The Daily Gopher

RESPECT lost, time to earn it again

2010-03-18T02:57:32Z

RESPECT lost, time to earn it again

Sports Illustrated's experts have their full brackets posted for all. Despite Vegas saying this game is essentially a coin-flip, 7 of the 8 "experts" picked Xavier to beat your Golden Gophers

And our president also snubbed the Gophers.

Will Minnesota Fans Take Advantage of a 'Home Game'

2010-03-17T13:09:18Z

More photos » Mark Humphrey - AP

Since I mentioned Kentucky fans, I figured it was an excuse to post a picture of Ashley Judd. You're welcome.

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One of the first reactions that many Minnesota fans had when hearing that the Gophers would play Xavier in Milwaukee was that it was essentially a home game for the local team.

That apparent advantage is even being discussed nationally, and was on the mind of the NCAA Selection Committee, as you can see in this Andy Katz column. This is great, right? Well, maybe.

From everything I've heard, getting tickets is next to impossible, even for some season ticket holders. So, for many who might want to attend, they'll have to go the extra mile to get themselves tickets. They'll have to wake up early Friday morning or leave Thursday night for Milwaukee, without ticket in hand, and head to the Bradley Center to scalp tickets. Not the biggest deal in the world, but a disincentive for sure to many.

I'm very curious to see how many Minnesota fans do indeed make the trip. Will the crowd be a partisan one in Minnesota's favor? I sure hope so, but Golden Gophers fans don't exactly have a history of traveling well. And what will it look like nationally, and to potential recruits, if this so-called 'home game' looks to be neutral. I think that will look poorly. Just look at what Kentucky fans did in Nashville for the SEC Tournament. If you didn't watch that SEC final, almost the entire arena was filled with blue and white. That was a true home game for UK on a neutral floor.

I know the Gophers don't have that sort of rabid following that has grown over decades. But if fans want to help Tubby Smith turn this program into a perennial Big Ten power, they sure better show up in large numbers. I'm hoping they will, but would bet they don't.

TDG's Bracket Challenge

2010-03-16T15:52:14Z

TDG's Bracket Challenge

Click on the link above to join TDG's NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge.

PASSWORD is - "tubby"

Golden Nugz - 3.16.10

2010-03-16T14:31:42Z

Let's take a break from Gopher basketball for a few minutes.

Gopher Baseball is continuing to struggle in this early season. This past weekend the Gophers hosted the Metrodome Tournament. Game One was a game owned by Seth Rosin. The Gophers cruised to a 7-1 win over Harvard behind Rosin's 12 Ks. But game two and game three were losses to Creighton and South Dakota State. The 1-2 weekend puts the Gophers at 5-7 overall. Up next is a trip to Alabama for two games with the Crimson Tide, beginning today, and then they stay in the state to face Samford for four games.

Gopher Hockey's season is finished after losing their first round WCHA playoff matchup with North Dakota. The Gophers battled back to even the three-game series with a win on Saturday. But fell in game three 4-1 on Sunday to end their season. If I were you, I'd check out Gopher Puck Live for detailed reactions to the loss and the season.

Gopher Hoops is taking the bus to Milwaukee. Now if they were serious about saving money, they'd take MegaBus. But this isn't a bad move in the current economic environment we live.
The Evansville Courier and Press isn't all that impressed with the Big Ten's (not so) Fab Five in the tournament. But the highlight of the article is the nugget that Illinois is not hosting an NIT game because Cirque du Soleil is booked on their home court. What does Bruce Weber think about all of this? "It would be an understatement to say it's been a tough day," Weber said on Sunday night. "I don't think we have anyone to blame except ourselves."
Basketball Prospectus is always very insightful and this article on the firing of Lickliter is no exception. The decline of Iowa basketball can directly be traced to the Northwestern State upset in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. A year later Alford left, Lickliter was hired, several kids transferred and the program has been in steady decline since.
More thoughts on the Xavier v Minnesota matchup from the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Oh, and Seantrel Henderson is going to sign with USC this week according to his father. OR they just haven't been in the headlines lately and need to get more stories published about SH.
Once again, come back here to watch all out of market games on Thursday through Sunday. NCNCAA March Madness on Demand will be embedded and easy for you to watch as you comment in the daily open threads we'll be having. I know I'm linking to it every day, but I want everyone to see it.

