BleedGopher
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per Shama:
Hey, wake up Gophers basketball fans. Coach Richard Pitino’s 6-0 team is the surprise of the Big Ten in this just getting started season and tonight has its biggest challenge so far, playing on the road against 5-1 Florida State, an opponent ranked No. 25 last week in the Associated Press poll.
Last season’s 2-16 Big Ten record drove fans into hibernation and the Gophers have yet to attract a crowd of more than 10,000 in six home games at 14,625 seat Williams Arena. As reported in Sports Headliners earlier this month, nonstudent public season tickets were at 6,246 compared with 7,221 for the 2015-2016 season. The student season tickets total was 1,181, after a 2015-2016 total of 1,748.
But as Pitino likes to say, “That was last year’s team.” With a core of new and improved talent, the Gophers have been impressive with victories over well-known basketball schools Arkansas and St. John’s. Minnesota won those games by scores of 92-86 and 85-71, but the Gophers led both opponents by margins bigger than the final totals.
Tonight comes a prove-it game at Florida State. The Big Ten/ACC Challenge game (6 p.m. ESPNU) is the only time Pitino’s young team (one scholarship senior) plays away from Williams Arena during the nonconference schedule. The Seminoles represent a sizeable challenge both because FSU is a potential NCAA Tournament team and has a roster with big guards like 6-foot-7 Dwayne Bacon and four front court players who are 6-9 or taller including 7-1, 304-pound center Michael Ojo and 7-4 (not a typo) center Christ Koumadje. Forward Jonathan Isaac is 6-10 and a potential NBA lottery pick. He is averaging 15.3 points, second on the team to Bacon’s 18.2.
http://shamasportsheadliners.com/
Go Gophers!!
Hey, wake up Gophers basketball fans. Coach Richard Pitino’s 6-0 team is the surprise of the Big Ten in this just getting started season and tonight has its biggest challenge so far, playing on the road against 5-1 Florida State, an opponent ranked No. 25 last week in the Associated Press poll.
Last season’s 2-16 Big Ten record drove fans into hibernation and the Gophers have yet to attract a crowd of more than 10,000 in six home games at 14,625 seat Williams Arena. As reported in Sports Headliners earlier this month, nonstudent public season tickets were at 6,246 compared with 7,221 for the 2015-2016 season. The student season tickets total was 1,181, after a 2015-2016 total of 1,748.
But as Pitino likes to say, “That was last year’s team.” With a core of new and improved talent, the Gophers have been impressive with victories over well-known basketball schools Arkansas and St. John’s. Minnesota won those games by scores of 92-86 and 85-71, but the Gophers led both opponents by margins bigger than the final totals.
Tonight comes a prove-it game at Florida State. The Big Ten/ACC Challenge game (6 p.m. ESPNU) is the only time Pitino’s young team (one scholarship senior) plays away from Williams Arena during the nonconference schedule. The Seminoles represent a sizeable challenge both because FSU is a potential NCAA Tournament team and has a roster with big guards like 6-foot-7 Dwayne Bacon and four front court players who are 6-9 or taller including 7-1, 304-pound center Michael Ojo and 7-4 (not a typo) center Christ Koumadje. Forward Jonathan Isaac is 6-10 and a potential NBA lottery pick. He is averaging 15.3 points, second on the team to Bacon’s 18.2.
http://shamasportsheadliners.com/
Go Gophers!!
