**2020-21 Big Ten Basketball Thread**

[CC_123]

We do this yearly since we have a big following of Big Ten hoops on this forums. The season is just about a week away from opening, but not much of the schedules have been released yet.

Anyways, here is my way-to-early prediction on how the Big Ten standings unfold this year.

1. Iowa
2. Wisconsin
3. Illinois
4. Michigan State
5. Michigan
6. Rutgers
7. Ohio State
8. Purdue
9. Minnesota
10. Indiana
11. Maryland
12. Penn State
13. Nebraska
14. Northwestern

--------

As for the Gophers, it is hard to know what to really expect this year with so many fresh faces. We got three nice transfers in Both Gach, Liam Robbins, and Brandon Johnson. All three of those guys could be starting this season, but Gach and Robbins will be for sure. We also have some freshman that could make an impact, such as Jamal Mashburn Jr. and David Mutaf (depending how much PT Mutaf gets). Returning Carr is big for the team and much needed. If Kalscheur can get back to how he played in 18-19, the Gophers could be a solid team. There is just a lot of question marks on how much last years freshman have improved over the course of the summer. I won't make a record prediction because who knows how many games they will actually play, but if the team meshes and reaches close to their full potential, they could make the NCAA's as a 8-11 seed type team.

[minimatt27]

Don't sleep on the Buckeyes. Great recruiting class better coach

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[CC_123]

Don't sleep on the Buckeyes. Great recruiting class better coach

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

I view my rankings as:

Teams 1-3 are interchangeable
Teams 4-7 are interchangeable
Teams 8-11 are interchangeable
Teams 12-14 are interchangeable

[CC_123]

Four players from the Big Ten were drafted on Wednesday night

Drafted:
Jalen Smith (Maryland) #10
Daniel Oturu (Minnesota) #33
Xavier Tillman (Michigan State) #35
Cassius Winston (Michigan State) #53

Undrafted and signed:
Lamar Stevens (Penn State) was signed by the Cavs
Zavier Simpson (Michigan) was signed by the Lakers
Jon Teske (Michigan) was signed by the Magic

Undrafted and unsigned:
Kaleb Wesson (Ohio State)

I THINK that covers all of them but I could be missing someone

[indyguy]

I was surprised that Lamar Stevens didn't get drafted. I figured someone would take a flyer on him as a Draymond type of player.

[CC_123]

I was surprised that Lamar Stevens didn't get drafted. I figured someone would take a flyer on him as a Draymond type of player.

Being 23 is the sole reason he wasn't drafted

[CC_123]

Season starts today!

[rats60]

https://www.theonlycolors.com/2020/11/17/21571492/mens-basketball-big-ten-media-preseason-poll-released

1. Illinois 376 (16)

2. Iowa 350 (6)

3. Wisconsin 347 (6)

4. Michigan State 323

5. Rutgers 249

6. Michigan 241

7. Ohio State 229

8. Indiana 212

9. Purdue 179

10. Maryland 141

11. Minnesota 121

12. Penn State 72

13. Nebraska 54

14. Northwestern 47

[gowizards0]

People are down on Maryland this year. Yes we lost Cowan and Jalen Smith. But we still have a lot of experience at 1-3 in Ayala, Morsell, Wiggins and some wild cards like Chol Marial (7'2 former elite recruit).

[bmc398]

Pretty down on our chances this year. We’ll be better than last year but I think 12 league wins is our ceiling. Definitely a bubble team. Only 11 scholarship players and going into the first week with only 8 healthy will be a challenge. Love our Freshman class and have a better one next year. This year will be stabilizing and the next 2-3 we’ll be back at the top of the league.

[DajuanWagner]

https://www.theonlycolors.com/2020/11/17/21571492/mens-basketball-big-ten-media-preseason-poll-released

1. Illinois 376 (16)

2. Iowa 350 (6)

3. Wisconsin 347 (6)

4. Michigan State 323

5. Rutgers 249

6. Michigan 241

7. Ohio State 229

8. Indiana 212

9. Purdue 179

10. Maryland 141

11. Minnesota 121

12. Penn State 72

13. Nebraska 54

14. Northwestern 47




ILL-INI.........Ayo FTW!!!!!!!!

[CC_123]

I can't wait to hear for the next four years how Zach Edey is the best big man in the country :rolleyes:

[bmc398]

I can't wait to hear for the next four years how Zach Edey is the best big man in the country :rolleyes:

19 points, 5 rebs on 9/10 shooting in your first ever game. He’s certainly not going to suck. You’re very clearly worried...

[bmc398]

19 points, 5 rebs on 9/10 shooting in your first ever game. He’s certainly not going to suck. You’re very clearly worried...

In 13 minutes played...

[slogue2]

ILL-INI.........Ayo FTW!!!!!!!!

Ayo and Ace Wolf (Adam Miller) balled out today. So great seeing Adam play so poised and confidently in his first game. Should be a very fun season!

[rats60]

Ayo and Ace Wolf (Adam Miller) balled out today. So great seeing Adam play so poised and confidently in his first game. Should be a very fun season!

It is nice when your preseason All American puts up 28 & 10 and isn't even your best player on the floor. Those two are going to be fun to watch. Kofi with a strong game too. Looking forward to the Baylor game.

[slogue2]

It is nice when your preseason All American puts up 28 & 10 and isn't even your best player on the floor. Those two are going to be fun to watch. Kofi with a strong game too. Looking forward to the Baylor game.

No doubt. I think Kofi got his 18 and 11 in only 17 minutes. He was doing wind sprints after the game to get his work in. The Baylor, Duke, and Mizzou stretch will be a blast.

[CC_123]

19 points, 5 rebs on 9/10 shooting in your first ever game. He’s certainly not going to suck. You’re very clearly worried...

I'm not worried at all. He was playing against an inferior, non-physical opponent. I'd hope you could score when you are 7'4 and are playing against a bunch of 6'7 kids.

I am just going to be annoyed by your "he's the best in the country" talk just like you did with Hammons, Haas, Haarms, etc. All of which weren't ever close to being the best in the country, let alone the conference (Hammons could be argued for conference)

[CC_123]

Gophers looked fantastic in the first half, but have looked so bad this second half. I know this type of stuff happens when you get up massive at halftime, but the effort completely disappeared in the second half. We have settled for three after three instead of attacking. We have the size advantage and athletic advantage, but instead we want to sit and chuck up threes. And our defensive effort has completely disappeared. They played great, gritty team defense in the first half and have played sloppy in the second half. Frustrating to watch.

[CC_123]

OBVIOUSLY, UW-Green Bay isn't a juggernaut, but it is always nice to start the season off with a win. We had a really bad 12 minute stretch on both ends in the second half, but got it back together in the final 8 minutes. These non-conference games are going to be really important for the Gophers with all the fresh faces.

Marcus Carr is still good. 35 points, 7 boards, 4 assists. He was able to score whenever he wanted to, which is the norm for him. Kalscheur scored 17 but shot horribly from beyond the arc, but was effective when attacking the basket, which is something he needs to do more of to build confidence. Both Gach scored 14 and is going to be a difference maker on both ends for the Gophers. He plays fast and is so athletic. He was a really nice get for Pitino in the transfer pool. Liam Robbins was about what I expected after watching him play quite a bit last year. 10 points, 9 rebounds with 4 offensive boards. He isn't going to beat anyone, but he is a solid big body that can contribute a little bit.

Overall, we looked pretty good. A lot of room for improvement, obviously. Still a lot to clean up on both ends before we get into conference play, but I'll never complain about a win. Ski-U-Mah!

[bmc398]

Here’s what our guy is so worried about...
https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/3121520/purdues-zach-edey-is-ready-to-terrorize-the-big-ten

[CC_123]

Here’s what our guy is so worried about...
https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/3121520/purdues-zach-edey-is-ready-to-terrorize-the-big-ten

Oh no...a 7'4 guy that can dunk it on 6'7 kids, but can't out-rebound them just like every other 7-footer that Purdue has ever had. Lets wait until he does it against some real, physical competition and not a bunch of under-sized kids from the ASUN conference. I'm not worried one bit about him.

I'm not saying the stat line doesn't look impressive (well, aside from the soft rebounding numbers). But let's wait a year or two before you start declaring him the best big man to ever play collegiate basketball like you do with every other Purdue 7-footer.

[bmc398]

Oh no...a 7'4 guy that can dunk it on 6'7 kids, but can't out-rebound them just like every other 7-footer that Purdue has ever had. Lets wait until he does it against some real, physical competition and not a bunch of under-sized kids from the ASUN conference. I'm not worried one bit about him.