Devoe Joseph on B10 All-Tournament Team

2010-03-16T04:10:38Z

Devoe Joseph on B10 All-Tournament Team

Iowa Fires Lickliter

2010-03-15T21:34:06Z

Iowa Fires Lickliter

That didn't last long. Anyone have any thoughts about the Todd Lickliter era other than it was nice whipping up on the Hawkeyes? Meanwhile, Steve Alford has his team in the Dance with a 3 seed. Ouch.

Initial Reactions to the NCAA Tournament

2010-03-15T17:24:01Z

More photos » Darron Cummings - AP

Minnesota coach Tubby Smith. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

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West Region
Milwaukee pod - Bradley Center
Friday game
11:35 AM tipoff
Limited ticket information HERE (only season tickets holders need apply)

The Golden Gophers were awarded one of the last remaining at-large bids into the 2010 NCAA Tournament. This roller-coaster season saw us ranked, then unranked, in the tournament, then out, then on the bubble, then out of the picture, then back on the bubble and finally back in. When all was said and done the Gophers played their way into the tournament by finishing 7-3 in their last 10 games beating Illinois, Wisconsin, Purdue and Michigan State along the way. So what is our NCAA Tournament destination? An 11 seed, a trip to beautiful Milwaukee and a first round game and a matchup with the Muskateers of Xavier. Here are my initial impressions...

Xavier - pronounced (zay-vee-ur ), do not try to put an X sound in there.
The first name to remember - Jordan Crawford. Former Indiana guard who transferred after the Sampson debacle. Crawford averages just under 20 ppg! As a freshman at IU he averaged 9.7 ppg and averaged 11.5 ppg against Minnesota that year. He is 6-4 and shoots 39% from the three-point line. Crawford led the A10 in scoring and was named to the league's 1st team All-Conference.
The next name to remember - Jason Love. Love is the man in the middle for Xavier and expect this wide-body to be a very physical presence. He averages 11.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, but what concerns me most is the fact that Love is 6-9 and 265 pounds! Our big men do not typically play great against big, physical centers. Earned third team All-Conference.
Xavier is very balanced. According to KenPom stats this team ranks in the top 50 in Off points per possession, Def points per possession, effective FG%, defensive effective FG% and defensive rebounding. So they play good defense, execute efficiently on offense and they rebound well. Sounds like a very good tournament team.
Xavier is experienced. Actually they have only one senior on the team but this is their fifth straight NCAA Tournament so do not expect the Atlantic 10 member to be in awe of the NCAA Tournament.
Xavier is also close to Milwaukee. The Muskateers are located in Cincinnati which is about a 6 hour driver. Their alumni base is not as large as Minnesota's but they should travel well and be well represented.
Common Opponents this year? Butler is the only common opponent. Xavier lost on the road by a point, we won on a neutral court by 9.
I love that we are playing in Milwaukee. Gopher fans should turn out in full force to support this gutsy team.

Worthy links to get started with your Xavier prep.

Cincinnati Enquirer's initial thoughts.
SB Nation's West bracket preview.
Burnt Orange Nation gives you the KenPom rankings of all 65 teams.

DON'T FORGET - Beginning Thursday you can come to TDG and watch live games with NCAA® March Madness on Demand®">CBS's MMOD widget, which will be embedded here. For those of you stuck at work Friday afternoon, come here to watch the game and comment all at the same time.

TDG's Bracket Challenge

2010-03-15T15:58:27Z

TDG's Bracket Challenge

Click on the link above to join TDG's NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge.

PASSWORD is - "tubby"

Nobody pick the Gophers, I'm going to pick that one!

