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

[bmb5270]

As a malcontent, I am required to point out that the term we played last night was very bad. I like some of the skill we saw that we haven’t seen in three years, but I’m not convinced on this team’s defense yet. Payne back on the floor will give us a better sense of where the defense will go.

I’m not ready to declare this team a final 4 contender just yet but last year we really struggled to beat weak teams early in the year so it’s refreshing to see us blowing the doors off these kind of teams. Obviously it’s early but this team looks to have potential to move up the standings in a so far not very impressive Big Ten.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Was able to watch a replay of the 1st half late last night. I like the speed we play with on offense so far and the depth I we have is great to see. Hopefully can stay healthy.

 

[GopherBlood777]

The addition of Christie is an obvious game changer. They have the strongest 9 man rotation we've seen in awhile . Payne is out and they didn't miss a beat. Jury is out until Missouri, but it could be a special season if they put together another strong performance in that game. The B1G appears to be down so the conference is wide open.

 

[jovs]

The addition of Christie is an obvious game changer. They have the strongest 9 man rotation we've seen in awhile . Payne is out and they didn't miss a beat. Jury is out until Missouri, but it could be a special season if they put together another strong performance in that game. The B1G appears to be down so the conference is wide open.

Christie is very good offensively but I am guessing he will be exposed on the defensive end of the court against the higher level competition. He will get there but it is going to take some time.

 

[fan of Ray Williams]

Nice analysis. I’m going to offer a friendly amendment that Dawson needs to get stronger with the ball. He’s had it whacked away too many times on rebounds the first two games. This team needs Payne back to shore up the inside against better opponents.

Arlington was a very bad team.

Yeah, can’t disagree that he could be stronger. Handles it well for his size though, decent outside shot, money at the line and gets fouled a lot and HAS put up numbers previously against good competition. I appreciate him more this year.
Surprisingly high number of rebounds for Hawkins. He’s good at using his quickness to get the long ones. He did get worked over a little on defense.
Christie, in this one game, was more advanced than what I had anticipated Not just the shooting, he didn’t seem overwhelmed.
Is it a foot injury with Payne, or is it his hip or back? Last game he was squatting when a player was shooting free throws, as if to stretch his back or hip.
Truly understand your skepticism. Heck, almost impossible not to be. It’s like the phrase “I’m from Missouri, you’ve got to show me”. (Had to work that phrase in.)

 

[TwistingMyMelon]

The addition of Christie is an obvious game changer. They have the strongest 9 man rotation we've seen in awhile . Payne is out and they didn't miss a beat. Jury is out until Missouri, but it could be a special season if they put together another strong performance in that game. The B1G appears to be down so the conference is wide open.

I'm reminded a bit of Darius Taylor's first real debut for the football team in the second game this season. You knew he was supposed to be good but you didn't expect him to be that good in his first significant appearance. The difference I think is that we are somewhat used to freshmen running backs performing well for the football team while it's more of a rarity for a freshman guard to perform this well for the basketball team.

 

[Spaulding!No!]

Well these players are supposed to bad aren’t they? I mean.. they were ranked dead last in the pre season for power 5 teams

The gophs were ranked the worst P5 team in the preseason. Is that true?

 

[DLib]

The gophs were ranked the worst P5 team in the preseason. Is that true?

There are a number of P5 teams below them on the KenPom rankings. Not even close

 

[GopherOhana]

cracked the top 100 on Pom: 97

Missouri at 70, San Fran at 90

Wisconsin Buggers at 23 is a joke. They are about as good as last year.

 

[TwistingMyMelon]

Surprisingly high number of rebounds for Hawkins. He’s good at using his quickness to get the long ones. He did get worked over a little on defense.