I'm not saying the stat line doesn't look impressive (well, aside from the soft rebounding numbers). But let's wait a year or two before you start declaring him the best big man to ever play collegiate basketball like you do with every other Purdue 7-footer.

Let’s go back and remember that you brought him up....not me.

The kid was impressive. He’s a far better rebounder too than Haarms or Haas and you’d know that if you actually watched. 5 RBs isn’t terrible in 16 minutes. AND who needs rebounds when you and your teammates are making everything?

We only had 29 total rebounds and still out rebounded liberty by 5. Lots of made shots in this one.

[fidrych]

Id expect Green Bay to become one of those Mid Majors that, in time, becomes very difficult to play against (HC has good bloodlines)

Check out Hauser brothers stats from last night (pretty typical). Man they would of looked great at Wisconsin. Imagine them both there this year. One can only dream............

Badgers gave up 47 in second half night. Gard cant be please with that.

Big Ten pretty solid top to bottom. Home court advantage might not mean much.

[jrfillini]

It's, um, nice to have Ayo back this year. Better to win than lose, so we'll take it.

[Hollywood42]

Couldn't watch the first game, so tonight is my first look of the year at the Gophers. And man they look awful

[indyguy]

Keli Leaupepe has an extraordinary hair game.

[CC_123]

Nice win for the Gophers. Honestly, LMU was tougher than I expected them to be. We started off incredibly slow, but Marcus Carr did what he needed to, to get us back into it in the first half. He can score whenever he wants to. He didn't have to score much in the second half because other players started to step up. But he was phenomenal again. 28 points, 8 assists, and 3-6 from three. Gach was also really good with 17 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. It was also nice to see us not shoot over 20 threes. We shot 15 and made 8 of them. That will be a key to the success of the team this year. Not settling for long shots, but attacking the basket instead.

I am actually glad we didn't beat LMU by 25+ tonight since we play them again on Monday. Since it was only 15, they will hopefully take them serious in the second matchup.

2-0! Ski-U-Mah

[Hollywood42]

Tale of 2 halves. Glad we turned it on in the 2nd and turned it into a much more comfortable game. My early thoughts on the Gophers for anyone that cares enough to read it-

I think our biggest thing on a high level will just continue to be depth. Carr is great, after him, not quite sure what you'll get on any given day. Gophs have had some solid talent over the past 5 or so years, just hasn't ever been enough all at the same time. We've been hurt as a program by Coffey and Oturu going to the NBA for sure. To be clear, can't blame them whatsoever and I'm really looking forward to watching them at the next level, but Coffey in particular staying an extra year could have allowed us to start building something. Feels like we're constantly starting over, first it was Coffey the stud with Oturu developing, then Oturu a stud with Carr developing, now Carr a stud with ??? developing

As for Carr, I've been critical of him in the past for how much he tries to do at times, but he really impressed me today. Never have questioned the abilities, just how much he tries to do by himself. Burned us a lot at the end of games last year trying to take over but then losing control and turning it over. 1 game in, seemed to have a much better feel for it today. Took over in the first half and carried us while we were sucking but wasn't out of control, then dialed it back when things opened up in the 2nd half. I just hope the rest of our roster is able to do enough where we don't have to play him all game, because if so he's gonna be dead by the end of games later in the year

Beyond Carr, still waiting to see how things develop. Was interested to see how our transfers looked, Gach was not impressive to me early when he was chucking up long shot after long shot and not connecting, but he looked wayyy better in the 2nd half, particularly in transition and slashing in the halfcourt. I don't have a lot to say about Robbins yet, he looked solid but more of a complimentary piece who can make a nice play here and there, definitely not someone like Oturu who the offense runs through. Then with Johnson I didn't feel like I got to see a lot of him, but he had some good flashes and interested to see how he looks in the next few games too

Then lastly 2 returners I'll touch on, I'm not sure what to make of Kalscheur yet. I was really high on him last year but he had just a dreadful year from 3 and I don't know why. I don't think he took a single 3 tonight which was strange. I do like him slashing too, but in a perfect world that compliments the longball. He's not a naturally good enough scorer/finisher IMO to give us enough value offensively if he's not shooting and making 3s. But too early to tell, we'll have to watch him going forward too. And finally Omersa, he's in a bench role now with Robbins starting, but I didn't quite see as many signs of progress as I was hoping. It's really early for him still so no final judgements yet, but was hoping to see more. He's fun to watch in transition too, had a fun alley-oop slam, but his halfcourt play on both O and D wasn't quite what I was hoping to see yet. He'll be another guy that will take this team a long ways if he develops like we hope

[fidrych]

I dont want to speak out of turn, but if Mr Gard and Mr Pitino kept all their in state talent on their roster, they would be national contenders on a yearly basis.

Gard's "potential" starting five of homegrown talent (assuming they stayed until senior year). I will even throw in a sixth man (who might be the best of the bunch):

Sam Hauser (Stevens Point)
Joey Hauser (Stevens Point)
Jalen Johnson (Sun Prairie)
Tyler Hereo (Whitnal)
Tyrese Halliburton (Oshkosh)

Larry Foster JR (Milwaukee)

"Best" HS Senior in the nation is Patrick Baldwin JR (Hamilton HS in WI)

[CC_123]

I dont want to speak out of turn, but if Mr Gard and Mr Pitino kept all their in state talent on their roster, they would be national contenders on a yearly basis.

Gard's "potential" starting five of homegrown talent (assuming they stayed until senior year). I will even throw in a sixth man (who might be the best of the bunch):

Sam Hauser (Stevens Point)
Joey Hauser (Stevens Point)
Jalen Johnson (Sun Prairie)
Tyler Hereo (Whitnal)
Tyrese Halliburton (Oshkosh)

Larry Foster JR (Milwaukee)

"Best" HS Senior in the nation is Patrick Baldwin JR (Hamilton HS in WI)

It just isn't realistic for either of these programs to keep all of the in state talent. Minnesota is constantly churning out top 5 recruits nationally (and have tons of top 25 talent always coming out of the state). They cannot compete with the blue bloods of the world in recruiting most of these kids.

The kids that HAVE stayed home, have mostly seen success. These kids don't realize that if they all decided to stay home, they would be writing their own legacy and would also be extremely dominant every year with the talent we constantly have coming out of the state.

The ones Pitino has kept home are (not counting Both Gach who has now come home) :

Jarvis Johnson (ended up having a heart condition so he never got to play)
Amir Coffey (averaged 14.4 PPG, 4 RPG, 3 APG and is now in the NBA)
Michael Hurt (never panned out)
Daniel Oturu (averaged 15.2 PPG and 9 rebounds. 33rd pick in the NBA draft)
Jarvis Omersa (still playing, but a very underwhelming player offensively)
Gabe Kalscheur (still playing, has averaged 10.8 PPG, 2.5 RPG, great defender)
Treyton Thompson (incoming freshman in 2021)

People say Pitino has never kept talent in the state, but he has kept some very good talent here. Obviously guys like Tyus Jones, Tre Jones, Zeke Nnaji, Matthew Hurt, Jalen Suggs, McKinnley Wright, JP Macura, etc. would have been extremely nice to get, but most of them went to blue blood schools who have national notoriety. Especially in the one-and-done era of college basketball. These kids want to go to college for one season, know they will compete for a National title, and then go to the NBA. Schools in the Big Ten, in general, aren't known for that. If the NBA made kids stay in college for a minimum of 2 seasons, you might see more kids decide to stay in their home state.

Personally, I think Pitino has done a good job of finding talent out-of-state. People rag on his recruiting, but nobody in the HC position at Minnesota is going to be able to keep 99% of these kids home. It's just unrealistic.

[jdhaugh11]

Garza was a beast on Friday with 34 points in the first half alone!
It is hard to say if the Hawks are as good as advertised or not. Most teams will have ups and downs, but should be a fun season.

[kukocitb]

Garza was a beast on Friday with 34 points in the first half alone!
It is hard to say if the Hawks are as good as advertised or not. Most teams will have ups and downs, but should be a fun season.

I agree! GO HAWKS!

[rats60]

It's, um, nice to have Ayo back this year. Better to win than lose, so we'll take it.

They had a bad shooting game. At least they weren't like Villanova, Virginia and Kentucky.

[rats60]

I dont want to speak out of turn, but if Mr Gard and Mr Pitino kept all their in state talent on their roster, they would be national contenders on a yearly basis.

Gard's "potential" starting five of homegrown talent (assuming they stayed until senior year). I will even throw in a sixth man (who might be the best of the bunch):

Sam Hauser (Stevens Point)
Joey Hauser (Stevens Point)
Jalen Johnson (Sun Prairie)
Tyler Hereo (Whitnal)
Tyrese Halliburton (Oshkosh)

Larry Foster JR (Milwaukee)

"Best" HS Senior in the nation is Patrick Baldwin JR (Hamilton HS in WI)

Look at the teams Illinois would have if they could keep the top Chicago kids. Just with 2 this year (and one is a Peoria transplant) and they are a top 10 team. The big boys are always going to come into your area and buy the best players.

