***OFFICIAL MINNESOTA VS NEBRASKA BTT WIN OR SEASON'S OVER IN-GAME THREAD!!!***

Not sure where this has been all year. I can’t just say it was matchup issue with Nebraska because each player made the choice pass the ball (maybe it was Nebraska’s choices of zones…). We will see tonight
Good breakdown of the events from last night. To the last part, Nebraska definitely seems like a team we matchup well against. Unfortunately we don't match up nearly as well against Maryland.
 


and also maybe i just hadnt noticed it as much in other games.....but sure seemed like the assistant coaches were actually doing something this game! on their feet on a few occasions and yelling out thinigs to the players.....of course thats easier to do in a close game and maybe they had been doing it all season but Thorsen and Kemp seemed to be actually coaching
 

Ben's got it right about his team: they love to play; they don't hang their heads; they just keep coming at you. Even though it hasn't always been successful this year, that's the one thing I've been able to count on: I'm not going to turn off the TV or leave the building early if they're still competing, and I haven't done either this year.

 



Guess I just don’t understand some of the Henley stuff from a few posters. I think he can be a really good player.
been saying it since the summer......but of the freshman his ceiling is just a bit under Paynes...
there was a couple/few game stretch there for him in the middle of the season that was trying to tell me he was in over his head but that was basically true for all of the freshman....and really any player not named Garcia
the game is starting to slow down for him and you can tell.....the guy has so much potential....

and i agree with you that, for whatever reasons, he gets dogged on more than the others
 

If he decides to play defense, or pulls his head out on defense... he gave up a lot of easy points tonight.
He was on Tominaga because he is our best perimeter defender. Against that kid you are going to run through picks all night and if your team mates don't help you are going to get burned. He did get lost on a couple back doors though.
 

Watched the game on DVR, first 4 minutes I thought a train wreck was going to happen…then it turned into arguably the best game for the gophers all year:
-offensive execution
-ball movement *we didn’t have a ball stopper last night* which led to open shots which we were nailing (I think at some point it was like 13/14 in a row)
- huge rebounding advantage, which the announcers said we should have since nebraska is a terrible rebounding team…and we did
-CBJ getting fired up and backing his players (Battle)…even though I’d argue leaving him in with 4 fouls with 9 minutes left is insanity *but also Battle needs to understand that with 4 fouls you don’t go for a 50/50 charge/block call…just give the layup…that’s partially on him*
-clutch free throws from Talon and Henley
-Carrington plays like trash all game but gets slight redemption with his high arching 3 to build the late lead
-3 calls under a minute left go our way (the Griesel offensive foul was not an offensive foul, the other two calls were accurate)

Not sure where this has been all year. I can’t just say it was matchup issue with Nebraska because each player made the choice to pass the ball (maybe it was Nebraska’s choices of zones…). We will see tonight
A big catalyst to the better ball movement has been a much better emphasis on getting the ball to Payne in the low post. He has learned to either go for it or make a quick pass. Once he makes that play everything start to move as the defense is now out of position. Earlier in the year they were only getting the ball to Payne at the top of the circle where he does nothing and is very deliberate. Now he is where he needs to be and more decisive. You can tell the players are loving it. . There is nothing more fun than to watch a team snap the ball around like that to find the open shot.
 

A big catalyst to the better ball movement has been a much better emphasis on getting the ball to Payne in the low post. He has learned to either go for it or make a quick pass. Once he makes that play everything start to move as the defense is now out of position. Earlier in the year they were only getting the ball to Payne at the top of the circle where he does nothing and is very deliberate. Now he is where he needs to be and more decisive. You can tell the players are loving it. . There is nothing more fun than to watch a team snap the ball around like that to find the open shot.
so true, dont care what level your watching or even if its the opposing team.....ball movement when it happens is a thing of beauty
 



A big catalyst to the better ball movement has been a much better emphasis on getting the ball to Payne in the low post. He has learned to either go for it or make a quick pass. Once he makes that play everything start to move as the defense is now out of position. Earlier in the year they were only getting the ball to Payne at the top of the circle where he does nothing and is very deliberate. Now he is where he needs to be and more decisive. You can tell the players are loving it. . There is nothing more fun than to watch a team snap the ball around like that to find the open shot.
The ball movement was great last night, just seeing Cooper's assist total alone says it all. Funny how getting a guy the ball where they are strongest tends to work out favorably. The Gophers did not want to go home last night, they definitely gave it their all.
 