Yes, he attacks the basket after a shot and comes up with more than his fair share of boards. We knew he was turnover prone when he was recruited but I don't feel too troubled by that so far. A fair number of his turnovers come because he's trying to do things and he's a little too fast for some of his teammates at this point. He's a very active player and both good and bad things often will come with that. Contrary to our last point guard, he appears to be a very good free throw shooter and I'm happy about that. I'm really pleased that we have two legit point guards and I was happy to see Mitchell score in double figures after a quiet first game.

 

[MissouriGopher]

As a malcontent, I am required to point out that the term we played last night was very bad. I like some of the skill we saw that we haven’t seen in three years, but I’m not convinced on this team’s defense yet. Payne back on the floor will give us a better sense of where the defense will go.

I won’t dispute that UTSA is very bad. They definitely are. But they’re also an American conference team so they’re not a low major. They have size but the talent and depth was lacking.

 

[TwistingMyMelon]

cracked the top 100 on Pom: 97

Missouri at 70, San Fran at 90

Wisconsin Buggers at 23 is a joke. They are about as good as last year.

I don't know that #23 is an accurate rating for Wisconsin at this point but they do seem to be a bit better so far than last season. They didn't get much from the portal but Storr appears to be significantly better than the transfer guards they lost.

 

[Dakota2]

37 points from the bench
43-32 rebound advantage
21 assists
11 turnovers, sure thought there were more
28-34 from the line, not only shooting them better, but really getting to the line a lot
14-29 from 3, gosh c'mon, 5 of 5 for Ihnen! Christie 4 of 6 Geeze
DawG is a very fine player. Inspector Gadget
Fun game

One of the best things about Hawkins I noticed when we got him is that he shot something like 160 - 170 free throws last year. He punishes the defense.

 

[Sane24]

Christie is very good offensively but I am guessing he will be exposed on the defensive end of the court against the higher level competition. He will get there but it is going to take some time.

Christie's brother is in the NBA, so there is nothing overwhelming him in Big10 basketball.

 

[Dakota2]

I’m not ready to declare this team a final 4 contender just yet but last year we really struggled to beat weak teams early in the year so it’s refreshing to see us blowing the doors off these kind of teams. Obviously it’s early but this team looks to have potential to move up the standings in a so far not very impressive Big Ten.

Yeah but what about the scrimmage at Col. St? (Posting for Spaulding who seems indisposed).

 

[nooram]

6,973 according to ESPN

My buddy and I were two of them

 

[bga1]

Yes, he attacks the basket after a shot and comes up with more than his fair share of boards. We knew he was turnover prone when he was recruited but I don't feel too troubled by that so far. A fair number of his turnovers come because he's trying to do things and he's a little too fast for some of his teammates at this point. He's a very active player and both good and bad things often will come with that. Contrary to our last point guard, he appears to be a very good free throw shooter and I'm happy about that. I'm really pleased that we have two legit point guards and I was happy to see Mitchell score in double figures after a quiet first game.

Hawkins will get us a lot of baskets in transition before the defense is set. That's huge because it is so difficult to score in the half court offense in the Big Ten. Mitchell, Christie, Ihnen and Carrington are guys that can all run with Hawkins so there will be plenty of looks for these guys and they all can shoot it. Last year, if you could take Battle out by overplaying him on D then it was down to stopping Garcia to shut us down. Many more options this year.

 

[fan of Ray Williams]

One of the best things about Hawkins I noticed when we got him is that he shot something like 160 - 170 free throws last year. He punishes the defense.

Understood. I posted this Oct. 4th

One huge difference between Mitchell and Hawkins from just looking at numbers, is getting to the line. Hawkins has shot 244 free throws compared to 44 for Mitchell. Mitchell has played in 63 games and in 43 of those games he never shot a free throw. (Checked it 3 times to make sure it was correct.)

 

[gopherguy15]

Missed the game last night. So how did Christie look?

 

[leib0039]

The gophs were ranked the worst P5 team in the preseason. Is that true?