[Kelper7]

Rather pleased with that first half for the Hoosiers. Solid team D vs a formidable opponent. We’ll see how consistent they can be in half two. Collapse has been a characteristic of recent years.


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[jrfillini]

They had a bad shooting game. At least they weren't like Villanova, Virginia and Kentucky.

Yes, better to win ugly than lose ugly. But the shooting, other than FTs wasn't that bad at all (~50/40/60 :(). And their FT shooting was even worse. Turnovers seemed to be more of an issue, with us giving it back 16 times - we make you turn it over that many times, but take better care of it ourselves.

Intriguing next couple of games, but too bad that they both start after my bedtime. :p

[Kelper7]

Nice early season win for IU. I expected a much tougher game from Providence. Starters didn’t rest much though and could gas out quick vs Texas tomorrow. Should be some good games the next 48 hours in the Maui/Asheville tourney.


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[CC_123]

Holy smokes, this Gophers game is full of tick tack fouls. 41 fouls called in this game so far. 21 on the Gophers, 20 on LMU. That's just ridiculous. Let the kids play

[Hollywood42]

Adding to my thoughts on the Gophs team after seeing another game-

Carr is simply a stud. Unfortunately with how he's been playing he's probably gone after this year and then it's the same old story as it was with Oturu and Coffey leaving where we never get enough talent on a roster at a time

Gach has a lot of potential. I don't love everything about him, in particular his decision making has been a little be suspect, but he could develop into that consistent #2 scorer we need. He's very athletic and fun to watch get to the rim

Kalscheur needs to find his shot. Badly. I don't know where it went after 18-19 but man do the Gophs need that. Completely different team if he figures it out

Robbins looks uncomfortable. I know it's only 2 games in with a new team and going from Drake to the Big 10 is going to be a huge adjustment, but I was hoping for more out of him. Still early and he can get there, just not there yet

Williams and Mashburn haven't seen a lot of minutes yet but I think they can both quietly develop into pretty good players.

Johnson has seen a bit more time but seems like he's still figuring out his role and how he fits in, which is also understandable. Once he figures that out and gets there I think he'll be a nice piece of the squad

Omersa is a highlight reel on the fast break, but right now is a liability everywhere else. Not giving up on him yet but he has a long ways to go

Tale of 2 halves. Glad we turned it on in the 2nd and turned it into a much tmore comfortable game. My early thoughts on the Gophers for anyone that cares enough to read it-

.............

[CC_123]

Not every win is going to be pretty. Sometimes an ugly win in the non-conference can benefit a team down the road. Last year, these were the types of games we lost, so its nice to see them grind one out, even if it is LMU. I think playing a team back to back twice within 3 days can be challenging as well.

Marcus Carr might be the best PG in the conference right now (its him and Ayo as 1A and 1B in my opinion). He had a quiet first half, but took over in the second half when he started to play aggressive. Plus, he came up with the clutch shot to win it.

Both Gach is a very nice #2 for this team. He does a lot of things well and does a lot of little things that go un-noticed. He didn't shoot well from outside in particular tonight, but nobody outside of Carr did.

Kalscheur needs to get out of his own head. He puts too much pressure on himself. Having high expectations isn't a bad thing, but when you let your first missed shot affect the rest of your night, that's an issue. If he drills his first shot, he will be fine all game, but if he misses it, you might as well not even defend him because he will just keep bricking them.

Also, free throws remain an issue for the Gophers. I don't know why, but it is frustrating to see year after year.

The biggest thing tonight that I noticed was how much the officials didn't let the kids play. Four kids fouled out (3 on MN, 1 on LMU), 49 total fouls called, 56 total free throws shot. Just ridiculous. And it wasn't even a super physical game either. The officials were just whistle happy tonight and called every ticky tack thing that they could. Let the kids play the game.

Anyways, it was ugly, but you never complain about a win! 3-0! Ski-U-Mah!

[Matt24]

maybe the best performance in the Archie Era, we will see what tomorrow brings.

[smitdavi]

Nice early season win for IU. I expected a much tougher game from Providence. Starters didn’t rest much though and could gas out quick vs Texas tomorrow. Should be some good games the next 48 hours in the Maui/Asheville tourney.


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maybe the best performance in the Archie Era, we will see what tomorrow brings.

Yeah I was pretty pleased with the game yesterday as well. Had it on in the background while I worked through some documents. Middle of the afternoon games during the workday are tough lol. PS....Bill Walton has completely come off the rails.

[indyguy]

Those two Minnesota/LMU games were some of the most boring basketball games I've watched. Not a knock on either team. There just seemed to be no flow to the game and a whistle every few plays. The first game was little more free, toward the end, especially in the last two segments of the game. The second game...whistle fest.

IU played one of the best games they have played under Archie. If their freshmen can get comfortable with shooting, this could be his best team by far. Just need to avoid that mid-season wall.

[JustinVerlander07]

It's always great to see BMC be mildly humble!

[indyguy]

It's always great to see BMC be mildly humble!

It is 2020...most of us have learned to step with caution

[DajuanWagner]

ILL-INI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[rats60]

Those two Minnesota/LMU games were some of the most boring basketball games I've watched. Not a knock on either team. There just seemed to be no flow to the game and a whistle every few plays. The first game was little more free, toward the end, especially in the last two segments of the game. The second game...whistle fest.

IU played one of the best games they have played under Archie. If their freshmen can get comfortable with shooting, this could be his best team by far. Just need to avoid that mid-season wall.

Freshmen generally get a rude awakening when the Big 10 season starts. It is a different level of play than they are used to.

[indyguy]

Freshmen generally get a rude awakening when the Big 10 season starts. It is a different level of play than they are used to.

Yep. Only like 7 points off the bench yesterday, with not very good shooting. Archie is going to play them though, it seems, so hopefully they can contribute.

[CC_123]

MSU vs Duke should be a good game to watch later. It'll give a good idea of where MSU is this early on.

[JustinVerlander07]

MSU vs Duke should be a good game to watch later. It'll give a good idea of where MSU is this early on.

MSU is NEVER as good early in the year as they end up in March. They might win because they're really good, but this game has zero indication on anything.

[CC_123]

MSU is NEVER as good early in the year as they end up in March. They might win because they're really good, but this game has zero indication on anything.

Oh, I'm fully aware of the usual MSU routine haha they get better as the year goes on, but I still think in a season with zero fans, it gives a better indication of how a team is, especially when playing another good team. All playing fields are level and every game feels like a neutral court.

[JustinVerlander07]

It's so much fun beating Duke for a change. This team is gonna be a problem come March.

[Bretsky]

Nice job Sparty!

[CC_123]

This Baylor team is scary good. They are better than anything the Big Ten has to offer, in my opinion. Which is saying a lot because the Big Ten has some very good teams.

[sportzluvr1]

Illini not quite ready for this stage. Baylor is damn good!

[indyguy]

Baylor is great up until the point they need to be great. They will have a weird collapse toward the end of the Big12 season and then fail in the big dance. This is probably the best team Scott Drew has had at Baylor, so we will see how they end up.

IU lost to a really good defensive team in Texas and I thought Stanford would be more trouble than they were. Nice to see the young guys come back with a win after a non-competitive loss to Texas.

Next up against Florida State next Wednesday.

[DajuanWagner]

ILL-INI...........don't jump off the band wagon so quick. Stick with them. They going places..........

[CC_123]

Currently, the Big Ten is 37-4 as a whole. The teams that have losses are Purdue (vs. Clemson), Nebraska (vs. Nevada), Indiana (vs. #17 Texas), and Illinois (vs. #2 Baylor). That's pretty damn impressive so far for the conference, even though most of the wins have been against inferior teams, aside from a few.

The Big Ten needs to keep having success in the non-conference to benefit the conferences chance at 9-10 teams in the tournament. Conference play is going to be an absolute bloodbath.

[Bretsky]

Baylor is a very good team and much better than I thought they would be. They are probably the best defensive team Illinois will play all regular season, but I don't think Baylor is best offensive team we will see. Need to beat dook next week!

[CC_123]

I am extremely shocked that Detroit Mercy is giving MSU a run for their money

[patchgenie]

detroit looks pretty good

[sportzluvr1]

C’mon Detroit, this is your 8 Mile moment

[patchgenie]

refs helping out mich st now

[asujbl]

People in my town need to stop posting on social media about Ohio State being cancelled without Basketball in giant capital letters

[JustinVerlander07]

I am extremely shocked that Detroit Mercy is giving MSU a run for their money

I'm not. Izzo team in the beginning of the season.

