Thoughts on the game tonight

[MrAugustana]

Whether the game was officiated fairly or not is not the point or even a matter of dispute, well, I guess except for the Augie radio clown. But anyway, 38 FTA to 14 for Augie is certainly 1 of 3 reasons why the Gophers won. Whatever the cause of the discrepancy. I would have to say that the officials thought Augie did not know how to body up and arm check appropriately. I am guessing they did what the coaching staff taught them to do, so that was an obvious disconnect for Augie coming in here. Maybe they do exactly the same thing in D2 with no call, I don't know.

I'm not sure who said there was a dispute (at least, I don't think either of the Augie guys on here said much about the officiating, unless I missed something), but I'll address your point anyway.

The general consensus from the fans over on the Division 2 message board (where a lot of Augie/Winona State/St. Cloud State/etc. fans spend most of their time) is that the calls on both ends of the court were more ticky tack than would normally be called in a D2 game. NOT to say that it's wrong, as a LOT of Augie's fouls simply came from trying (and failing) to keep up with Minnesota's athleticism, but just that a lot of D2 games in the Midwest are more physical and don't get as many foul calls as the Vikings had called on them last night. And it was fans of different programs saying that, not just Augie homers.

Again, I'm not complaining about the officiating, as it really just comes down to a lack of athleticism for the Vikings and a different style of play than Augie's used to.

That said, Augie should've been able to adjust to that style of play in the second half and failed to do so, though I doubt Billeter (Augie's head coach) minds that they were playing aggressively, as Augie has generally been known as a softer team in the past. Either way, we should've adjusted and didn't. Instead, three of our big men fouled out and our starting shooting guard had 4 fouls as well. Not easy to win games when you foul that much.

 

[sunnyday2]

Don't disagree. I thought a lot of the fouls were a bit ticky tacky. I wondered if these were D2 officials? By whatever standard the officials were using, maybe Augie really did commit that many more than Gopher. But clearly that was one of about 3 decisive factors in the game.

 

[Minnesconsin fan]

Any Gopher fans have thoughts on Augie's student section last night at the game? I heard/read that the students showed up in full force (for a Monday night game, four hours away from home), but I'd be curious to see what the home team's fans thought.

Also, I read on the Argus Leader game live chat that the Gopher students busted out the "O-ver-ra-ted, *clap, clap, clap clap clap*" chant. Gotta feel good getting to use that one on a D2 team. Guess maybe they're warming up for when the Gophs upset Wisconsin or another team that's better than Augie. Fans need exhibition games too, right?


I thought the Augie fans were way more into it than the Barnyard and it seemed like they were even louder in the 2nd half when behind than in the 1st with the lead. I tried to count them and it didn't look like more than 50 but they had some leadership and had a plan and made some noise. I was impressed. I think The Barnyard treated it like an exhibition game &/or stayed home to study. And thats ok.

 

[MrAugustana]

Good to hear about the Augie fans showing up. The Augieholics started about 6 or 7 years ago and have made it a point ever since then to try and be the best student section in our league (the NSIC). When they really get pulled together for something like a trip to the Barn, they can be a pretty effective student section for a small, private D2 school several hours away on a weeknight. I know I'm repeating myself with that comment, but I'm always excited as an Augie fan that our students (and our entire fanbase in general) can represent at away games.

At the same time, I don't blame the Barnyard for not coming out in full force. It's rare to see more than 20 or 30 Augieholics at home exhibition games against lower-level talent.