One Game Short, But Two Steps Forward

2010-03-15T14:30:26Z

More photos » Darron Cummings - AP

Hi, I'm DJ Swat and I'm upset because Thad Matta and the rest of the Big Ten coaches disrespect me.

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The Gophers played 7 great halves of basketball in the Big Ten Tournament, but in the second half of the championship game against Ohio State, Minnesota had nothing left. But don't take anything away from what this team accomplished in four days in Indianapolis. They rocked Penn State, finally bested MIchigan Stated, humiliated Purdue, and made it to the conference final. All of that earned the Gophers an 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

In the second half against Ohio State Sunday afternoon, the team's usually stingy defense let up. Shots weren't being contested. Feet were dragging. The result was a tremendous Ohio State spurt that allowed them to take a 33-30 halftime lead and a 44-40 lead early in the second half and run way out to a lopsided Big Ten Tournament title. Evan Turner was tremendous and is clearly the best all around player in the country. Turner had 31, 11 and 6. For Big Ten fans not living in Ohio, it will be nice when he's playing in the NBA next year. Turner wasn't alone during Ohio State's run. David Lighty took over for a critical stretch. And it seemed like William Buford and Jon Diebler couldn't miss.

As a team, Ohio State didn't miss often. They shot almost 58 percent.

The Gophers were able to stem the tide a couple of times, but eventually Minnesota just didn't have an answer. They didn't help themselves by missing quite a few shots in the paint and a few open looks from the outside. Minnesota was also relatively careless with the basketball at times.

But one bad half shouldn't cloud the tremendous play from this team this weekend.

For three and a half games, it was clear this team has finally found an identity. The Gophers will fight you on the boards, pound the ball inside to two big men and hit the open three if you collapse down low. It took two seasons with Colton Iverson and Ralph Sampson III, but finally this weekend it looked like the team has embraced an inside-out approach to scoring the basketball.

Iverson's play in particular was stellar. Sampson had his moments, and is a very nice passer from the high-post. And Damian Johnson and Paul Carter were also able to score with their back to the baskets. All around nice weekend offensively from the big men.

And Devoe Joseph deserves some praise for his performance over the weekend. It wasn't until the overtime against MIchigan State that this Canadian kid has demonstrated he could carry a Big Ten team. Staring at Kalin Lucas, who has beaten the Gophers down the stretch before, It was Joseph who proved he could make the clutch shots in big games. That was great to see.

Another guard, Lawrence Westbrook, also deserves some applause. I know Minnesota fans like to rag on the senior, but Westbrook mostly played within himself, didn't force shots and seemed committed--and very good in stretches--on the defensive end.

This team went into Indianapolis wanting respect, after the team was snubbed by the conference's coaches. They went a long way to earning some of the respect they wanted. But they can take another step or two forward starting Friday afternoon in Milwaukee when they face sixth seeded Xavier. It hasn't been that this team has lacked talent. It's been a lack of consistency that kept Minnesota on the bubble for most of the season. For three nights in Indianapolis, the Gophers demonstrated continued excellence. If they want to be a respected team heading into next year, they'll take that same poise and determination into the NCAA Tournament.

Golden Gophers vs. the NCAA Selection Committee - OPEN THREAD

2010-03-14T21:21:58Z

Here is your chance to talk about our seed, our oppononent or lack of a seed and opponent. We did an awful lot to play our way into the Tournament, but didn't grab the automatic bid. It was probably enough but we'll find out very soon.

Big Ten Championship, Gophers vs. Buckeyes - OPEN THREAD

2010-03-14T06:00:33Z

Michael Conroy - AP

Ohio State's Evan Turner. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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The Gophers are playing for a banner as they are participating in their first ever Big Ten Championship!

Most of us are satisfied that an NCAA Tournament bid is nearly secured, but really we are playing for more. This is actually an opportunity to earn a banner to hang in The Barn. This has been a good run but a win today would make this a GREAT run.

Can the Gophers beat all three Big Ten champs in three consecutive days? Repeat after me Gopher fans...YES WE CAN. Though it won't be easy.