[mnvikingstwins]

Whatever Gabe Kalscheur had going freshmen year is gone, he's got no touch and a huge liability.

[CC_123]

Not the prettiest of wins, but hey, we are 4-0 so you can't complain about that. A lot of nice things happened tonight still. It was refreshing to not have to rely on Carr to score 25+ to get the win. He was still great though with 17 points and 9 assists. Both Gach was fantastic with 21 points and 9 rebounds and Brandon Johnson really impressed me offensively tonight with 15. Robbins was okay, but should have been much better. He missed a lot of easy shots in the first half but buckled down in the second half. He did have 5 blocks, but man, he gets out of position defensively a lot.

We started slow again, but we had a much better second half. As they say, never apologize for a win. 4-0 is better than 3-1. Onto Tuesday against Boston College. Ski-U-Mah!

Overall, tonight was a little bit of a struggle for the Big Ten. Purdue and MSU struggled against inferior opponents, but pulled out wins and Marquette upset Wisconsin.

[Hollywood42]

Iffy game overall, but the Gopher transfers are starting to settle in. Gach, Robbins, and especially Johnson all had great games. Loved what I saw from Johnson tonight, did it all and played really well all around. Robbins is still more of flashes of great plays from time than consistently a weapon, but he's been trending in the right direction for sure. 9 points, 7 boards, 5 blocks tonight

The ND kid who fouled Kalscheur hard and sent him off the court should be suspended a game. Absolutely no need for that down 10 with 30 seconds left. Lucky Gabe didn't get hurt

[bmc398]

Not the prettiest of wins, but hey, we are 4-0 so you can't complain about that. A lot of nice things happened tonight still. It was refreshing to not have to rely on Carr to score 25+ to get the win. He was still great though with 17 points and 9 assists. Both Gach was fantastic with 21 points and 9 rebounds and Brandon Johnson really impressed me offensively tonight with 15. Robbins was okay, but should have been much better. He missed a lot of easy shots in the first half but buckled down in the second half. He did have 5 blocks, but man, he gets out of position defensively a lot.

We started slow again, but we had a much better second half. As they say, never apologize for a win. 4-0 is better than 3-1. Onto Tuesday against Boston College. Ski-U-Mah!

Overall, tonight was a little bit of a struggle for the Big Ten. Purdue and MSU struggled against inferior opponents, but pulled out wins and Marquette upset Wisconsin.

Our 2 best guards are out for AT LEAST 2 more weeks. A young team without 25+ ppg finding a way to win is alright with me. We looked like crap but nights we don’t shoot well that’s going to happen with our 2 best shot creators out. Really hamstrung with only 8 healthy guys.

[CC_123]

Our 2 best guards are out for AT LEAST 2 more weeks. A young team without 25+ ppg finding a way to win is alright with me. We looked like crap but nights we don’t shoot well that’s going to happen with our 2 best shot creators out. Really hamstrung with only 8 healthy guys.

Eric Hunter hurts but saying Ivey is a top two guard on the team after he's played one game is a reach. He might end up being that, but he isn't better than Stefonovich, Newman, or Thompson at this current point. Just sounds like you are trying to set up excuses for potential future losses. Those two guys aren't as much of an impact as it would be for teams like Minnesota to lose Carr or Gach, Iowa to lose Garza, etc. Hunter is a good player, Ivey is still TBD. Being out has some impact, but blaming a bad performance to Valpo on those two not playing sounds desperate. And when they do come back, it isnt going to be 25+ PPG. They might score that combined, but they will be taking shots away from other players, so it will likely only add 7-10 points max to the teams current output, not 25 points.

[bmc398]

Eric Hunter hurts but saying Ivey is a top two guard on the team after he's played one game is a reach. He might end up being that, but he isn't better than Stefonovich, Newman, or Thompson at this current point. Just sounds like you are trying to set up excuses for potential future losses. Those two guys aren't as much of an impact as it would be for teams like Minnesota to lose Carr or Gach, Iowa to lose Garza, etc. Hunter is a good player, Ivey is still TBD. Being out has some impact, but blaming a bad performance to Valpo on those two not playing sounds desperate.

Jaden Ivey is the best player on the team.

[bmc398]

Also, every single one of your “breakdown” posts is full of excuses as to why you almost lost to a team that nobody’s ever heard of. Purdue might be “down” this year but please remind yourself that our programs are not the same.

[CC_123]

Also, every single one of your “breakdown” posts is full of excuses as to why you almost lost to a team that nobody’s ever heard of. Purdue might be “down” this year but please remind yourself that our programs are not the same.

Yep, they are full of excuses :rolleyes: it couldn't be that they are full of statistical facts from the game itself, but keep believing those are "excuses". I haven't made a single excuse for the Gophers and their poor performances against LMU and UND. I also wasn't aware nobody has ever heard of Loyola-Marymount (you know, the school that had an insane three year run at the end of the 80s that everyone has heard of) and the University of North Dakota :rolleyes: But carry on with whatever you want to believe. All I know is you still struggle with comprehension after all these years.

[CC_123]

Whatever Gabe Kalscheur had going freshmen year is gone, he's got no touch and a huge liability.

His shot has been broken, but he does a lot of other things well that help this team win. His defense is under-rated. He is a insanely good defender, probably the best on the team. He moves the ball well on offense and is probably the best free throw shooter on the team. He just needs to get to the line more.

As much as his three point shot has been off the last 20ish games (aside from his 8-11 performance against Nebraska last year), I still have faith it will start coming along again. He started pretty slow from beyond the arc in both his freshman and sophomore seasons. What he needs to do is attack the rim and make a few lay-ups and mid-range jumpers early to build his confidence up. He seems to get in his own way if he misses his first long-range jumper. Whats amazing is that he is averaging 10.5 PPG while shooting 12% from three this season. Obviously 10.5 isn't a crazy number, but for a kid who is generally known as a good three point shooter and is shooting poorly from beyond the arc, it's pretty good. I'd like to see him get that average up to 13-14 PPG by year end.

[CC_123]

Big Ten vs ACC challenge tonight and tomorrow.

Looks like Purdue is getting the conference off to a 1-0 start after Miami had arguably the worst shooting half I have ever seen from a D1 team.

[asujbl]

Ohio State vs Notre Dame tonight

Kind of pumped

[CC_123]

Ohio State vs Notre Dame tonight

Kind of pumped

Some really good match-ups for the B10/ACC challenge.

Iowa vs UNC
Ohio State vs Notre Dame
Illinois vs Duke
Rutgers vs Syracuse
Michigan State vs Virginia

All of those should be good matchups.

[CC_123]

How did Purdue choke that away? Miami without Chris Lykes has no business even being in the game, let alone winning it.

[bmc398]

How did Purdue choke that away? Miami without Chris Lykes has no business even being in the game, let alone winning it.

Literally no clue. I turned it off at 32-12. Needless to say I won’t be finishing.

I thought we played pretty poorly in the first half. To be up 18 was lucky. Guess that luck ran out.

[CC_123]

Boston College can't miss from beyond the arc and the Gophers can't make anything. This is going to be an ugly loss against a bad team.

[CC_123]

This game is over. The Gophers will not win games when the opponent shoots 45% from three and we shoot 12%. If Carr or Gach can't get to 20 points nightly, we will lose. They currently have a combined 10 points on 4-16 shooting. Just an ugly performance

[CC_123]

I feel like a broken record, but another not-so-pretty win. But as you can see above, when we went down 15 with 14 minutes left in the game, I expected it to be over with. Luckily, the next 5 minutes of the game the Gophers went on a 14-0 run to get back into it. Free throw shooting is still an issue with this team though and almost cost us. 23-33 is unacceptable from the line.

Carr and Gach BOTH started slow and didn't really get anything going until mid-way through the 2nd half. Carr finished with 22 (see, I said we wouldn't win unless he or Gach got 20 nightly) and Gach finished with 16 and 9 boards.

Liam Robbins was key tonight. 14 points, 8 boards. He FINALLY played patient on the block, took his time, and used some nice post moves. Hands down his best performance of the year. Jamal Mashburn Jr. was the real player of the game in my opinion. He was the energizer bunny for the squad during their 14-0 run. He was grabbing key boards, making tough shots, and playing tough defense. I hope this results in him getting more playing time.

HOPEFULLY, when we play UMKC on Thursday night, we won't be in such a nail-bitter as we have been the last three games. We are 5-0 and we show flashes of being a really good team, but we also show flashes of being an average team, so I don't really know what to think at this point. The only thing I do know is that last season, we would have lost the last three games. We weren't closing out the close ones at all, so it's nice to see this year.

