So, let the debate begin. Better season, Iowa or Minnesota?

[Gopherwatcher]

So if those "play-in" games are actually part of the tournament, why aren't they included in any of the tournament bracket pick'ems? Huh? Huh? Can't have a perfect bracket if you don't pick "every" game.

 

[cjbfbp]

I would be more confident we could continue that pattern if we had more contributions from guys like Buggs and McNeil than we got in the NIT.

I agree that Buggs didn't show enough this year to feel much confidence in him going forward, but I'm more optimistic about McNeil. He showed that he was a tough kid, a good defender, and pretty much unfazed by the competition. He deferred (probably by a combination of design and choice) to others on offense for the most part but I didn't see anything that made me think he couldn't provide more to the offense in the future. He didn't make a lot of mistakes for a freshman at least. I think bigger problems going forward are 1) how close will Austin's successors come to filling the hole left by his departure and 2) will the team have one or more forwards that bring the word "power" back to the forward position.

 

[Section201]

Tough question

Better Season? Tough one. Iowa crashed and burned at the end and as we know, that hurts. The Gophers exceed expectations and win the NIT. Sorry, but I prefer winning the NIT to losing an effing "play-in" game. To me that isn't even in the NCAA tourney.

I prefer the Gopher season by a hair.

 

[Slim Tubby]

I don't know how to answer the original question....the goal is to obviously reach the NCAA tourney. However, if I were an Iowa fan, I would be very concerned about what they received for coaching from Fran late in the season. They had WAY too much talent to finish the way they did. When it's all said and done, I feel better about what the Gopher's accomplished but I expect them to make the Big Dance next year or I'll be very disappointed.

 

[Slim Tubby]

Yes, that is quite possible, believe me. Here are the contributing factors:

1) One is old enough to have outgrown some of the emotional attachments of youthful rivalries;
2) One moves around enough to understand that various localities can give you something positive and enjoyable if you are open to them.

Strong answers, sir....well played.

 

[march madness]

Not only McCabe but starting Woodbury over Olaseni who is at least twice the defender. Granted Woodbury only plays 16 min a game but it is just weird to me. Olaseni average more points, rebounds, and block shots in that same 16 minutes. So then your thinking ok woodbury must be an upper classmen, nope soph to Olaseni's jr status. On another note Freshmen JOk 6-6 200 athlete who can hit 3's has a ton of potential.

Yes, the key for Iowa will be replacing Marble. They'll miss Basabe some, too, but McCabe isn't really much of a loss.

It's funny how it seems most every coach has a blind spot for certain players. For McCaffery it was playing McCabe so much at the end of the season, .

 

[Moonlight]

Shutting down the conversation at which tournament each team made is ridiculous. Teams are selected for the tournament by a committee and by all accounts their resumes were basically equivalent.
Minnesota is the clear answer. Very few teams end their season on a winning note. This is especially encouraging since expectations for this season were very low. I would have considered the Gophers an NIT bubble team to start the season and most pre-season prognosticators agreed.

Iowa basically mirrored our season from last year. They were final four hopefuls at mid-season and crashed and burned down the stretch. Major letdown for the Hawkeye fans.

I know I'm in the minority here, but I'll take this year over last year, too. This year's team played with passion, belief and pride whereas last year's squad looked utterly lost by the end. An NCAA tourney qualification and win over an equally lost UCLA team didn't erase the disappointment potential unrealized.

I agree w/all of this. If making the 68 was purely by achievement, that would be one thing.
I also agree about this year over last year. I am glad we made the tourney for the overall good of the program and that W over UCLA appears well, but last year was miserable. Last years coach and team disproved what Sid Hartman has always said, "The only thing that matters is win, baby, win." Not in college basketball. Winning was not enough for us last year. Winning was not enough for Iowa this year.

 

[HOOP DREAMS]

Better Season? Tough one. Iowa crashed and burned at the end and as we know, that hurts. The Gophers exceed expectations and win the NIT. Sorry, but I prefer winning the NIT to losing an effing "play-in" game. To me that isn't even in the NCAA tourney.