Why we can't win? Evan Turner. He is outstanding and unguardable. I look forward to him as a Timberwolf next season.

Why we can win? Ohio State is playing their third game in three days. Now before you point out that we are playing our fourth game in four days remember that we go 10 deep. Ohio State goes just six, maybe seven, deep. And our bench has been outstanding in this tournament. Guys like Devron Bostick, Paul Carter, Justin Cobbs and Colten Iverson have been playing incredible. Add to that, the fact that Blake Hoffarber has had good games against Ohio State and this game may not be the slam dunk for Ohio State that everyone thinks it is.

Should be fun, might be awesome.

(PJS Update: Some pregame links) ...

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, who has done a great job blogging the BTT Tournament,with a quick conference championship game preview.

Updated bubble watch and bracketology from ESPN. Bubble watch notes numerous times that Minnesota likely gets in and Illinois doesn't. That has to kill Illini fans, but it's the right call. Minnesota's beaten more top 50 RPI teams, has a better record against the likely NCAA field, beat Illinois on the road and is playing more consistently well down the stretch.

Patrick Reusse feels like being negative.

Know the opponent: Buckeye Battle Cry and Eleven Warriors has a nice preview up.

Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News says "Minnesota is together now."

The GopherHole's Selection Sunday, who has been very accurate predicting the at-large teams in the past, has the Gophers comfortably in and Illinois in if Mississippi State can't pull the upset against Kentucky.

Finally, something to think positively about. While Ohio State is the favorite today, they will be coming back from a double overtime game. Thad Matta's short bench meant that yesterday Evan Turner played 49 minutes. David Lighty and William Buford played 50. Jon Diebler played 42 minutes. Contrast that with Minnesota, which was able to rest players. Devoe Joseph played 22 minutes. Blake Hoffarber led the team with 26.

One to go...

2010-03-14T04:39:19Z

For much of the late afternoon and early evening I have been pretty content. By most accounts we have already played our way into the Tournament. It has been an outstanding weekend after beating Penn State, edging past Michigan State and then total domination over Purdue.

But now we are playing for so much more. I'm getting greedy and I want a conference championship. I want a banner. The story that will be told about this 2009-10 Gopher team is on the line. If we can beat Ohio State, this season wasn't the season of suspensions, it wasn't the season of finishing 6th in conference, it wasn't the season of sneaking into the NCAA Tournament with a fun little run through the Big Ten Tournament. A win today marks this season as the season we won a Big Ten Tournament Title. A win today means a banner that will hang in the Barn for decades.

Maybe I'm being over dramatic, but beating Ohio State would make this season one we won't soon forget.

Three Down ....

2010-03-14T02:08:21Z

More photos » Michael Conroy - AP

All Big Ten what? How 'bout Big Ten champs?

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This Minnesota Golden Gophers team wanted respect. Now they have it.

Over the last three days, the Gophers whipped Penn State, the team that the pundits said "no one wanted to play." Then the Gophers beat Big Ten co-champion Michigan State behind some clutch performances in overtime. And Saturday afternoon, the Gophers thoroughly destroyed the sixth ranked, and also Big Ten co-champion, Purdue Boilermakers. It will most likely go down as Minnesota's most lopsided victory ever over a top ten team. The Gophers were better in every facet of the game.

And if you're just now paying attention, the Gophers were a determined, maybe mad, team heading into the Big Ten Tournament. The team voiced semi-outrage over not having one player voted to any of the All Big Ten teams. Not even Damian Johnson's consistently outstanding defensive play earned him the nod for the All Defensive Team. That was an outrage, and the Gophers decided they wanted respect. They printed new white t-shirts with a Minnesota logo with the word 'respect' inscribed in simple black letters.

After the last three games, the symbolic request for respect is no longer needed. The Gophers have earned the respect they wanted and will face Ohio State Sunday afternoon for a chance to win the Big Ten Tournament Championship.