Ben probably deserved the T, but he only got it because of Fran McCaffery. Larry Cerato called the foul-- good/bad/close, whatever you think of it. Ben was yelling at him and Larry knew it was a bang/bang call that could go either way and so he was smart enough to just walk away and let Ben yell. Kelly Pfeifer probably caught some heat from other officials and his supervisor for letting McCaffery give him the staredown last week, so he jumps into it from 40 ft away to show that he isn't a pushover anymore. Jump forward a couple of minutes and they showed Ben and Paul something(3rd ref) standing side by side both covering their mouths having a conversation. Paul is a good ref who understands the flow and temperment of a game better than Pfeifer and I am not saying refs have biases but he knew we deserved the next bang/bang call to go our way. Judging by how Hoiberg started to come unglued and then backed off quick- I think he knew it too.

or maybe Pfeifer just hates MN-- he did cost Pitino a game at Nebraska a few years back with a phantom foul call at the buzzer.
 

Games like these are why I kept watching all year. Officiating needs to change though. The last foul when we were inbounding should be called intentional giving us 2 shots and the ball.
 

Totally agree - he is not good on the defensive side - slow, loses his man, doesn’t fight through screens - he was torched by Tominaga all night - and he was also slow to rotate in the Wisconsin game when they hit the big three pointer late to take the lead - i know he is young but he is not good - he is chasing the game - for those who disagree key on him defensively tonight when watching Maryland game
I would say he is inexperienced. Not good? Far from not good.
 



Guess I just don’t understand some of the Henley stuff from a few posters. I think he can be a really good player.
I agree with you. He can be a really good player. He has skills on offense. He's just young. He's going to grow into his man muscles and he's going to be a good player for us as he matures.

Right now, he's like a 1st year Labrador retriever, full of energy and ready to go, but not fully disciplined to be excellent. It will come in time. (No I am not calling Henley a dog. It's just an analogy.)

His defensive lapses last night were more frustrating than anything. I felt like he was always a step behind and not anticipating the rotations. Again, that will come as he matures.
That being said, Henley is night and day better in last nights game compared to the first time he ran out on the Williams Arena court and played street ball in November. Yes, the kids going to be alright if he stays with us.

I really like the core four of this freshman class. Each guy has contributed in their role. (It's a bummer that Carrington has had a nagging injury because he brings an all around game to this bunch.) Despite the naysayers here at the hole, the future for Gopher men's basketball is very positive. Add a few components (a solid point guard and a center who can bang) and this team goes to .500 in the B1G next season (with our core four only being sophomores).
 

I agree with you. He can be a really good player. He has skills on offense. He's just young. He's going to grow into his man muscles and he's going to be a good player for us as he matures.

Right now, he's like a 1st year Labrador retriever, full of energy and ready to go, but not fully disciplined to be excellent. It will come in time. (No I am not calling Henley a dog. It's just an analogy.)

His defensive lapses last night were more frustrating than anything. I felt like he was always a step behind and not anticipating the rotations. Again, that will come as he matures.
That being said, Henley is night and day better in last nights game compared to the first time he ran out on the Williams Arena court and played street ball in November. Yes, the kids going to be alright if he stays with us.

I really like the core four of this freshman class. Each guy has contributed in their role. (It's a bummer that Carrington has had a nagging injury because he brings an all around game to this bunch.) Despite the naysayers here at the hole, the future for Gopher men's basketball is very positive. Add a few components (a solid point guard and a center who can bang) and this team goes to .500 in the B1G next season (with our core four only being sophomores).

I like your post, but isn't Payne the "center who can bang" already?
 

Ben probably deserved the T, but he only got it because of Fran McCaffery. Larry Cerato called the foul-- good/bad/close, whatever you think of it. Ben was yelling at him and Larry knew it was a bang/bang call that could go either way and so he was smart enough to just walk away and let Ben yell. Kelly Pfeifer probably caught some heat from other officials and his supervisor for letting McCaffery give him the staredown last week, so he jumps into it from 40 ft away to show that he isn't a pushover anymore. Jump forward a couple of minutes and they showed Ben and Paul something(3rd ref) standing side by side both covering their mouths having a conversation. Paul is a good ref who understands the flow and temperment of a game better than Pfeifer and I am not saying refs have biases but he knew we deserved the next bang/bang call to go our way. Judging by how Hoiberg started to come unglued and then backed off quick- I think he knew it too.

or maybe Pfeifer just hates MN-- he did cost Pitino a game at Nebraska a few years back with a phantom foul call at the buzzer.
Pfiefer is a crappy ref. End of story. However if I were a Nebraska fan I would have gone crazy over two offensive fouls in the last minute.
 

