 3 in the B10. (I'll predict they finish 3rd if healthy)
3. Gophers lack of toughness and rebounding in the first half was not good
4. Oturu is pretty dam good, but some of his decisions in the first half were not
5. we are in desperate need of a 3rd player to step up on the offensive end
6. The season is not over
7. Peyton had a pretty good first half

This team is entertaining to watch and they will beat some teams they are not suppose to, if they can figure out how to shoot the ball better.
 

Our NET stayed the same, as did Rutger's.
 

Overall record 122-99
NCAA tournament 7 years, record 1-2
Big Ten record 44-64
B1G road wins 11

Listen, I hoped like everyone Pitino would be just like his dad and turn us into Kent/L'Ville etc, but honestly after 6+ years how can anyone be so set that he is the man and will do anything worthwhile here? Have we had bad luck? sure, guess what EVERYONE DOES over 7 years. Is winning on the road (especially in conference) tough YES. Do we have some years we don't live up to expectations, sure, they are kids that can happen once in a while. But, when it happens essentially every year, how can people think this isn't just who he is? We never EVER have a bench, we always have 3-5 guys who cant even see the floor, we can never win on the road, we are never even close to contention in the conference. And this is not even going to begin harping on how many guys he has missed in MN recruiting. Im not even talking about Tre/Tyus/Hurt. Look at Terry at stanford, Macura at X, Sims at Texas, Wright at Colorado, we arent losing guys to blue chip programs here! Imagine a team that has Wright or Terry to play 24 min a PG and not just Carr. Imagine having Theo John/Sacar Anim on the roster not Hurt/Freeman who cant play 2 min without it being a disaster.

Richard seems like a great guy and all that jazz, but the fact is he just cant get it done here. Would a new coach? who knows, but at least its a chance! Im sure all you people who love Pitino were the same ones who just were livid we got rid of Claeys, look what happened there. I am just confounded on how many people here still think he is some sort of gift from the basketball gods that we have no business replacing! Like PJ says, thats the past, dont accept our previous failures, WE CAN BE A BETTER PROGRAM.

Can you find one person who has actually said something remotely similar to what you said there?

I think what everyone who is not in the fire Pitino camp would say is this:

1. Making a transition to a new coach is hard. The transition usually costs you recruits and some of the roster and it is tough for a new coach to work with the old coach's players. (check out UCLA this year for an example)

2. Historically we have not had an easy time finding a "sure thing coach". The one exception was Tubby Smith, who turned out to not be a sure thing.

3. Pitino is young and showing improvement both in his recruiting and his coaching.

4. We have been to two of the last three NCAAs and it would have been three if not for awful luck two years ago.

5. All of that being said- we have a good AD. If the AD thinks that he has a guy in his pocket that is worth the risk and he feels is most certainly better- then I and almost anyone else here would accept that.

The bulk of us who want to put an end to the fire the coach chatter after every loss, simply want to enjoy the season and give the program the most support possible.
 
Last edited:

Can you find one person who has actually said something remotely similar to what you said there?

I think what everyone who is not in the fire Pitino camp would say is this:

1. Making a transition to a new coach is hard. The transition usually costs you recruits and some of the roster and it is tough for a new coach to work with the old coach's players. (check out UCLA this year for an example)

2. Historically we have not had an easy time finding a "sure thing coach". The one exception was Tubby Smith, who turned out not to be sure thing.

3. Pitino is young and showing improvement both in his recruiting and his coaching.

4. We have been to two of the last three NCAAs and it would have been three if not for awful luck two years ago.

5. All of that being said- we have a good AD. If the AD thinks that he has a guy in his pocket that is worth the risk and he feels is most certainly better- then I and almost anyone else here would accept that.

The bulk of us who want to put an end to the fire the coach chatter after every loss, simply want to enjoy the season and give the program the most support possible.
+100

The really irritating part about the "fire Pitino" crowd is how they disappear after big wins. and only show up after losses.
 

Overall record 122-99
NCAA tournament 7 years, record 1-2
Big Ten record 44-64
B1G road wins 11

Listen, I hoped like everyone Pitino would be just like his dad and turn us into Kent/L'Ville etc, but honestly after 6+ years how can anyone be so set that he is the man and will do anything worthwhile here? Have we had bad luck? sure, guess what EVERYONE DOES over 7 years. Is winning on the road (especially in conference) tough YES. Do we have some years we don't live up to expectations, sure, they are kids that can happen once in a while. But, when it happens essentially every year, how can people think this isn't just who he is? We never EVER have a bench, we always have 3-5 guys who cant even see the floor, we can never win on the road, we are never even close to contention in the conference. And this is not even going to begin harping on how many guys he has missed in MN recruiting. Im not even talking about Tre/Tyus/Hurt. Look at Terry at stanford, Macura at X, Sims at Texas, Wright at Colorado, we arent losing guys to blue chip programs here! Imagine a team that has Wright or Terry to play 24 min a PG and not just Carr. Imagine having Theo John/Sacar Anim on the roster not Hurt/Freeman who cant play 2 min without it being a disaster.

Richard seems like a great guy and all that jazz, but the fact is he just cant get it done here. Would a new coach? who knows, but at least its a chance! Im sure all you people who love Pitino were the same ones who just were livid we got rid of Claeys, look what happened there. I am just confounded on how many people here still think he is some sort of gift from the basketball gods that we have no business replacing! Like PJ says, thats the past, dont accept our previous failures, WE CAN BE A BETTER PROGRAM.
You got his Big 10 RECORD wrong. With that said he has his best staff now, they play to more efficiency although the defense is way below where it needs to be. Let's try and enjoy this year and see where it takes us.
 


This is obvious, 4 rotation players over 230 lbs. We have one muscular rotation player in Omersa. We will have trouble. Them using big physical players on Carr really cut down on his drives.

We aren't the first good team to lose at Rutgers. Physical teams maybe not a good matchup for us.
 

A game like this makes one wish Curry could have been healthy.

Also, I am not sure who was guarding McConnell, but him getting 12 rebounds, 7 offensive was hard to take. Maybe a wing with size like Wiliams would have been a good matchup?
 




Top Bottom