How did they demolish Purdue? The Gophers forced Purdue into tough shots all game, but during a long first half stretch, the Gophers cut off all driving lanes, frustrated E'Twuan Moore, and pushed around JaJuan Johnson. Nothing came easy for Purdue. They mustered just 11 points at halftime. Some of that was poor shooting, but it also had a lot to do with Minnesota's team defense and domination of the glass.

Offensively, the Gophers were extremely crisp, especially in the first half. The high-low between Ralph Sampson III and Colton Iverson caused Matt Painter's team fits. If they didn't double-down on Iverson, he muscled his way in for a basket. If they sank defensively off of Sampson or Iverson at the high post, one of our bigs simply turned and hit the jumper. Sampson finished with 13. Iverson had 11.

Minnesota's size advantage allowed the Gophers to completely trounce Purdue on the glass, winning the wars on the boards 50-26. Paul Carter led the team with 10 rebounds.Minnesota's guards did well to get the team into its offensive sets and didn't force outside shots. Defensively, the guards were as good as they've been all season at cutting off driving lanes.

As of this writing, ESPN"s Joe Lunardi has the Gophers as one of the last three teams in to the NCAA Tournament, ahead of Illinois, who lost in double overtime to Ohio State earlier. That means if the Gophers make this tournament it will be because they earned a ticket after playing very well down the stretch this season. If you take out the loss at Michigan, the Gophers have put together one heck of a stretch since the middle of February. The Gophers beat nationally ranked Wisconsin by 16 on February 18th and then trounced Indiana two days later. They came back on February 24th and lost a heartbreaker to Purdue by one. The team then traveled to Illinois and built a huge lead against the Illini and hung on to win on the road. Then, after the let down in Ann Arbor, the Gophers have won by 30 against Iowa, 21 against Penn State, in overtime against #11 Michigan State and by 27 against #6 Purdue.

Yeah, that's what they call playing well heading into the NCAA Tournament.

And that should earn any team the respect it wants.

Some other thoughts from today.

** Clark Kellogg is wonderful, usually. And while I understand Kellog and Jim Nantz lost interest in Saturday's game, it doesn't excuse the duo repeatedly getting some basic facts wrong. To the CBS crew covering Sunday's Big Ten Championship, please note that when Minnesota beat Ohio State at Williams Arena this year, Evan Turner did indeed play. However, Minnesota had Al Nolen, now suspended for academics, frustrating Turner that entire afternoon. Just looking for accuracy, guys!

** Every Minnesota player got into the act against Purdue. Devron Bostick again showed the type of player he can be, with a high offensive IQ. Justin Cobbs played some very good minutes at the point, giving Devoe Joseph a needed break.

** Paul Carter not only was great on the glass, but he shot confidently going 4-4 for 8 points.

** Bryant Allen and Blake Hoffarber both made one three! Purdue did a good job of smothering Hoffarber, but that also allowed Minnesota more room to breathe in the paint. In other words, Hoffarber helped Minnesota without scoring.

** Finally, Coach Tubby Smith deserves some serious praise for keeping this team together during a clearly trying season. There's no reason to rehash the off-the-court headaches this team has faced, or the on-the-court adversity, but somehow, someway, after being written off by everyone, the Gophers are on the verge of winning their first ever Big Ten Championship. And even if that doesn't happen Sunday, this team has earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Many coaches might have let this season slip into oblivion, making note of some obvious excuses along the way. That hasn't happened with this team, and Coach Smith deserves some credit.

Gophers vs. Purdue - one more win - OPEN THREAD

2010-03-13T19:26:23Z

Jim Mone - AP

(AP Photo/Jim Mone)

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This game would certainly get us into the Tournament but we have to actually win it. How could they keep a team out who has a win over Butler, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue (and Illinois for that matter)? But looking ahead does us absolutely no good, we absolutely have to earn this win.

Minnesota is becoming a team with some buzz, and they should be after a domination of Penn State and a clutch win over Michigan State. Watching College Game Day this morning, all three of their national analysts picked Minnesota to win. The common theme was that Robbie Hummel is out for the Boilermakers. But I'm not convinced that will be enough.

