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The Good, The Bad and The Interesting: The How Will It End? Edition
By zipsofakron
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/237864?referrer_id=331171
How will it all end? That’s a question I’m definitely ready to have answered. In a season that started out so promising, got even MORE promising, collapsed into itself like a black hole, and was briefly revived only to swallow itself again, I’m looking forward to seeing what all the stress has been for.
With the regular season in the books and the Gophers sitting at 8-10 in the conference with a 9-seed in the Big Ten Tournament, it’s easy to be unimpressed with the result. But I don’t think it’s as simple as just being disappointed and expecting more mediocre performance. Last season devolved into an ugly mess that left no one happy. This season is slightly different, however. What we have is a team that beat the best in the nation only two weeks ago. That means something, right? And this isn’t a freak occurrence like Penn State over Michigan. The Gophers have been slaying top-notch teams all season. Something is definitely there; the problem is we never know when we’ll see the Minnesota team that is capable of taking down the nation’s top teams.
This year’s Gophers are such an odd case that it wouldn’t even surprise me if they ran the table in the Big Ten Tournament; and it wouldn’t surprise me if they lost in the first round to Illinois. They’ve won when we’ve least expected it and vice versa in the most painful fashion. But they’ve been nothing short of entertaining once again. The question still remains, though – which Gopher team will show up in the season’s final weeks? The one that took down Indiana at home in front of a raucous crowd or the one that couldn’t find its nose on the road against Nebraska? If the rest of the season has been any indication, probably some sort of combination of both. And with an NCAA bid all but assured, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how it all plays out and understanding exactly what the Gophers are made of this season.
GOOD:
Well, it’s not over – If there’s one stark difference between this time last year and today it’s that the Gophers have actually locked up an NCAA Tournament appearance. In essence, no matter what they do from here on out they really can’t play themselves out of a bid. That has to count for something, right?
All coaching and on-court drama aside one of the foundational wishes for a college basketball fan is to have their team playing in the Big Dance. Sure, you can have Final Four dreams and visions of Sweet Sixteen appearances, but no matter if your team is a 16-seed or a favorite, everyone just wants to be there for at least 40 minutes. And for the first time since 2010 we’ll actually be able to watch the Gophers play for something significant.
So, even though the season thus far has been a disappointment, I think it’s important to at least step back, set aside the misgivings of the current program, and just be excited that the Gophers have the opportunity to be part of one of the nation’s premier sporting events.
You can’t put a price on experience – Once again, the regular season performance is what it is. It’s easy to focus on the lows but it’s also easy to forget about the highs. Remember, this is still a team that has beaten both Indiana and Michigan State – two of the nation’s best teams. And another important consideration for this year’s Gopher team is the amount of experience they’ve had as a team. They didn’t do a whole lot of winning on a consistent basis in the conference season this year, but this is a team that has played together for a long time. They had a successful run through the NIT last year and got some great postseason experience. They played amazing basketball early this season and have been through some tough situations since, though the results have been mixed. However, it’s experiences like that which can give teams a nice boost at the end of the season.
Now, will experience singlehandedly win them games as we move into the postseason? No. But it’s not like they haven’t been in this position before. They’ve been the underdog. They’ve been part of a season collapse. The Gophers have a veteran team that has seen its fair share of adversity, and it’s those experiences that play well in March. The Big Ten conference season was a gauntlet, and Minnesota faced a lot of good teams on a regular basis. Going into the postseason they can expect to face teams from conferences that weren’t as strong, and the experience of playing a full season in the best conference in basketball will surely have its benefits.
BAD
Figure the lineup out, please – Most teams by at least the halfway point of the season have gotten into a groove with their lineup and have a fairly set rotation of players. This rotation doesn’t generally change too much and, aside from slight tinkering from time to time, remains static for the duration of the season. In short, coaches have their lineups figured out once the season gets rolling.
The Gophers do not fit that mold. In fact, even as recently as the Nebraska game, the 30th game of the season, Tubby Smith started a lineup that had not seen the floor together all season (Disclaimer: I understand he started the same senior-based lineup against Penn State, but that was more of a gimmick for Senior Night). Instead of rolling with the same starting five he’d used for the entire conference season, he decided, on the road no less, to go with an untested lineup at a point in the season where wins were at a premium. I’m no coach, but I know enough to know that March is definitely not the time to be sending out a lineup of players that were previously role players and nothing more. March is the time where lineups are supposed to be battle-tested, aware of each other’s capabilities. It’s supposed to be a well-oiled machine where strengths and weaknesses are understood and positioned to realize the greatest benefit. It’s not a time to play Boggle with an already mentally-fragile team and see if something clicks.
