BleedGopher
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per Donnelly:
The bigger issue is that the Gophers keep dropping games against teams they "should" beat - or at least they should if they want to be a tournament team. They still don't have even an NIT berth sewn up (one more win will guarantee a .500 record) but even a chance to play spoiler is slipping away under a hail of 20-foot jump shots.
"Just knowing that we have Wisconsin, Michigan State, those games that can still give us a boost and give us a chance to get in the tournament, and then you've got the Big Ten tournament which is going to be just as tough, good teams all across the board ... just knowing you have opportunities to still make some noise and make a run at this tournament is a reason to put this one behind you and go play the next day," Mathieu said.
But Pitino let his team know after the game that they'd just blown an opportunity to remain relevant in the Big Ten and demonstrate growth as a team.
"He was really, really upset - he said we didn't have any heart and that this was a letdown," Mathieu said. "We needed this [win], a lot like last year Northwestern, last year Illinois - we needed this and we came out and laid an egg. You would think having ... five seniors we would learn from that and we didn't learn from that."
Pitino was speaking about his team's 3-point defense but he could have been talking about the whole season when he summarized the evening: "It is deflating, but you've got to get mentally tougher. And that's the reality of it."
http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/...to_do_it_for_Gophers_NCAA_tourney_hopes021815
Go Gophers!!
The bigger issue is that the Gophers keep dropping games against teams they "should" beat - or at least they should if they want to be a tournament team. They still don't have even an NIT berth sewn up (one more win will guarantee a .500 record) but even a chance to play spoiler is slipping away under a hail of 20-foot jump shots.
"Just knowing that we have Wisconsin, Michigan State, those games that can still give us a boost and give us a chance to get in the tournament, and then you've got the Big Ten tournament which is going to be just as tough, good teams all across the board ... just knowing you have opportunities to still make some noise and make a run at this tournament is a reason to put this one behind you and go play the next day," Mathieu said.
But Pitino let his team know after the game that they'd just blown an opportunity to remain relevant in the Big Ten and demonstrate growth as a team.
"He was really, really upset - he said we didn't have any heart and that this was a letdown," Mathieu said. "We needed this [win], a lot like last year Northwestern, last year Illinois - we needed this and we came out and laid an egg. You would think having ... five seniors we would learn from that and we didn't learn from that."
Pitino was speaking about his team's 3-point defense but he could have been talking about the whole season when he summarized the evening: "It is deflating, but you've got to get mentally tougher. And that's the reality of it."
http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/...to_do_it_for_Gophers_NCAA_tourney_hopes021815
Go Gophers!!