We are playing our third game in three days. Add that to the fact that Purdue plays the best team defense in the conference. We are going to have to work hard on each and every offensive possession and I'm afraid that will catch up to us. To counter-act that we need to get several easy baskets whether that comes in transition off a steal or some quality inside/out offense to get some open shots for Blake Hoffarber, Devoe Joseph or Lawrence Westbrook.

Ralph Sampson III had a breakout game last time we faced Purdue. His 21 points and 7 rebounds will not likely be duplicated but one of our big men needs to out-muscle Purdue's JaJuan Johnson and you know that is what we try to do early offensively.

My pick for player of the game is Damian Johnson. DJ Swat has been playing well this tournament and for the first time he will not be faced with defending Hummel. Johnson will have more room to be an offensive weapon and should be more effective defensively.

Two Down ....

2010-03-13T05:49:33Z

More photos » Darron Cummings - AP

Tubby might never lose to Izzo again.

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It wasn't easy, no big surprise for a Minneapolis-based team, but the Golden Gophers finally beat Sparty Friday night and advanced to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals with a 72-67 win.

It's been said all year that this Gophers team lacked leadership. It lacked a certain late-game tenacity. The team simply couldn't finish, and as a result, they lost very tight games to Texas A&M, Michigan State and Purdue, among others. But after the Spartans grabbed a quick three point lead in overtime, sophomore Devoe Joseph took the team on his back and got the Gophers over the hump. Over the close game hump. And over the Spartans. Finally.

Minnesota hadn't beaten Michigan State during the Tubby Smith era and Sparty had won 8 straight, 13 of the last 14 and 18 of the last 21 meetings against Minnesota. Suffice to say, it feels good to beat Tom Izzo's Spartans.

Let's spread some kudos before any criticisms.

Colton Iverson was tremendous. He was the physical offensive force the Gophers needed against, as one commenter described it aptly, the clutch-and-grab Michigan State defense. He had 12 points on 6-9 shooting and 4 rebounds. He was strong with the basketball and created multiple second-chances for the Gophers, even if it didn't always show up on the stat sheet.

Joseph, who picked the team up after Iverson and Damian Johnson fouled out, was a total non-factor in the first half. In fact, he might have had his worst first half of the season. But Joseph rebounded and played a composed second half and a stellar overtime. He finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 turnovers.

Blake Hoffarber find a way to get open against the Spartans and was 4-9 from three and finished with 12 points. He also crashed the glass and grabbed 5 boards.

Devron Bostick played 15 minutes. Mostly solid minutes. He crashed the glass. He moved without the ball. And he added a physical presence on defense. He finished 2-6 and took an ill-advised shot or two, but his minutes were clutch and helpful.

For the Spartans, Tom Izzo's team was as good as it usually is. They move with quick purpose on most offensive posessions and play half-court man defense as good as any team in the country. Raymar Morgan had a game-high 23 and was undoubtedly the best player on the court. Kalin Lucas was able to penetrate and finished with 18. But the Spartans faltered at the free throw line. Morgan was 9-14. Draymond Green--who threw a cheap elbow at Iverson--was 2-6. As a team the Spartans were an ugly 52 percent from the free throw line.

Minnesota also benefited from Izzo's decision to suspend junior sharpshooter Chris Allen for the game for allegedly "being a bad teammate." The Spartans sorely missed Allen's perimeter shooting, especially in the first half when the Gophers sat back in a 2-3 zone during a cold-shooting period for the Spartans.

While Minnesota had a couple things go its way, the Gophers didn't exactly do everything right either. Put another way, they could have played much better. Devoe was not good at all in the first half. Ralph Sampson III probably put together his worst game of the season. The sophomore big man wasn't up to the challenge of Michigan State's physicality. He took a step back to his tentative ways, and it often wasn't pretty. I have high hopes, however, that Sampson will rebound against Purdue in the semifinals. He put together a great game a few weeks back against JaJuan Johnson.