One of the biggest complaints I’ve heard this year has been lineup inconsistency, but never was the problem more apparent than against Nebraska when Tubby re-started a senior-heavy lineup that had barely seen the floor together all season. The result? An embarrassing performance against one of the worst teams in the conference. Now, the loss wasn’t just because of the lineup, but my point is that by the 30th game of the season a team should be starting and rotating the same players in a consistent fashion. This entire season has been one long roster flip-flop that has seen three different starting lineups and a staggering array of substitution patterns that, frankly, haven’t made a whole lot of sense. How is a team supposed to develop any sort of consistency when different combinations of starters and reserves are constantly mishmashed? The inconsistency of Minnesota’s performance this season certainly seems to reflect the odd approach to roster management from the coaching staff, and it has been frustrating to watch.
INTERESTING
The terrifying lows and the dizzying highs – What would a Gopher basketball regular season be without a roller coaster ride of emotions? From the court-storming excitement of an historic win over Indiana to the gut-wrenching losses against Northwestern and Wisconsin, this year’s conference schedule was another one for the books. The Gophers have even been mentioned by the national media as being particularly two-faced, and no one can believe that a team can be so schizophrenic when it comes to on court performance.
But upon closer inspection it’s not just perception that the Gophers are basketball’s version of Jekyll and Hyde. Not only are they the only team in the conference to lose to both Nebraska and Northwestern – two of the worst teams in the conference – they are also the only team to beat Indiana, Michigan State and Wisconsin – three of the best.
What does this mean? Not a whole lot other than the Gophers are capable of playing at an elite level at times, while also capable of playing down to their opponent. That in itself isn’t particularly noteworthy. What’s odd is that there is such a gulf in the differences in opponent quality. They are literally the only team in the conference that has beaten the best and lost to the worst.
Just another day in the life of a Gopher fan.
By zipsofakron
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/237864?referrer_id=331171
How will it all end? That’s a question I’m definitely ready to have answered. In a season that started out so promising, got even MORE promising, collapsed into itself like a black hole, and was briefly revived only to swallow itself again, I’m looking forward to seeing what all the stress has been for.
With the regular season in the books and the Gophers sitting at 8-10 in the conference with a 9-seed in the Big Ten Tournament, it’s easy to be unimpressed with the result. But I don’t think it’s as simple as just being disappointed and expecting more mediocre performance. Last season devolved into an ugly mess that left no one happy. This season is slightly different, however. What we have is a team that beat the best in the nation only two weeks ago. That means something, right? And this isn’t a freak occurrence like Penn State over Michigan. The Gophers have been slaying top-notch teams all season. Something is definitely there; the problem is we never know when we’ll see the Minnesota team that is capable of taking down the nation’s top teams.
This year’s Gophers are such an odd case that it wouldn’t even surprise me if they ran the table in the Big Ten Tournament; and it wouldn’t surprise me if they lost in the first round to Illinois. They’ve won when we’ve least expected it and vice versa in the most painful fashion. But they’ve been nothing short of entertaining once again. The question still remains, though – which Gopher team will show up in the season’s final weeks? The one that took down Indiana at home in front of a raucous crowd or the one that couldn’t find its nose on the road against Nebraska? If the rest of the season has been any indication, probably some sort of combination of both. And with an NCAA bid all but assured, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how it all plays out and understanding exactly what the Gophers are made of this season.
GOOD:
Well, it’s not over – If there’s one stark difference between this time last year and today it’s that the Gophers have actually locked up an NCAA Tournament appearance. In essence, no matter what they do from here on out they really can’t play themselves out of a bid. That has to count for something, right?
All coaching and on-court drama aside one of the foundational wishes for a college basketball fan is to have their team playing in the Big Dance. Sure, you can have Final Four dreams and visions of Sweet Sixteen appearances, but no matter if your team is a 16-seed or a favorite, everyone just wants to be there for at least 40 minutes. And for the first time since 2010 we’ll actually be able to watch the Gophers play for something significant.