Anyways, SKI-U-MAH!

[CC_123]

Big Ten is 3-1 so far in the B10/ACC challenge, but it is still early in the challenge

[lambeauleap87]

I don't know if Notre Dame is any good, but that feels like a good win for the Buckeyes.

[CC_123]

I don't know if Notre Dame is any good, but that feels like a good win for the Buckeyes.

Notre Dame always plays a tough non-conference schedule so it is always tough to tell early, but they are usually a tough team every year. They are well coached. They were bad in 2018-19, but other than that they have had eight 20+ win seasons in the last ten years, so it will likely end up being a Quad 1 win for the Buckeyes come seasons end.

[Dielon]

Iowa with another 90 point game. 17 threes- this team is going to give me a heart attack with the inability and refusal to play defense but wow can they score a ton. Good win, need to be better in transition. I dont know if this can be the year, but if they dont make it to at least the sweet sixteen it would be a disapointment

[CC_123]

What a day for the Big Ten! 6-1 against the ACC!

[jrfillini]

https://diddukewin.com/

[rats60]

https://diddukewin.com/

It was nice to see the Illini blow out Duke. That tells you how good Baylor is.

[mnvikingstwins]

Stupid purdue ruining a great day

[indyguy]

Stupid purdue ruining a great day

But, they lost! That's a good day to me!

[CC_123]

It was nice to see the Illini blow out Duke. That tells you how good Baylor is.

I am beginning to question how good Duke actually is this year though. They obviously lost to two good teams out of a tough conference and the season is still young, but the fact that Coach K is now calling for re-assessment of if NCAA basketball should continue to be played (after he was a huge advocate of it needing to be played) makes me think he realizes that Duke isn't as good this year as they usually are. It seems like he doesn't want the season to continue for his own personal gain now because of a 2-2 start.

[Dielon]

I am beginning to question how good Duke actually is this year though. They obviously lost to two good teams out of a tough conference and the season is still young, but the fact that Coach K is now calling for re-assessment of if NCAA basketball should continue to be played (after he was a huge advocate of it needing to be played) makes me think he realizes that Duke isn't as good this year as they usually are. It seems like he doesn't want the season to continue for his own personal gain now because of a 2-2 start.

Oh now he wants a reassessment! Embarrassing for Coach K, and his players. It looks like he is giving up on them.

[rats60]

I am beginning to question how good Duke actually is this year though. They obviously lost to two good teams out of a tough conference and the season is still young, but the fact that Coach K is now calling for re-assessment of if NCAA basketball should continue to be played (after he was a huge advocate of it needing to be played) makes me think he realizes that Duke isn't as good this year as they usually are. It seems like he doesn't want the season to continue for his own personal gain now because of a 2-2 start.

There are down because they are not a national championship contender. Their recruiting has been down the last 2 years after an incredible 5 year run. It is showing on the court. They can still be a top 10/sweet 16 team, but that is an off year for K.

[CC_123]

Oh now he wants a reassessment! Embarrassing for Coach K, and his players. It looks like he is giving up on them.

There are down because they are not a national championship contender. Their recruiting has been down the last 2 years after an incredible 5 year run. It is showing on the court. They can still be a top 10/sweet 16 team, but that is an off year for K.

Bingo to both of you. A down year for Coach K is a 23 win season. I just think its ironic that he was a huge advocate of needing to play college basketball and not having March Madness missing for two years in a row to now wanting to re-assess things when he is 2-2 and not as good as he expected.

[CC_123]

Big Ten follows a 6-1 day yesterday in the B10/ACC challenge by going 0-4 today. It's unfortunate that Wisconsin, Michigan, and Michigan State didn't get their challenge games in though.

[Hollywood42]

Missed the first half tonight, but looked like a nice drama free win tonight. Huge day from Robbins tonight, 27 points/9 boards/5 blocks/2 assists, great game right before heading to Big 10 play. Nice to see the scoring get spread out a bit instead of heavily relying on Carr. Not a great opponent tonight of course, but all nice to see nonetheless

Being picky, we have up a crap ton of points off backdoor cuts tonight. Frustrating to see us repeatedly and repeatedly get beat that way

[CC_123]

Nice to finally win a game in blowout fashion and empty the bench. The last 4 games have been so tight that I am glad we didn't have to play the starters the entire game before heading into "Murders Row". Next 9 games are #6 Illinois, Saint Louis, #3 Iowa, #4 Michigan State, #13 Wisconsin, #22 Ohio State, Michigan, #3 Iowa, Michigan. Just a brutal stretch.

Tonight, Robbins had the hot hand with 27 and 9 which was nice to see. He has played two great games in a row after an incredibly slow and frustrating start. He seems to be getting more comfortable out there. The high-low offense worked really well tonight and can be tricky to defend at times.

Carr wasn't asked to do much tonight but still had 15 points and 7 assists. Gach had 14 points and Kalscheur had 10 points. I know it was just UMKC, but nice to have a win without Carr having to score 25.

Now, a needed 4 day break to prep for an incredibly tough game on the road against Illinois. I think it might be an ugly loss for the Gophers, unfortunately, so I am going to enjoy 6-0 while I can! Ski-U-Mah!

[Kelper7]

Can’t believe nobody has come to talk about the officiating in the Illannoy vs Mizzou game tonight. Wow is it bad...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Stifle]

Baylor is a very good team and much better than I thought they would be. They are probably the best defensive team Illinois will play all regular season, but I don't think Baylor is best offensive team we will see. Need to beat dook next week!


I don’t believe Baylor would win the Big 10 if they were in the Conference. They would be one of the top teams. MSU & Iowa would be my favorites.

Iowa is so tough with Garza and if the outside shooters are hitting 3’s then nearly impossible. MSU is loaded.

[DajuanWagner]

I told you all not to sleep on the ILL-INI.....................

[CC_123]

I told you all not to sleep on the ILL-INI.....................

I am being 100% honest when I say I am excited about the game tomorrow vs Illinois, but also dreading it at the same time. Illinois is legit.

I said a few years back in the Big Ten thread that Illinois was up and coming when Ayo and Giorgi were freshman. It was so clear when you saw the way they played in 18-19 that Illinois was going to be a problem in the future (even though they were 12-21 in 18-19). Underwood has done a phenomenal job for that program.

[CC_123]

Should be a fun matchup between the leagues two best guards tonight. Ayo vs Carr. I dont expect them to be guarding each other, but should be a fun game with those two on the floor.

[CC_123]

Gophers started off hot, but that was when they weren't sitting there and forcing bad shots up. They attacked the first 8 minutes and the game and had a 18-10 lead because of it. Then they started to settle and take bad shot after bad shot. Illinois might as well sit in a 2-3. We wouldn't score the rest of the game.

[CC_123]

That is the worst offensive half I have seen from Minnesota in a long time. I am shocked we are only down 11 points at half when we shot freaking 23% from the field. In theory, you SHOULD do better in the 2nd half, but we have to make better shot selections if we want to climb back in and steal this win. I am not holding my breathe because Illinois is good, but we haven't completely folded yet.

Both Gach has to get going too. Thats 15 PPG that he brings to the table and he has 0 at halftime. He missed at least 4 very low-difficulty shots too.

[CC_123]

Not that it matters in the outcome of the game, but Cockburn gets away with a lot of travels. He is constantly shuffling his feet. He is a great player, but c'mon. Call one every once in awhile at least.

These officials have also been awful touchy on both sides of the ball. They are calling fouls on plays that aren't fouls, yet swallowing the whistle on legit fouls.

[Hollywood42]

Make it the full game. First 4 minutes were great, then after that simply nothing fell. Then into the bad shot thing from there and we spiral

That is the worst offensive half

[CC_123]

Make it the full game. First 4 minutes were great, then after that simply nothing fell. Then into the bad shot thing from there and we spiral

I didn't think we could possibly shoot that cold in the second half, but I was mistaken. These things happen against good teams on the road, but honestly, I don't think Illinois is 30 points better than Minnesota. Illinois is obviously an insanely good team, but they are more 10-12 points better than us when we aren't colder than a Minnesota winter night. Illinois couldn't miss, especially in the second half.

[sportzluvr1]

Not that it matters in the outcome of the game, but Cockburn gets away with a lot of travels. He is constantly shuffling his feet. He is a great player, but c'mon. Call one every once in awhile at least.

These officials have also been awful touchy on both sides of the ball. They are calling fouls on plays that aren't fouls, yet swallowing the whistle on legit fouls.

Kofi is dominating. Minny has nothing for him.