The Gophers also allowed the Spartans to climb over their back for the entire first half en route to 11 first half Sparty offensive rebounds. That's way, way too many. Minnesota did turn that around in the second half and began to build a decent lead.

The Gophers held leads ranging between 8 and 5 for most of the second half until, for some reason, the Gophers went into delay mode on offense. Instead of running their sets or their high screen and rolls, during many posessions during the last five minutes, the Gophers were content to spread the floor, run a weave at times, and isolate one of our guards. The slow-down tactic played into Michigan State's hands, as it has many of our other opponents in close games this year. Sparty was able to come back and tie the game and had a chance to win the game in regulation. This seemed like a game where the Gophers changed their style towards the end and began playing not to lose instead of to win. Sparty deserves credit too for tightening its defense down the stretch, but my biggest current gripe with Tubby Smith is his late game decision making.

Minnesota eventually triumphed. And damn it felt good. And we wouldn't be Minnesota sports fans if we didn't have to sweat every big game out. Hope to do it again tomorrow!

Big Ten Tourney Rnd 2 - Michigan State - OPEN THREAD

2010-03-12T23:45:09Z

Jeff Wheeler - AP

Minnesota's Ralph Sampson III. (AP Photo/Star Tribune, Jeff Wheeler)

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Bring on the Chris Allen less Spartans. Step one is complete, now it is on to step two of ~~world domination~~ the quest for respect in the Big Ten tournament. The 21 point win over Penn State was nice but I don't think it turned any heads nor did it earn them any respect. Damian Johnson had a nice game but if he wants to prove anything then stopping Raymar Morgan from another 17 pt and 6 reb game might get it done. If Lawrence Westbrook wants to continue to prove that the Big Ten coaches should have recognized him with their end of season awards then go out and have another turnover-less game and keep Kalin Lucas to under 20 points.

The Gophers are capable but they need to play well, play together and play hard (anyone remember that from the Clem days?). Rebounding is always a key against the Spartans and more than anything else I'm looking for our interior to really play great tonight. I'd love to see both bigs get into double figures tonight and see Sampson really establish himself and that sweet baby-hook in the paint.

Finally, if this team wants to earn more respect and get themselves back into the NCAA Tournament then this is the game to do it. Penn State was nice, but let's get another signature neutral court win and at least make things hard on the selection committee.

Conference Tourney Friday - OPEN THREAD

2010-03-12T18:48:15Z

It's Championship Week, here is your place to chat about what is happening.

One Down ....

2010-03-12T14:18:05Z

More photos » Darron Cummings - AP

6 days ago: Minnesota's Damian Johnson (34) shoots against Penn State's Bill Edwards, right, in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the opening round of the Big Ten conference tournament in Indianapolis, Thursday, March 11, 2010. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

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Damian Johnson had every right to play determined basketball Thursday night in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament. Completely and utterly slighted by the Big Ten coaches, who should be ashamed for not putting Johnson on the Big Ten All-Defensive Team, Johnson led the Gophers to a convincing 76-55 win over Penn State, a team also known as the supposed team "no one wants to play."

Talor Battle, slowed a bit by an ankle injury, was mostly shut down by Lawrence Westbrook, another MInnesota senior that was shunned by Big Ten coaches for any All Big Ten honors. Interestingly, Westbrook played what might have been his best game as a Gopher. He didn't force offense at all. He didn't score until the second half, but all the while he wasn't turning the ball over and he was focused on frustrating Battle. In the second half, Westbrook's offense came to him and he put up a quick 10 points.

Devoe Joseph led the Gophers with 15 points. Colton Iverson, playing confidently inside, finished with 12.

Defensively, the Gophers were either really good, or the Nittany Lions were disinterested on offense. At times, I think it was both. The Nittany Lions looked relatively uninspired, a look Minnesota had itself just last week against Michigan. Battle, Chris Babb, David Jackson and Andrew Jones III all had 10 points to pace Penn State.