Louisville or Cal has that title, I can't say a lot for sure after a week but I can guarantee we are better than those 2. Louisville is horrendous, they are going to put up a ton on money to hire a huge coaching name in the next 6 months

 

[Dakota2]

Understood. I posted this Oct. 4th

One huge difference between Mitchell and Hawkins from just looking at numbers, is getting to the line. Hawkins has shot 244 free throws compared to 44 for Mitchell. Mitchell has played in 63 games and in 43 of those games he never shot a free throw. (Checked it 3 times to make sure it was correct.)

That is surprising history regarding Mitchell. But Hawkins has shown what an ideal PG would provide.

 

[fan of Ray Williams]

Not at all game related as to the result I guess, but Henson leaves me a little stumped. Obviously successful college career as a player, point guard. Played in the NBA. Final Four assistant coach. Really good resume. I’m assuming, but the guy must know the game inside out. Little surprised he doesn’t have more success. Guess it’s an extremely tough gig there.

 

[Holy Man]

Missed the game last night. So how did Christie look?

Great question! Smooth. Good shooter. Never saw him out of position. Took a short stint in the first half as primary ball handler. He fits in the B1G. Between him and Ihnen, we have two additional scores to Garcia. That’s huge in the B1G when most teams can take away two, but three scoring options. Really glad we have him. Didn’t look winded after being sick, either.

 

[Holy Man]

Not at all game related as to the result I guess, but Henson leaves me a little stumped. Obviously successful college career as a player, point guard. Played in the NBA. Final Four assistant coach. Really good resume. I’m assuming, but the guy must know the game inside out. Little surprised he doesn’t have more success. Guess it’s an extremely tough gig there.

Their offense last night was very NBA ish. Lots of isolation and one on one. The system looks pretty good, but his players couldn’t make the shots. Is he new there?

 

[fan of Ray Williams]

Their offense last night was very NBA ish. Lots of isolation and one on one. The system looks pretty good, but his players couldn’t make the shots. Is he new there?

No, not new there, but lots of new players as has been mentioned. This is his 8th year there.

 

[fan of Ray Williams]

One nasty little stat from the game was the 2 for 10 for Hawkins and Carrington. 0-6 on 3’s. Hawkins just missed a couple of lay ups which would have, of course, brought it up. Both shot a couple bad looking 3’s. Carrington came nowhere near the rim on one attempt.
They are a combined 1-10 on 3’s through the first two games.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

Great question! Smooth. Good shooter. Never saw him out of position. Took a short stint in the first half as primary ball handler. He fits in the B1G. Between him and Ihnen, we have two additional scores to Garcia. That’s huge in the B1G when most teams can take away two, but three scoring options. Really glad we have him. Didn’t look winded after being sick, either.

Also, all the worries about his slight frame, 185 lbs. @ 6’6”, appeared unfounded- funny how it ends up being that way with fear.

He looks like a solid 2 bills to me, with a strong lower body and room for another 10-15 top side.

His ceiling is All-Conference and NBA rotational player.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

Missed the game last night. So how did Christie look?

Also, all the worries about his slight frame, 185 lbs. @ 6’6”, appeared unfounded- funny how it ends up being that way with fear.

He looks like a do solid 2 bills tome, with a strong lower body and room for another 10-15 top side.

His ceiling is All-Conference and NBA rotational player.

 

[TwistingMyMelon]

Also, all the worries about his slight frame, 185 lbs. @ 6’6”, appeared unfounded- funny how it ends up being that way with fear.

I would guess that's about where Richard Hamilton was in college (certainly as a freshman). He averaged almost 20 points per game in his three years of college, was a consensus first team All American in his 3rd season (2nd team in his soph season), and national champ and NCAA tournament MVP in his final year. He then averaged 17.1 points per game over 14 NBA seasons.

 

[Jack jones]

Football game on Saturday is also on Peacock. As is most premier league soccer. The soccer makes it a permanent subscription for me.

No the Gophers play on the BTN against tOSU.