[CC_123]

Kofi is dominating. Minny has nothing for him.

I'm not saying he isn't dominating, but he gets away with A LOT of travels. He also gets a lot of very touchy calls. Like I said, it doesn't make a difference in the outcome, but it is still frustrating to watch. I wish we would have switched to a 2-3 at some point so that there would have been two guys on Cockburn. At one point, Illinois was shooting 2-13 from three. I would have taken the chances at that point and focused on stopping Cockburn.

[sportzluvr1]

I'm not saying he isn't dominating, but he gets away with A LOT of travels. He also gets a lot of very touchy calls. Like I said, it doesn't make a difference in the outcome, but it is still frustrating to watch. I wish we would have switched to a 2-3 at some point so that there would have been two guys on Cockburn. At one point, Illinois was shooting 2-13 from three. I would have taken the chances at that point and focused on stopping Cockburn.

I think Kofi was just being polite as to not step on that white boys shoulder lol

[CC_123]

Well, ugly is about the only word to describe that. We just don't have enough size for the Big Ten so any team that has any decent inside presence is going to have an advantage on us. Other than Robbins, we have nothing.

But, the Gophers also aren't going to shoot 27% from the field, 25% from three, and 62% from the line every night. It was just a horrendous offensive showing. We missed A LOT of wide open shots that you can't miss on. It also doesn't help when you get 1 point from Both Gach when he has averaged 15 on the season. Every player on the team didn't show up offensively. Brandon Johnson and Liam Robbins are the ONLY two players I am giving any credit to tonight because even down 30, they were working hard on both ends. I hope when the team watches the film, that they are completely embarrassed by their performance. Illinois is a great team, obviously, but the Gophers are better than they played tonight. Sometimes a good smacking like tonight is a good thing though.

Now we get a little break before we play St. Louis, who is another really good team. It would be a nice, non-conference signature win if we can find a way to pull that one out, but it isn't going to be easy against a team that will likely be 6-0 by Sunday.

[CC_123]

I think Kofi was just being polite as to not step on that white boys shoulder lol

I mean, I do think it was kind of embarrassing that Illinois felt the need to keep him in the game up 30 with 4 minutes left... :coffee: That type of coaching is what ends up getting good players hurt. Illinois is a great team, but doing things like that is busch league. It isn't like the game was in any danger at that point. Hell, Illinois could have pulled the starters at the 10 minute mark and been fine with the way the Gophers offense (if you can call it that) shot tonight.

It's not like the Gophers leaving their starters in down 30. I didn't like that they did it because of the risk of injury, but it makes sense for a team that has struggled all night to try and leave starters in to have something positive to look at heading into the next game.

[CC_123]

If the Gophers don't go .500 in conference play and/or win a game or two in the NCAA's, I think they will fire Richard Pitino. We already have a coach that WANTS to come here in Brian Dutcher. He even restructured his current contract with San Diego State to have an opt out clause if the Minnesota position opened up.

[fidrych]

I watched Duke-Illini from start to finish. Someone asked me about it next day and I thought if they played 10 times Illini would win 7. They are a load. As a Badger fan I watched Potter and Reuvors all ready struggle with size when they faced Marquette and Loyola. Illini or Iowa with Garza not ideal for Whisky. There success lies in dictating pace, possessions and tempo. If it becomes high possessions and end to end, they are in a world of hurt. Big Ten pretty solid from top to bottom.

[CC_123]

Been weirdly quiet in here lately. There have been some big games and wins lately

[asujbl]

Ohio State is good while not really good

That’s what I know

[Wolves4Life]

Maryland could have a rough year (which is understandable), Losing to Clemson and Rutgers back to back. Yikes.
They could have been a Final 4 team last year but thanks to COVID we'll never know.

[Hollywood42]

Nice to get a win before murderers row. Gonna be awhile til the next one

[CC_123]

Really big win for the Gophers tonight. St. Louis is a really good team. That's a St. Louis team that ranked 2nd in three point shooting coming into the game (44.6%) and we held them to 13.3% from beyond the arc. The Gophers really buckled down defensively in the second half. We had a six minute FG drought and never surrendered the lead during the stretch. This was a nice statement non-conference win that helps build a resume.

Also, really nice to see us bounce back offensively after a very poor showing vs. Illinois. 48% from the field, 40% from three, and most importantly, 83% from the stripe is huge. WHEN we play like we did tonight, we are tough to beat, but we need to find consistency.

Carr was huge. He started the game off with a quick 14 points and then took the backseat and started to get his teammates involved before taking the reigns back late. 32 points, 7 assists, 4 steals. Thats a complete game. Also nice to see four others get into double digits. Gach and Kalscheur each had 11 and Ihnen and Robbins each had 10. That's the type of scoring distribution we need.

My only complaint about tonights game is that we DID struggle a bit against the full court press and we did have some struggles against an active, in your face, zone defense that St. Louis came out with in the second half. Luckily we adjusted and started to attack the zone some which drew fouls and put us at the line. But something to work on.

Now onto Iowa, which will likely be an ugly loss, but then we play MSU and Wisconsin, both of which I think are winnable games. The Big Ten is tough top to bottom this year, so anyone can win on any given night! But I will enjoy this win against a really good team! SKI-U-MAH!

[Ericc5Bears]

Ron Harper Jr., that is all

[Hollywood42]

I don't expect this to last, but that was an amazing half from the Gophers. Unfortunate Iowa landed a 3 and we couldn't get a bucket before the buzzer but this was an incredibly encouraging half to see. Schemed well, generally pretty good offense, and up a few on #4 in the nation. Like I said, not expecting it to last, but fun nevertheless

[Hollywood42]

Yep, that didn't take long :cry: Can't shoot to save anything this half

[Hollywood42]

Several awful calls/non-calls late and in OT

[Hollywood42]

Holy cow was that an amazing comeback! They were absolutely dead in the water late in the 2nd half but scrapped back to tie, and then Brandon Johnson absolutely took over in OT and the Gophers pull off a huge upset! That was such a fun win, Merry Christmas indeed!

[CC_123]

What an amazing win for the Gophers! That was huge and shows that they ARE capable of being a good team. It seems that the Illinois loss woke them up a bit. It will be interesting to see how they play when they go back on the road though.

The Gophers had a 4.5% chance to win when there was 44 seconds remaining and the score was 80-73. Marcus Carr came up clutch AGAIN at the end of regulation. Carr did Carr things once again. His performances are expected now. 30 points and 8 assists isn't even a surprise at this point. Brandon Johnson WAS a surprise though and was easily the player of the game. 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 8-9 from beyond the arc. He was en fuego. I am convinced that if he would have shot one backwards, it still would have fell. Liam Robbins had a super quiet 18 points tonight too. I didn't even realized he scored that much until I looked at the box score. I'm not a fan of 43 attempted threes, but we made 40% of them so it didn't even feel like we shot that many. The Gophers defense has been improving every game which is nice to see (and also weird to say when they gave up 95 points, but if you watched the game you'd understand what I mean). Gophers offense was efficient tonight, which is very important for this team. Giving up offensive rebounds continuous to be worrisome, however. Iowa had 27 offensive boards, which in turn resulted in a 55-38 rebound advantage for Iowa. That is definitely something the Gophers need to shore up.

We did cause Garza some issues though and forced him to have his least efficient game of the year. Forcing him to shoot 11-27 is an accomplishment because he could have went for 50 with that amount of shots. I think he had 13-15 points as result of offensive rebounds, which means he was in a good spot and the Gophers defenders committed to the offensive player to put them out of position. I was pleased with how we defended him overall. He got 32, but it didn't feel like it. I wasn't pleased with how we boxed him out though.

That is a huge win for the Gophers and should be a massive confidence boost for the team. I have a feeling we will either get ranked or be on the brink of it now. Personally, I DON'T want to be ranked right now. We need the underdog mentality, not the " we are good" mentality. Anyways, super fun win! SKI-U-MAH!

[Wolves4Life]

Maryland could have had a nice road W but if you can't hit free throws you won't win anything.

[Bretsky]

Can’t wait to overpay for my Ayo RPA next year! Nice win over iu.

[jrfillini]

Can’t wait to overpay for my Ayo RPA next year! Nice win over iu.

I've been thinking the same thing. Any way we can get Upper Deck back in the RPA game in the next few months? :D

[Bretsky]

I've been thinking the same thing. Any way we can get Upper Deck back in the RPA game in the next few months? :D

No doubt. I’m hoping for a NT collegiate RPA. Otherwise hoping Bulls take him. Hope the Illini keep it going!

[CC_123]

Nine Big Ten teams ranked in this weeks AP polls.