The win sets up a Big Ten Quarterfinal tilt this evening against 3-seed Michigan State. The Spartans have owned Tubby Smith and the Gophers for the last three seasons winning each and every meeting. The Gophers blew a big second half lead earlier this year at home against MIchigan State. Perhaps the feeling from that loss, combined with the entire team feeling slighted for not having one of its members named to an All Big Ten Team, will propel the Gophers to an upset tonight.

Do that and the Gophers just might get the respect that the Gophers asked for by wearing white t-shirts before the Penn State game that had "respect" written on them.

Win, and the Gophers just might pump a little bit of life into its NCAA Tournament chances.

Big Ten Tourney Rnd 1 - Penn State - OPEN THREAD

2010-03-11T22:37:04Z

Janet Hostetter - AP

Penn State's Talor Battle drives around Minnesota's Lawrence Westrbrook. (AP Photo/Janet Hostetter)

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The way I see it, we need 2 guys to step up tonight and we have four or five guys capable of doing so. In the first meeting between these ~~fine~~ mediocre teams it was Lawrence Westbrook who stepped up with 29 points while Blake Hoffarber chipped in 11. Game 2 was a little different when we had four guys who scored in the dozen to baker's dozen range. Here are the most likely candidates

Blake Hoffarber - I really think he's going to have at least one huge game in this tournament. Maybe it will be today, maybe it will be tomorrow (if we survive). He has scored 11 points or more in 13 games. We are undefeated in those games. So either he is just able to score more points against weaker competition or when he scores the rest of the team is significantly better.
Ralph Sampson III - had his second best Big Ten game at Penn state when he recorded a double-double. Ralph is capable of dominating the paint tonight and if he does things should really roll for the Gophers.
Damian Johnson - Nobody has more to prove today than DJ Swat who is rather disappointed that he was left off the Big Ten All-Defensive team. I think you'll see a typical all-around performance from Johnson, if he can get up into that 15+ point range then life should be good.
Lawrence Westbrook - how could I forget LW who had what I feel was his best game as a Gopher in the first Penn State game. The problem was the second game when he tried to recreate his first game. The result was a season high six turnovers to go with 0/5 shooting from behind the arc. He is capable of carrying this team, but he is also capable of doing more damage than good.

I'm asking for two of them to step up. The best part of this is that we can win even if Talor Battle has a good game. He averaged 22 ppg in the two Gopher meetings and his team still came out 0-2. So keep him under 25 and then take care of our own business on both ends of the floor.

Penn State is hot, but I like our chances to move on to Michigan State.

Big Ten Tournament links

2010-03-10T22:00:23Z

(updated with more links)

The Gophers are set to face Penn State tomorrow, here are a handful of links to get you ready.

Gametime - 6:30
TV - Big Ten Network
Opponent - 11-Penn State (fear this game)

Big Ten Network's tournament page. Bracket is here.
ESPN Insider Bubble-watch has each team's magic number. For the Gophers, that number is 3.

Wins over Butler, Ohio State and Wisconsin have kept Minnesota's chances alive to date. Unfortunately, a first-round foe of Penn State will earn them nothing. Even ousting Michigan State may not be enough to lock down a bid. Add Purdue to the win streak, though, and three wins will definitely make the Gophers golden.
Basketball Prospectus takes a look at the B10 Tournament.
SBN's Tournament coverage is comprehensive as always. Black Shoe Diaries also has a little primer as Penn State hopes to make some noise in the next few days.
Iowa's Quad City Times gives us 10 things to watch in this weekend's tournament.
Bucky's 5th Quarter with some analysis on the B10 season ending awards.
The Lansing State Journal's Big Ten Tourney analysis. They unofficially declared DJ Swat as the league's best defensive player.
Tubby called it a travesty that DJ Swat wasn't even on the Big Ten's All-Defensive team.
Ohio State's, The Lantern previews the B10 Tourney. They accurately call three-point shooting one of our biggest strengths and inconsistency