***OFFICIAL USC (MUSSELMAN BACK IN THE BARN) AT MINNESOTA IN-GAME THREAD!!!***


Very fun game to attend. Crowd was great but need more butts in seats folks...$30 gets you in the door. They all play smart, tough, athletic defense which doesn't really fully come through watching on TV. Very active looking for steals as well...they probably could have had 5-6 more. Asuma is the straw that sits the drink. Durkin is a baby faced stone cold 3-point sniper.

When they got down 12 I was a little worried and then they created opportunities with their D and hustle.

Finally, yes the refs were not good. Niko was livid after one call (a clear travel) where the ball handler lost control of it and Gophs converged on him). I thought the bald ref was going to give him a technical. All this while Eric was wandering outside his area and going on the court.
The upside to this game is that Shinholster got valuable minutes in clutch time and while he was playing we crawled back in the game to go to overtime. If Shinholster can gain confidence in his own 3 point shooting, we just added a valuable component to this offense. In those waning minutes last night I wished that Kai had looked for his own shot. It would have freed up others, especially if he dropped a couple in the hoop. But, last night was good for Shinholster's overall development.
 

I really haven’t followed Musselman’s career or antics at all as his father coached the Gophers before I was even born. He came off as an absolute jackass last night during and after the game. The excessive celebrations and antics were completely unprofessional, especially in front of a crowd that he has a lot of family connections to. Between Musselman and that flopping freak show, they’re an easy team to dislike.
 

The upside to this game is that Shinholster got valuable minutes in clutch time and while he was playing we crawled back in the game to go to overtime. If Shinholster can gain confidence in his own 3 point shooting, we just added a valuable component to this offense. In those waning minutes last night I wished that Kai had looked for his own shot. It would have freed up others, especially if he dropped a couple in the hoop. But, last night was good for Shinholster's overall development.
Despite the heartbreaking OT loss, I’m really impressed with this team’s ability and commitment. I watch the attendance at each game and I love the trend of getting the barn back to where no team wants to play there. Iowa game was 8900+ and USC was 9400+. Let’s keep going.
 

I really haven’t followed Musselman’s career or antics at all as his father coached the Gophers before I was even born. He came off as an absolute jackass last night during and after the game. The excessive celebrations and antics were completely unprofessional, especially in front of a crowd that he has a lot of family connections to. Between Musselman and that flopping freak show, they’re an easy team to dislike.
He wears out his welcome pretty quick, so there is that.
 


Neither Reynolds nor Grove can consistently make 3 point attempts. Musselman knew this and left them uncontested while making it hard for our shooters to get open looks. Being undersized and not having 5 good shooters on the floor makes it difficult. If only...

This will be a problem going forward.
Reynolds has only taken 10 threes (2 for 10) all season. Chansey Willis has taken more.

It was very strange seeing a guard totally undefended at the 3 point line last night.
Smart by the Trojans. Totally eliminated our backcuts the second half.
No doubt Wisconsin will employ a similar strategy Tuesday.
 

My brother and I went to the game last night. My brother was wearing a hat. Just a generic hat, no script on it. The ticket-taker asked him to remove it. We were puzzled as to why. Anybody know the reason for this policy?
 

My brother and I went to the game last night. My brother was wearing a hat. Just a generic hat, no script on it. The ticket-taker asked him to remove it. We were puzzled as to why. Anybody know the reason for this policy?
They do that all the time to make sure you’re no smuggling anything in
 

strange seeing a guard totally undefended at the 3 point line last night.
Smart by the Trojans. Totally eliminated our backcuts the second half.
No doubt Wisconsin will employ a similar strategy Tuesday.

Gophers have to kick it out and make the shot, make them pay, don't go in to a wall and turnover, or teams will do what you just said. Gophers are thin in firepower, not sure what to do.
 



I'm actually shocked Turner didn't get some playing time.
I was a little surprised as well that they didn't give Turner at least a few minutes against the giant....could have used his size to body him make him work some.

Appears Turner is completely out of the rotation, doesn't seem injured, just out of shape.
 

This will be a problem going forward.
Reynolds has only taken 10 threes (2 for 10) all season. Chansey Willis has taken more.

It was very strange seeing a guard totally undefended at the 3 point line last night.
Smart by the Trojans. Totally eliminated our backcuts the second half.
No doubt Wisconsin will employ a similar strategy Tuesday.
I'm sure this is something they are going to focus on after this game. Bottom line is that if a team is going to leave you completely uncovered you have to be willing to take the shot.

I was kind of surprised Reynolds didn't dribble in a few steps and take a midrange shot if he didn't want to take a 3. If the big guy closed out on D then blow by him. Felt like they were determined to keep running their offense even though USC was giving them wide open looks and keeping them from doing what they wanted to do.
 

I was a little surprised as well that they didn't give Turner at least a few minutes against the giant....could have used his size to body him make him work some.

Appears Turner is completely out of the rotation, doesn't seem injured, just out of shape.
I'm not sure how he could still be out of shape, might just be that bad.
 

I'm not sure how he could still be out of shape, might just be that bad.
Who knows.....would seem like he should be in a position to log at least a little time but doesn't happen. Could be injury, or maybe something else. He really struggled but on a team in need of any depth it is surprising he doesn't at least log a few minutes a game.
 



Gophers have to kick it out and make the shot, make them pay, don't go in to a wall and turnover, or teams will do what you just said. Gophers are thin in firepower, not sure what to do.

But Reynolds won't shoot. And in truth we probly don't want him shooting threes. So USC guards him with 7'2" guy and plants the giant right in front of the basket. No more backcuts.
 


But Reynolds won't shoot. And in truth we probly don't want him shooting threes. So USC guards him with 7'2" guy and plants the giant right in front of the basket. No more backcuts.
I wondered why Reynolds didn't just dribble into the lane to draw defenders and then kick it back out. If they don't pick him up at 12 feet- take the shot.
 



It won't help anything, but the officials in that game should be sanctioned by the league. They were awful- really one of the worst I have seen. In this game, it actually had a big impact on the game since all of the bad calls went against us. That should be a W and it would have been a win that put us at least in conversation for the tournament.
The double dribble no call was not only egregious on its own, but because of it Asuma got his fourth foul (which looked like a great clean block) and they then got a point on a free throw (won by one).

The tie up by Asuma, which was an obvious jump ball and called as such by the nearest ref, was his fifth foul. It knocked him out of the game and gave them two points from the line (did I mention they won by one?)

That's just two egregious calls that had a massive impact. There were others. Did Reynolds even touch the guy at the end?
 

I was a little surprised as well that they didn't give Turner at least a few minutes against the giant....could have used his size to body him make him work some.

Appears Turner is completely out of the rotation, doesn't seem injured, just out of shape.
I don't get it. He played a few minutes against Indiana. While he made mistakes, he also did a couple good things and didn't blow the game or anything. He hasn't played since. Last night was a perfect place. Can't we just get 4-5 minutes a night out of him, especially when there is a matchup like that?
 




Just curious, did they have a moment of silence before the game, or did they not go the Timberwolves route?
 




I wondered why Reynolds didn't just dribble into the lane to draw defenders and then kick it back out. If they don't pick him up at 12 feet- take the shot.

Yeah, guy was so big that maybe Reynolds was just intimidated?
It just looked so strange to see a guard totally open at top of the circle. At times when Reynolds was unguarded could hear a loud murmur from the crowd.
Gotta figure it out.
 






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