As I typically do every year, I am going to do my Big Ten rankings (not that they really matter). I just find it fun to do and it gets me watching even more Big Ten games than I usually do.

1. #6 Wisconsin (2-0 last week, 1 Top 25 win)
2. #15 Illinois (2-0 last week)
3. #16 Michigan (1-0 last week)
4. #10 Iowa (1-1 last week)
5. #14 Rutgers (0-1 last week)
6. #19 Northwestern (2-0 last week, 1 top 25 win)
7. #21 Minnesota (2-0 last week, 1 top 25 win)
8. #25 Ohio State (1-1 last week, 1 top 25 win)
9. #17 Michigan State (0-1 last week)
10. Purdue (1-1 last week)
11. Maryland (1-1 last week)
12. Indiana (0-2 last week)
13. Nebraska (0-2 last week)
14. Penn State (0-1 last week)

Crazy how close it is from the #1 team to the #10 team. I feel like any of those teams can beat another on any given night.

Personally, I am not thrilled that the Gophers are ranked because now it will go to their heads that they are "good" and the effort will disappear tonight, so I am unfortunately expecting a Gophers loss tonight against a desperate Michigan State team.

[fidrych]

For what its worth...........

Average age of Badger starting five is 23. Thats older then Bulls staring five.

Does that equate to unlimited wins and a trophy case full of hardware?? Hard to say.

What I do know.......is that in a tight game on the road, with an in state kid basically keeping Sparty in the game by himself, you don't piss down your leg when they open up second half on a 9-0 run.

[Hollywood42]

Just insane how loaded the conference is this year

Nine Big Ten teams ranked in this weeks AP polls.

[mnvikingstwins]

Gladly will take another "ranked" win

[CC_123]

Well, always fun to absolutely destroy Michigan State. We have been on the opposite side of this so many times that it is fun to pay it back a little bit.

Gophers defense has really stepped up since losing to Illinois. Michigan State came in shooting 47% from the field and 37% from three. The Gophers held them to 26% from the field and 24% from three. Gophers didn't shoot great from three, but shot 48% from the field.

Liam Robbins absolutely dominated down low. Michigan State doesn't have the size to matchup with him so he had an advantage all night. 18 points and 9 rebounds makes it back-to-back great conference performances. Marcus Carr looked like he wasn't even trying half the game offensively and still scored 19 points, tallied 5 assists, and had 4 rebounds. Other than those two, it was a lot of 6-9 point scorers to lead a balanced attack. Always nice to get the benchwarmers some minutes too.

Back to back wins against top 25 opponents for the first time since 2013. Lets see if we can make it three straight against Wisconsin on Thursday! Ski-U-Mah!

[Hollywood42]

Honestly that game says way more about MSU than it does the Gophers. MSU looked horrendous all night long. MN didn't look very good in the second half, but with as bad as the Spartans were playing, it didn't matter. Gophers defense was great tonight, though again, aided by so many poor decisions and bad play by MSU. But I'll take another ranked win nonetheless. Still not expecting much out of the next few games, but I'll ride this out as long as we can. Fun night of hoops!

[fidrych]

Watched entire Badger game. Better team won. They earned it. Terps coach had an interesting analogy. Said that if your bench it loud and animated entire game, you can turn a road game into a home game. Their bench was energized entire game and Badgers never matched it.

Great win for Gophers. Whats up with Sparty? For a teams that usually defends the daylights out of the ball, they can't stop anyone. Check out opponents shooting percentage vs them. Gotta be over 50%.

There is no let up in the league. 3 loses might win the thing.

[cnewby]

It's so much fun beating Duke for a change. This team is gonna be a problem come March.

...and the lie detector test determined that was a lie. :coffee:

[jrfillini]

No doubt. I’m hoping for a NT collegiate RPA. Otherwise hoping Bulls take him. Hope the Illini keep it going!

This guy gets it. All of it. :flex:

[JustinVerlander07]

Like I said at the beginning of the season, this always happens!!

(Also they might just kinda suck)

[bmc398]

Better get your wins when you can!

14-6 easily wins the league this year.

[sportzluvr1]

Its a bloodbath....and may be the bloodiest its ever been.

Just gotta hope each team survives conference play and is close enough to full strength where the B1G can do some real damage come tourney time.

[CC_123]

About the worst half the Gophers have had all season. Gophers missed A LOT of wide open shots and had a lot of unforced turnovers. 7 turnovers is basically the difference right now. Gophers shot 19% from the field and 21% from three and are somehow only down 7 right now. When Kalscheur has been the offense tonight, that doesn't signal promising things for the team with how much he has struggled this year.

[CC_123]

Just an ice cold night for Minnesota. We are a great team at home, but we really struggle shooting the ball on the road. Tons of wide open looks that we are long on.

[CC_123]

Pairing an ice cold Minnesota team and a Wisconsin team that can't miss will always end in disaster. We struggle immensely on the road.

[CC_123]

Obviously Wisconsin is a great defensive team, but the amount of wide open shots the Gophers have missed is discouraging, especially after two huge wins against Iowa and MSU

[CC_123]

Wisconsin, as in my rankings, is probably the best team right now in the conference. Gophers offense just got going too late. We had some really nice offensive sets in the final 6 minutes of the game which brought the game from being a 20+ point loss to a 12 point loss. I would have liked to see the Gophers attack the basket more tonight instead of settling for a lot of threes. 7-31 from three isn't going to cut it.

Wisconsin did a really good job guarding Carr and forcing others to beat them. It is good film for the Gophers though in what to expect from other teams and Wisconsin the second go around. The only two players I will give true credit to on Minnesota tonight is Robbins and Johnson. They worked their tales off in the second half and kept hustling even with the game out of hand.

Poor performance all around for the Gophers though. We have to get better on the road and find a way to win a couple. Thankfully we are back home on Sunday against a tough Ohio State team.

On a side note, do you Wisconsin fans get sick of watching Davison flop play after play? He has to be the most dramatic player in college basketball. I've never seen someone at the college level flop at every opportunity like he does. One here and there is tolerable, but he has to flop 7-10 times a game.

[fidrych]

Badgers did two things really poorly (especially by their standards) vs Maryland. Gap coverage and help. Maryland sliced them up and Badgers were weak at the rim (both ends actually). Sounds like they watched lots of film and tried to clean those two areas up. That being said, you give up offensive rebounds when you over help---and Gophers exploited that. You could tell, Carr was going to have to work for everything he got tonight. Badgers crowed him on perimeter and covered gaps to either side. It was hard for him to even drive and kick. After playing flat and fundamentally unsound(defensively) vs Maryland, Badgers next opponent was going to get their best effort. With that being said, there is still no way I would of bet Badgers giving 8 tonight. Gophers have bigs that are active at both ends and Carr will be better when they play again at Barn.

[Packer4Rob]

Wisconsin, as in my rankings, is probably the best team right now in the conference. Gophers offense just got going too late. We had some really nice offensive sets in the final 6 minutes of the game which brought the game from being a 20+ point loss to a 12 point loss. I would have liked to see the Gophers attack the basket more tonight instead of settling for a lot of threes. 7-31 from three isn't going to cut it.

Wisconsin did a really good job guarding Carr and forcing others to beat them. It is good film for the Gophers though in what to expect from other teams and Wisconsin the second go around. The only two players I will give true credit to on Minnesota tonight is Robbins and Johnson. They worked their tales off in the second half and kept hustling even with the game out of hand.

Poor performance all around for the Gophers though. We have to get better on the road and find a way to win a couple. Thankfully we are back home on Sunday against a tough Ohio State team.

On a side note, do you Wisconsin fans get sick of watching Davison flop play after play? He has to be the most dramatic player in college basketball. I've never seen someone at the college level flop at every opportunity like he does. One here and there is tolerable, but he has to flop 7-10 times a game.
i completely forgot this game was on so didnt see it. I dont like floppers at any level. Was watching the bucks/heat game last night and Tyler Herro, who is really turning into a good player, flopped twice, one was embarrassingly bad. I watched the last 2 or 3 badger games and didnt see Davison flop once, but have seen it before. Maybe he does it more often against the gophers being hes a minnesota kid. For the most part the badgers play pretty tight d and do try to take alot of charges, so there really shouldnt be a need to flop. As i recall Davison did some dirty things in the past in gopher games, so not sure if he has a chip on his shoulder from recruiting? Not sure, but theres really no place for that stuff in the game.