So, even though the season thus far has been a disappointment, I think it’s important to at least step back, set aside the misgivings of the current program, and just be excited that the Gophers have the opportunity to be part of one of the nation’s premier sporting events.
You can’t put a price on experience – Once again, the regular season performance is what it is. It’s easy to focus on the lows but it’s also easy to forget about the highs. Remember, this is still a team that has beaten both Indiana and Michigan State – two of the nation’s best teams. And another important consideration for this year’s Gopher team is the amount of experience they’ve had as a team. They didn’t do a whole lot of winning on a consistent basis in the conference season this year, but this is a team that has played together for a long time. They had a successful run through the NIT last year and got some great postseason experience. They played amazing basketball early this season and have been through some tough situations since, though the results have been mixed. However, it’s experiences like that which can give teams a nice boost at the end of the season.
Now, will experience singlehandedly win them games as we move into the postseason? No. But it’s not like they haven’t been in this position before. They’ve been the underdog. They’ve been part of a season collapse. The Gophers have a veteran team that has seen its fair share of adversity, and it’s those experiences that play well in March. The Big Ten conference season was a gauntlet, and Minnesota faced a lot of good teams on a regular basis. Going into the postseason they can expect to face teams from conferences that weren’t as strong, and the experience of playing a full season in the best conference in basketball will surely have its benefits.
BAD
Figure the lineup out, please – Most teams by at least the halfway point of the season have gotten into a groove with their lineup and have a fairly set rotation of players. This rotation doesn’t generally change too much and, aside from slight tinkering from time to time, remains static for the duration of the season. In short, coaches have their lineups figured out once the season gets rolling.
The Gophers do not fit that mold. In fact, even as recently as the Nebraska game, the 30th game of the season, Tubby Smith started a lineup that had not seen the floor together all season (Disclaimer: I understand he started the same senior-based lineup against Penn State, but that was more of a gimmick for Senior Night). Instead of rolling with the same starting five he’d used for the entire conference season, he decided, on the road no less, to go with an untested lineup at a point in the season where wins were at a premium. I’m no coach, but I know enough to know that March is definitely not the time to be sending out a lineup of players that were previously role players and nothing more. March is the time where lineups are supposed to be battle-tested, aware of each other’s capabilities. It’s supposed to be a well-oiled machine where strengths and weaknesses are understood and positioned to realize the greatest benefit. It’s not a time to play Boggle with an already mentally-fragile team and see if something clicks.
One of the biggest complaints I’ve heard this year has been lineup inconsistency, but never was the problem more apparent than against Nebraska when Tubby re-started a senior-heavy lineup that had barely seen the floor together all season. The result? An embarrassing performance against one of the worst teams in the conference. Now, the loss wasn’t just because of the lineup, but my point is that by the 30th game of the season a team should be starting and rotating the same players in a consistent fashion. This entire season has been one long roster flip-flop that has seen three different starting lineups and a staggering array of substitution patterns that, frankly, haven’t made a whole lot of sense. How is a team supposed to develop any sort of consistency when different combinations of starters and reserves are constantly mishmashed? The inconsistency of Minnesota’s performance this season certainly seems to reflect the odd approach to roster management from the coaching staff, and it has been frustrating to watch.
INTERESTING
The terrifying lows and the dizzying highs – What would a Gopher basketball regular season be without a roller coaster ride of emotions? From the court-storming excitement of an historic win over Indiana to the gut-wrenching losses against Northwestern and Wisconsin, this year’s conference schedule was another one for the books. The Gophers have even been mentioned by the national media as being particularly two-faced, and no one can believe that a team can be so schizophrenic when it comes to on court performance.
But upon closer inspection it’s not just perception that the Gophers are basketball’s version of Jekyll and Hyde. Not only are they the only team in the conference to lose to both Nebraska and Northwestern – two of the worst teams in the conference – they are also the only team to beat Indiana, Michigan State and Wisconsin – three of the best.
What does this mean? Not a whole lot other than the Gophers are capable of playing at an elite level at times, while also capable of playing down to their opponent. That in itself isn’t particularly noteworthy. What’s odd is that there is such a gulf in the differences in opponent quality. They are literally the only team in the conference that has beaten the best and lost to the worst.
Just another day in the life of a Gopher fan.