I prefer the Gopher season by a hair.

If Iowa would have won the play-in game and lost to Mich in the 'real' first round I would call it a tie or probably lean towards trading places. Considering they got bounced in the play-in game I'll take the NIT Ship.

 

[Deleted_User]

The question that was asked in the thread was simple: Who had the better season, Iowa or Minnesota. The answer is Iowa.

If you want to debate who should feel better about the season, who finished stronger, who did a better job of meeting expectations, or who should be more excited about next year, carry on, since all of those questions are open for discussion.

Open season on trolls.

 

[lakesgopher]

I think a guy has to understand the expectations before the season starts to determine the higher level of success. Minnesota was picked to be one of he worst teams in the BIG while Iowa was considered a contender to win the conference. Making the tourney is always better than the NIT but based on expectations, Minnesota had the better season. Iowa was picked early by many as a Final Four team. No one talked about Minnesota as a threat to do anything. Going to the NIT isn't the goal, but based on what people thought we would do, I'm very proud of what we did this year.

 

[vagopher]

So you'd rather play for 69th place than for 1st?

I would rather play for 1st place, but winning the NIT is far from 69th place. I'm confident that many of the teams that land NCAA bids by winning their conference would not be invited to the NIT.

 

[MinneStoa]

If Iowa would have won the play-in game and lost to Mich in the 'real' first round I would call it a tie or probably lean towards trading places. Considering they got bounced in the play-in game I'll take the NIT Ship.

Didn't the winner of Iowa/Tennessee play UMass in the "first" round?

 

[underground629]

It's simply opinion to say that the Gophers had a worse season that a crap team from a crap conference who beat some garbage teams in the conference tournament in order to sneak into the NCAA tournament.

So you'd rather play for 69th place than for 1st?

 

[underground629]

I agree. This was a way more enjoyable season that last year. We limped into the tourney last year and they constantly teased and disappointed. We also lucked out with our round one draw. I only hated this team against Illinois, NW, and blanking on the other. Wanted to kill the team the yr before like half the BT season.

This is pretty simple to me. Which group of fans is happier with their season? Iowa fans were disgusted at how their season ended, and feel let down by the season. Gophers' fans were mostly delighted with how the season ended, and will look back fondly on it. Minnesota's season was more of a success, in my mind, and I don't think it's particularly close.

 

[underground629]

Probably a dumb question, but what happened to Basabe? Did he have an injury that ruined his game? I loved watching him battle Trevor when he was a freshman. Actually I hated it because I was like damn, this kid's gonna be good all 4 yrs. He really got worse.

Yes, the key for Iowa will be replacing Marble. They'll miss Basabe some, too, but McCabe isn't really much of a loss.

It's funny how it seems most every coach has a blind spot for certain players. For McCaffery it was playing McCabe so much at the end of the season, for Pitino it was sticking with Malik long after he lost his shooting stroke, and going back to Tubby I thought he had a serious blind spot for Ralph III. Not that those guys didn't do some good things, just that it seemed to me quite often they received more PT than was warranted.

 

[underground629]

I'll take NIT winners or runners-up over stumbling into the tournament and losing in the play-in game. Gotta make it to the round of 32 to make it a good year after stumbling in. That's the only reason last year didn't drive me completely insane.

 

[underground629]

You picked the one lowlight of the finals run. Obviously people wouldn't be okay if we kept winning the NIT. One year of that versus one year of what Iowa did is better when you take expectations into account.

Do you think it's a good thing when Minnesota is playing on ESPN and the first graphic they show is highlighting we have the 3rd most NIT appearances in the country?

 

[Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0]

Originally Posted by Maximus View Post
Do you think it's a good thing when Minnesota is playing on ESPN and the first graphic they show is highlighting we have the 3rd most NIT appearances in the country?

Did Crash Davis think breaking the minor league home run record was a good thing?