Gopher Basketball
The Team
A year ago, Indiana grabbed a victory at home against Minnesota, winning 81-78 in overtime (obviously this required a court rushing). The Gophers, who never led during regulation, sent Verdell Jones to the line an incredible 19 times that game. It was an ugly loss to a team that won just 4 Big Ten games all season.
Earlier this year, Minnesota failed to deliver a proper payback in Minneapolis, winning that contest by a score of just 67-63. The Gophers allowed Indiana to grab far too many offensive rebounds (35%+ OR%) and Minnesota shot poorly (41.5% FG), especially during a four and a half minute stretch late in the first half during which the Hoosiers scored 15 in a row. However, Minnesota’s usual strong performance of their own on the offensive boards and ability to get to the free throw line was enough to push them to victory.
Several familiar faces will not be participating in the rematch due to injury: Al Nolen (foot) was perhaps the key to the game and tallied 14 points, 6 boards, 4 assists and 4 steals; sophomore guard Maurice Creek (knee) is out for the season – he scored 12 points and grabbed 5 boards off the bench; Christian Watford (hand) is out after having surgery on Tuesday and is a huge loss for Indiana – despite going just 2/13 and scoring 4 at the Barn, he is a heck of a player and has been playing at a very high level over the past few games; and Verdell Jones (he’s a little skirt-wearing girl) has sat the past few games, but might play Wednesday night.
The simple truth is that Indiana is a bad team that the Gophers should handle. Defensively, Indiana has difficulty stopping any team that is mediocre or better. Expect Minnesota to clean up on the offensive glass and get to the line often. Indiana has no answer for our size. Offensively, the absence of Watford is going to be tough on them. Unless Hulls and Roth combine for 15 treys and Oladipo or Jones has a career night, the Hoosier faithful might as well stay off the icy roads and instead spend some quality time at the farmhouse with their wife/cousin. There will be no fist pumping from the tan one after this game – at least not in public. My pick: Gophers by 9.
The Players
#1 Jordan Hulls
6’0″, 175 lbs, sophomore. 29.9 mpg, 10.8 ppg, 3.0 apg, 2.5 rpg. This little geek has played very well as of late and comes into this game with some confidence. Hulls is averaging 13.1 points in 33.4 minutes per conference game and has been more assertive as of late. With Jones out, has played a lot of point and has put together some solid games. He’s an excellent shooter (79/149, or 53.0% FG and 43/87, 49.4% 3FG) who will make you pay if left with any room. Scored 10 points of 4/8 shooting in Minneapolis, but will need to be a larger factor offensively in this one.
#4 Victor Oladipo
6’5″, 210 lbs, freshman. 18.0 mpg, 7.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg. Athletic youngster that can be a treat to watch. Has come off the bench most of the year, probably should play more. Not a big fan of the deep ball, but can get to the rim and is crafty on the offensive glass. The Gophers also must be aware of him when they have the ball – he will rack up steals if we’re not careful.
#5 Jeremiah Rivers
6’5″, 210 lbs, senior. 22.9 mpg, 3.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg. Early in his collegiate career, Rivers had the pleasure of playing in the Final Four. Now as a senior he’s enjoying different experiences, such as choking on late free throws that cost his terrible team games. Offensively he doesn’t offer much other than the ball to the opponent. That said, his defense is good enough (at least relative to others on Indiana’s roster) that he gets solid minutes.
#12 Verdell Jones
6’5″, 185 lbs, junior. 27.7 mpg, 12.9 ppg, 3.6 apg, 3.1 rpg. Has sat out the past few games with a sore knee. He is currently day-by-day. Not at all shy on offense, he can get it going some nights in the scoring column, but struggles with turning the ball over. Shooting 48.6% (87/178) for the year (just 10/29 or 34.5% from three).
#2 Christian Watford
6’8″, 230 lbs, sophomore. 29.5 mpg, 17.0 pg, 5.8 rpg. Watford is a very good looking player. Unfortunately, he suffered a broken hand late in the loss to Michigan State and had surgery on Tuesday. Not physically imposing, but able to school slower defenders inside as well as step behind the arc and knock it down from deep. Excellent free throw shooter (83.5% in 133 attempts) that gets to the line with good frequency. Has really been on another level the past few games – the timing of his injury is unfortunate. He’ll continue to improve and impress the rest of his time at Indiana. Best wishes for a speedy and full recovery.
#3 Maurice Creek
6’5″, 200 lbs, sophomore. 20.0 mpg, 8.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg. Was a fantastic frosh until a gruesome knee injury. After season-ending surgery, he came back this year but physically was nowhere near his pre-injury status. Just a couple of weeks ago his sophomore season was cut short, this time needing surgery for a stress fracture in his other knee. Prior to this year’s injury, he was shooting just 38.9% from the field overall and 31.0% from three-point range. He’ll try to give it another go when ready, but sadly his career may be a case of “what could have been.”
#10 Will Sheehey
6’6, 195 lbs, freshman. 10.7 mpg, 4.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg. Just a guy on the team that will probably play some against the Gophers.
#30 Matt Roth
6’3″, 190 lbs, junior. 8.2 mpg, 3.7 ppg. 42.2 3FG% (19/45). Should see more playing time with the depleted roster; good shooter, went 4/5 from deep against Michigan State.
Bad Big Dudes – Good size, poor skill. Some of the “defense” played by these young men is astonishingly bad. Elston and Pritchard are capable of getting some rebounds due to their size. Capo is beyond hopeless. Not at all an impressive group.
#25 Tom Pritchard
6’9″, 250 lbs, junior. 16.6 mpg, 1.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg
#32 Derek Elston
6’9″, 235 lbs, sophomore. 15.6 mpg, 5.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg
#23 Bobby Capobianco
6’9″, 235 lbs, sophomore. 6.7 mpg, 1.4 ppg, 1.4 rpg
Rushing the Court
After Thursday’s victory over Illinois, the Hoosier fans hesitantly stormed the court at Assembly Hall. No need for me to pour it on – I actually feel for the team because of the nasty injuries they have had – but this was another case of a fairly ridiculous rushing of the court. Illinois had lost 3 of 4 coming into the game. When Indiana won, Illinois was ranked #5. #5, that is, in the Big Ten. After this weekend’s games, the Illini sat all alone with the conference’s seventh best record. That is who you’re excited about beating on your home court? I get it – the fans have a crappy team and a crappy coach and wanted to let loose after a close (albeit ugly) game. I don’t think rushing the court was warranted and it’s another sad commentary on the state of Indiana basketball, but I can forgive the fans. After all, It’s Indiana! It’s Indiana!
Crean is a different story. Instead of heading towards Bruce Weber for a post game handshake, Tommy felt it was necessary to first get a hug from his wife. OK. Next, he’s holding the “game ball”. Is this ball going into a glass case in his office? “Hey we won a home game 52-49 against a mediocre team in year three of my time at Indiana!… it delayed us falling below .500 on the season for a few extra days!” Cool. His name dropping is always cute and he took the opportunity to let everyone know that “my brother-in-law John Harbaugh texted me after the game!” And then there was the fist pumping, jumping and generally pathetic antics in the lobby of Assembly Hall.
Many in Bloomington are still are unable to see through it. The verbal commitments from kids in the 2012 through 2014 classes and now the rash of injuries are enough to keep most satisfied and of the belief that good enough progress is being made. That’s great – why should I complain? After all, the longer the tan one is heading up “the absolute pinnacle of college basketball”, the better it is for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
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