I like your post, but isn't Payne the "center who can bang" already?
He's the power forward who can bang already.
If Thompson just had some weight to hold his ground (he cannot help what nature gave him) he'd be that guy, but he just gets moved off the block like a leaf being blown by the wind. We need a guy who can defend the block and who can play with his back to the basket. Even if it's someone who can spell Payne and give effective minutes as a backup, we need a strong big man out of the portal.
 

He was on Tominaga because he is our best perimeter defender. Against that kid you are going to run through picks all night and if your team mates don't help you are going to get burned. He did get lost on a couple back doors though.
Exactly it’s tough you anticipate or try to cheat on the screens they back cut… tough assignment Henley played him well the last time… Henley was running through an initial screen then through a double screen… I doubt he ever was asked to guard like that until college good experience…
 

If he decides to play defense, or pulls his head out on defense... he gave up a lot of easy points tonight.
In all fairness to Henley, Nebraska was running him through a hell of a lot of screens to get that guy open. He did get best on a couple of back door cuts though.
 

Pfiefer is a crappy ref. End of story. However if I were a Nebraska fan I would have gone crazy over two offensive fouls in the last minute.
The second call was the correct call. The first one was not.
That being said, Battles fifth foul was a horrible call by the ref. It also gave Nebraska 4 points with Ben legitimately sticking up for Battle. (That, by the way, was the calmest technical I've seen. I would have gone Bobby Knight on that ref for such an egregiously bad call.) I wish Ben would wear a suit and tie, like Clem did, so that he could rip it off in protest!🤜🤛
 

Pfiefer is a crappy ref. End of story. However if I were a Nebraska fan I would have gone crazy over two offensive fouls in the last minute.
Agree. IF I remember Pfiefer is the one I think against Nebraska who called Amir Coffey for a terrible foul that decided that game… I don’t like that the ref who wasn’t involved comes in and gives the T…
 

Agree. IF I remember Pfiefer is the one I think against Nebraska who called Amir Coffey for a terrible foul that decided that game… I don’t like that the ref who wasn’t involved comes in and gives the T…
You remember correctly. I also recall that game might have cost us a tournament bid.
 


so true, dont care what level your watching or even if its the opposing team.....ball movement when it happens is a thing of beauty
This popped in my head while watching that art -

 

A big catalyst to the better ball movement has been a much better emphasis on getting the ball to Payne in the low post. He has learned to either go for it or make a quick pass. Once he makes that play everything start to move as the defense is now out of position. Earlier in the year they were only getting the ball to Payne at the top of the circle where he does nothing and is very deliberate. Now he is where he needs to be and more decisive. You can tell the players are loving it. . There is nothing more fun than to watch a team snap the ball around like that to find the open shot.
I think it will be interesting to see if that was a mirage against a weak defensive team (battled by their own injury issues) who was forced into zone defensive schemes or if that post entry ball rotation / non-ball stopper is a trend against a better team. Tonight will tell
 

Ben probably deserved the T, but he only got it because of Fran McCaffery. Larry Cerato called the foul-- good/bad/close, whatever you think of it. Ben was yelling at him and Larry knew it was a bang/bang call that could go either way and so he was smart enough to just walk away and let Ben yell. Kelly Pfeifer probably caught some heat from other officials and his supervisor for letting McCaffery give him the staredown last week, so he jumps into it from 40 ft away to show that he isn't a pushover anymore. Jump forward a couple of minutes and they showed Ben and Paul something(3rd ref) standing side by side both covering their mouths having a conversation. Paul is a good ref who understands the flow and temperment of a game better than Pfeifer and I am not saying refs have biases but he knew we deserved the next bang/bang call to go our way. Judging by how Hoiberg started to come unglued and then backed off quick- I think he knew it too.

or maybe Pfeifer just hates MN-- he did cost Pitino a game at Nebraska a few years back with a phantom foul call at the buzzer.
are we trying to say CBJ doesn’t deserve a T? Who cares who called it…it was absolutely deserved. If Hoover was going after a ref…we would demand a T…and we wouldn’t care what ref called it
 

Pfiefer is a crappy ref. End of story. However if I were a Nebraska fan I would have gone crazy over two offensive fouls in the last minute.
Go crazy all you want but the illegal screen was the correct call and the other was a 50/50 call that went our way for once although the guard lowered his shoulder so imo correct call.
 

Go crazy all you want but the illegal screen was the correct call and the other was a 50/50 call that went our way for once although the guard lowered his shoulder so imo correct call.
Correct. Not only did he lower his shoulder but he arm barred our guy.
 






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