***OFFICIAL NATIONALLY RANKED IOWA AT MINNESOTA RIVALRY GAME IN-GAME THREAD!!!***

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Arealgopherfan said:
Hate to rain on your parade but lets not put too much lipstick on what could have easily been an Iowa delivered pig. The Gophers were up 14 pts with 6 minutes to play, and but for Iowa missing 3 wide open 3's, they would have blown this game. So let's not get over our skis.
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Hate to rain on your parade, but did you really think we were going to lead a top 25 team wire to wire without them making run??? Wake up

And only one of the last 3's was "wide open" and that came off a scramble....the other 2 were well guarded misses.

Hilarious coming from "Arealgopherfan"......
 
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Chico Gopher said:
Well, Howard DID have an unexpectedly great game. As a Gopher fan, I didn't hear a problem with Morris. It IS kinda surprising that none of the last 3 shots went down, as they were all decent looks(though rushed) at the basket.

Also not sure why it bugs some people so much when an announcer or crew, expresses admiration for the other teams players, coaches or the way they are playing at any point. I was on the edge of my sofa for the entire game and didn't notice any obvious favoritism one way or the other. It's as if some people believe that the announcer isn't openly rooting for my team at the same level as me, they must be rooting for the other team. Believe me, game announcers pray that they get a game that comes down to the last second every single night.
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Listen to his commentary on the last play.....
Instead of saying anything about the win....he says something to the effect of "it may not have come to fruition but you gotta love the effort of the______ getting those rebounds and blah blah blah. Listening to him ooze over Martinelli was bad enough (and I get it....he's an alum) but his gushing over all things Iowa got tiring.....
 





Arealgopherfan said:
Hate to rain on your parade but lets not put too much lipstick on what could have easily been an Iowa delivered pig. The Gophers were up 14 pts with 6 minutes to play, and but for Iowa missing 3 wide open 3's, they would have blown this game. So let's not get over our skis.
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I was with you before this game. Now Im so far over my skis that my chin is scraping snow and I'm projecting who our first game will be against at the btt. And that game will be on FRIDAY.

We win the coin flip with MSU to get the Friday game. Then, based upon current standings, will play MSU, Oregon, Washington, USC, or Rutgers.
 
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cheeseheadgophfan said:
Listen to his commentary on the last play.....
Instead of saying anything about the win....he says something to the effect of "it may not have come to fruition but you gotta love the effort of the______ getting those rebounds and blah blah blah. Listening to him ooze over Martinelli was bad enough (and I get it....he's an alum) but his gushing over all things Iowa got tiring.....
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I get what you're saying, but he used that exact language multiple times earlier in the game after high effort/good plays weren't finished. For sure at least once for the gophers (after a missed bunny by grove?).

I was getting annoyed by all the Howard praise too, but mostly because he kept making really good plays and I wanted him to stop doing that.
 

It was my first time watching Stirtz. Reynolds erased him so badly in the first half that I had no idea what the hype was about. Defensive masterclass. The tip-steal-slam was a thing of beauty.

Stirtz got his points in the second half but I don't remember many with Reynolds on him.

Side note that Iowa zone break sequence on offense might be the best I've ever seen. After all the recent years of us struggling against zone that was really impressive to watch. Glad Niko got the best of McCollum in the end.
 



Cmich Gopher said:
It was my first time watching Stirtz. Reynolds erased him so badly in the first half that I had no idea what the hype was about. Defensive masterclass. The tip-steal-slam was a thing of beauty.

Stirtz got his points in the second half but I don't remember many with Reynolds on him.

Side note that Iowa zone break sequence on offense might be the best I've ever seen. After all the recent years of us struggling against zone that was really impressive to watch. Glad Niko got the best of McCollum in the end.
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That zone break sequence was unbelievable, they moved the ball around so fast. It almost felt like they were running it as a practice with no defense, pretty impressive. Even more impressive is how well the gophers have been playing under Niko!! Iowa did a much better job in the second half of limiting the backdoor cuts, but we got a few still. The future is bright!
 


bga1 said:
I have never seen a coach here do more with this level of talent. He has the guys believing and playing within themselves. What a blast that game was...so fun to send those "let's go Hawks" fans back home with a loss. I love the future of this program!
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Musselman and Clem did some great things. But ya, the 3 and 1 start with this level of talent is unparalleled, I think. Often times really good coaches can get a team close but you lose with a moral victory. Niko is winning these games!
Best stretch since Ben beat USC and UCLA in California. I don't know how that fits but it happened and seems worth remembering.
I like the calmness of Niko when the wheels fall off for a possession or two.
 

Arealgopherfan said:
I know what I wrote is factual. And there is no doubt Iowa had the momentum at the end of the game. Odds are the Iowa wins in overtime.
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Cool story....what's your point?

Basketball is a game of runs.....Iowa had the momentum at the end of the game but it didn't matter because they couldn't get it done. You would think A real gopher fan would be happy as hell to knock of Iowa regardless of how the game went but I guess your name must mean something else. :)
 

cheeseheadgophfan said:
Listen to his commentary on the last play.....
Instead of saying anything about the win....he says something to the effect of "it may not have come to fruition but you gotta love the effort of the______ getting those rebounds and blah blah blah. Listening to him ooze over Martinelli was bad enough (and I get it....he's an alum) but his gushing over all things Iowa got tiring.....
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I also heard him at various times gushing over Reynolds, Tyson, Asuma and JCJ. National/Regional announcers not hired by the team they cover tend to say nice things about the stars of both teams. It's been that way forever.

Still not sure why that bothers some people. Who cares if the announcer says more nice things about the players on my team or the players on the other team? How can that possibly affect how I watch or listen to the game? It's not like the announcers actually care about who wins. As I mentioned before, all they care about is broadcasting a close, well-played game. I seriously do not get it!
 

Full Speed Ahead said:
Couch Coach Comment: Why do we have Durkin doing the inbounds pass at the end of a game like this? Iowa was going to foul right away, We need him to be one of the players potentially going to the line. Put Reynolds as the inbounds guy.
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We need to get the ball in…
 

Cmich Gopher said:
It was my first time watching Stirtz. Reynolds erased him so badly in the first half that I had no idea what the hype was about. Defensive masterclass. The tip-steal-slam was a thing of beauty.

Stirtz got his points in the second half but I don't remember many with Reynolds on him.

Side note that Iowa zone break sequence on offense might be the best I've ever seen. After all the recent years of us struggling against zone that was really impressive to watch. Glad Niko got the best of McCollum in the end.
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Reynolds defense against Stirtz tonight was excellent. Having seen Stirtz quite a bit over the past two years, he’s really good. High basketball IQ, excellent crossover, plays under control but also not afraid to take over games.

Second straight game where Reynolds was the runaway MVP of the Gophers. He’ll make some turnovers that have you scratching your head, but I hope people realize just how vital he’s been to these last two wins.
 

Chico Gopher said:
I also heard him at various times gushing over Reynolds, Tyson, Asuma and JCJ. National/Regional announcers not hired by the team they cover tend to say nice things about the stars of both teams. It's been that way forever.

Still not sure why that bothers some people. Who cares if the announcer says more nice things about the players on my team or the players on the other team? How can that possibly affect how I watch or listen to the game? It's not like the announcers actually care about who wins. As I mentioned before, all they care about is broadcasting a close, well-played game. I seriously do not get it!
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Some people are always looking for reasons to feel slighted.
 

gopherguy15 said:
Reynolds defense against Stirtz tonight was excellent. Having seen Stirtz quite a bit over the past two years, he’s really good. High IQ, excellent crossover, plays under control but also not afraid to take over games.

Second straight game where Reynolds was the runaway MVP of the Gophers. He’ll make some turnovers that have you scratching your head, but I hope people realize just how vital he’s been to these last two wins.
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Reynolds plays really aggressive on the defensive end, it is fun to watch. As long as he doesn't have a ref with a quick whistle he is really good on D. If he could finish a little better at the hoop he would be a heck of a player, still misses too many easy layups.

His other issue is he does tend to get kind of careless with the ball at times.

Also has that ugly free throw percentage sitting around 50% but is hitting closer to 68% since the Indiana game which is a percentage that you can live with.
 

Ski U Mah Gopher said:
Niko is now 2-0 in the ex-Drake coach standings. He has clinched the season, since Iowa, Indiana, and Minnesota are all one-play vs each other.

The game to determine 2nd place in a week from Saturday.
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The Gophers do visit Indiana in the final road game of the year. So, he's clinched at least a tie in that series.
 

gopherguy15 said:
Reynolds defense against Stirtz tonight was excellent. Having seen Stirtz quite a bit over the past two years, he’s really good. High basketball IQ, excellent crossover, plays under control but also not afraid to take over games.

Second straight game where Reynolds was the runaway MVP of the Gophers. He’ll make some turnovers that have you scratching your head, but I hope people realize just how vital he’s been to these last two wins.
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Reynolds to me is the shining example of how good of a coach Niko is. Reynolds has some deficiencies in his game. Not a great shooter, a little TO prone, a little handsy on def. He struggled a bit to start the year. Last 2 games he's had 13ast one game and 22 points last night, while playing stellar defense. That's what a good coach does, works with a player to maximize his abilities. The Gophers are never likely to have the 5* top 10 pick guys who have no weaknesses, so having a coach that can maximize abilities is key.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Reynolds plays really aggressive on the defensive end, it is fun to watch. As long as he doesn't have a ref with a quick whistle he is really good on D. If he could finish a little better at the hoop he would be a heck of a player, still misses too many easy layups.

His other issue is he does tend to get kind of careless with the ball at times.

Also has that ugly free throw percentage sitting around 50% but is hitting closer to 68% since the Indiana game which is a percentage that you can live with.
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Yeah, he has some weaknesses that can drive a coach a little nuts, but the key is that he works very hard and is improving. Seems that he is finding out what, and embracing, his role is on this team. That role obviously changed quite a bit when Willis went down in the Thanksgiving tournament.

With the large step-up in level of competition and that fact that he's being asked to play the point guard role more than he ever thought he would coming in, I have to give him credit for giving it his best effort. Ball handling is obviously not his strong point, but I like the fact that he doesn't seem to dwell on his mistakes and instead, concentrates on playing in the current moment. He has certainly been a key in the last couple of wins.
 

leib0039 said:
Reynolds to me is the shining example of how good of a coach Niko is. Reynolds has some deficiencies in his game. Not a great shooter, a little TO prone, a little handsy on def. He struggled a bit to start the year. Last 2 games he's had 13ast one game and 22 points last night, while playing stellar defense. That's what a good coach does, works with a player to maximize his abilities. The Gophers are never likely to have the 5* top 10 pick guys who have no weaknesses, so having a coach that can maximize abilities is key.
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The other thing we are seeing first hand this year is that Niko knows what he is looking for in players to run the system he wants to run.
 

Does anybody know if any of the injured players are coming back this year? Part of the reason for Iowa's late run was the gophers were gassed. Having only seven playable guys is not sustainable.
 

1. Iowa was over-rated, they played two top teams and lost by 20 to Maryland and I. State. Biggest win was at home over Ole miss. Polls were waiting for a loss to drop them.
2. Iowa, Northwestern, and to some degree Indiana, are three of the lesser athletic teams, especially in the front court. Iowa has lots of skinny players.
3. Gophers and Medved got another great win. Each player knows their roles.
4. We got a very good amount of the 50-50 calls.
5. I am excited for us to play USC.
6. Concern; we got outrebounded by a skinny Iowa team 39-28.
 



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