[CC_123]

Badgers did two things really poorly (especially by their standards) vs Maryland. Gap coverage and help. Maryland sliced them up and Badgers were weak at the rim (both ends actually). Sounds like they watched lots of film and tried to clean those two areas up. That being said, you give up offensive rebounds when you over help---and Gophers exploited that. You could tell, Carr was going to have to work for everything he got tonight. Badgers crowed him on perimeter and covered gaps to either side. It was hard for him to even drive and kick. After playing flat and fundamentally unsound(defensively) vs Maryland, Badgers next opponent was going to get their best effort. With that being said, there is still no way I would of bet Badgers giving 8 tonight. Gophers have bigs that are active at both ends and Carr will be better when they play again at Barn.

Gophers tend to be a much stronger team at home so I expect a much closer game with the potential of a different outcome. The final 6 minutes of the game when the Gophers started to go inside to Robbins and Johnson, good things started to happen. Wisconsin is a great defensive team, but the Gophers settled for A LOT of threes. And a lot of them were pretty open too. We just tend to go through massive slumps on the road. One thing I wish Minnesota would do every year is schedule at least one non-conference road game against a Power 5. I know this year is a bit different, but we need to get comfortable playing on the road prior to conference play.

[Wolves4Life]

NCAA really needs to invent 3 second rule in the paint. IF they do have it, They don't enforce that ish.

[CC_123]

Jaden Ivey is the best player on the team.

Man, I cannot believe the best player on Purdue's team is averaging 5.5 PPG :doh:

[CC_123]

On a side note, the Iowa and Rutgers game earlier was entertaining. The Big Ten is the best conference top to bottom, but I don't know if there is a true National Championship contending team in the conference at this point. We have some very good teams that will do some damage in the NCAA's though.

[CC_123]

Another absolutely dominant top 25 win for the Gophers.

Ohio State had absolutely zero answer for Liam Robbins. Easily his best game in maroon and gold. 27 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks, 4 assists, 2 steals. He did everything tonight.

Carr still had 15 tonight with being double teamed for a majority of the game. He added 6 boards and 3 assists. Would have liked to see the assist numbers up higher, but he facilitated the ball and got the offense moving.

Two bigs ones were Kalscheur with 13 (including 3 threes) and Gach with 10. Both have struggled with confidence so hopefully back-to-back good games for Gabe and a good game for Gach boost that a bit. Mashburn's 10 was the bench scoring for the Gophers, but thats okay.

Now one more tough stretch of 3 ranked opponents. We are 3-2 against ranked teams right now and 10-2 overall so it should be interesting to see what happens, but we are playing extremely well at home right now. Need to find a way for a W on the road, but I like how we have looked through 12 games so far! Ski-U-Mah!

[Hollywood42]

This stretch, minus the Illinois game and the first half of the Wisconsin game, has been extremely impressive. They've done way better than I ever would have guessed. Robbins continues to get better and better. This probably isn't too surprising, but when we get some good scoring from anyone other than Carr, we do very well. Robbins has generally played pretty well throughout, and Johnson, Gach, Kalscheur have all had their games as well. Not much from off the bench yet (for the love of god someone figure out a way to get Mashburn to stop throwing up shot after shot), but overall this has been a very impressive season that has far surpassed my expectations.

I'm not expecting to beat Iowa again, our game plan was amazing against them in game 1 but they would have time to counter plan against it by now. There's that and two against Michigan left in this killer stretch. If we can at least just win at home vs. Michigan, then at worst we'd be 4-4 in conference play heading into the easier part of the schedule. That'd be a great success

Another absolutely dominant top 25 win for the Gophers.

Ohio State had absolutely zero answer for Liam Robbins. Easily his best game in maroon and gold. 27 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks, 4 assists, 2 steals. He did everything tonight.

Carr still had 15 tonight with being double teamed for a majority of the game. He added 6 boards and 3 assists. Would have liked to see the assist numbers up higher, but he facilitated the ball and got the offense moving.

Two bigs ones were Kalscheur with 13 (including 3 threes) and Gach with 10. Both have struggled with confidence so hopefully back-to-back good games for Gabe and a good game for Gach boost that a bit. Mashburn's 10 was the bench scoring for the Gophers, but thats okay.

Now one more tough stretch of 3 ranked opponents. We are 3-2 against ranked teams right now and 10-2 overall so it should be interesting to see what happens, but we are playing extremely well at home right now. Need to find a way for a W on the road, but I like how we have looked through 12 games so far! Ski-U-Mah!

[CC_123]

This stretch, minus the Illinois game and the first half of the Wisconsin game, has been extremely impressive. They've done way better than I ever would have guessed. Robbins continues to get better and better. This probably isn't too surprising, but when we get some good scoring from anyone other than Carr, we do very well. Robbins has generally played pretty well throughout, and Johnson, Gach, Kalscheur have all had their games as well. Not much from off the bench yet (for the love of god someone figure out a way to get Mashburn to stop throwing up shot after shot), but overall this has been a very impressive season that has far surpassed my expectations.

I'm not expecting to beat Iowa again, our game plan was amazing against them in game 1 but they would have time to counter plan against it by now. There's that and two against Michigan left in this killer stretch. If we can at least just win at home vs. Michigan, then at worst we'd be 4-4 in conference play heading into the easier part of the schedule. That'd be a great success

Honestly, it might sound weird, but I think winning at Michigan would be more important than beating them in our house. We need a resume building road win big time and also need some confidence on the road after struggling @ Illinois and @ Wisconsin.

As far as Mashburn "throwing up shots". I am fine with him being a confident freshman that is willing to attack and shoot. He has been a slump-buster for this team all year. He also went 4-5 tonight with two threes, so it isn't like he isn't contributing some when he takes shots. He isn't afraid to fire away which is what I like to see and he is often wide open because of team doubling Carr at the top of the key. He has shown some really nice flashes this year. Consistency isn't there yet, but he is obviously young. The last thing you want to tell a young player is to "stop shooting".

[Hollywood42]

I mean yeah he had a nice game tonight, but look at his previous game logs-

1-7
1-4
2-10
2-4
1-7
1-3
1-3
4-7

Overall he's shooting 29% on the year, on par with Kalscheur and ahead of only Ihnen. From 3 he's shooting just 17%, lowest on the team. That's like, not good at all. I understand he's young and needs to develop and sure, can't do that if you stop shooting entirely, but so many of his shots make no sense. Immediate shot early in the count when it would be more beneficial to kill some time, wreck the motion of the offense by turning it into a contested jumper, etc. Sure, if Carr's being doubled and it's a good shot, take it. But that's not at all what I'm seeing happen a majority of the time. He needs to reign it in and at least get the decision making on track until he starts improving.

The only reason anyone would ever call him a slump buster is because we have like nothing off the bench. If everything the starters isn't falling, then I guess by default he's a slump buster if he makes one of his, because Curry, Ihnen, and Williams don't exactly set the world on fire. I get that's one of the problems, if the starters are off someone needs to try and get us going. But Mashy is statistically one of if not the worst shooters on the team. I don't think it's at all unreasonable to want him to dial it back

As far as Mashburn "throwing up shots". I am fine with him being a confident freshman that is willing to attack and shoot. He has been a slump-buster for this team all year. He also went 4-5 tonight with two threes, so it isn't like he isn't contributing some when he takes shots. He isn't afraid to fire away which is what I like to see and he is often wide open because of team doubling Carr at the top of the key. He has shown some really nice flashes this year. Consistency isn't there yet, but he is obviously young. The last thing you want to tell a young player is to "stop shooting".

[CC_123]

I mean yeah he had a nice game tonight, but look at his previous game logs-

1-7
1-4
2-10
2-4
1-7
1-3
1-3
4-7

Overall he's shooting 29% on the year, on par with Kalscheur and ahead of only Ihnen. From 3 he's shooting just 17%, lowest on the team. That's like, not good at all. I understand he's young and needs to develop and sure, can't do that if you stop shooting entirely, but so many of his shots make no sense. Immediate shot early in the count when it would be more beneficial to kill some time, wreck the motion of the offense by turning it into a contested jumper, etc. Sure, if Carr's being doubled and it's a good shot, take it. But that's not at all what I'm seeing happen a majority of the time. He needs to reign it in and at least get the decision making on track until he starts improving.

The only reason anyone would ever call him a slump buster is because we have like nothing off the bench. If everything the starters isn't falling, then I guess by default he's a slump buster if he makes one of his, because Curry, Ihnen, and Williams don't exactly set the world on fire. I get that's one of the problems, if the starters are off someone needs to try and get us going. But Mashy is statistically one of if not the worst shooters on the team. I don't think it's at all unreasonable to want him to dial it back

Again, I am fine with it. If you have watched him play every minute this season like I have, you would see that he has had a ton of shots rattle in and then out. It's not like he is missing these shots short or long (like Kalscheur). He is often on the money but has had some unfortunate rolls, just like Gach as of late. He isn't forcing up bad shots. He is taking the open shot and the right shot when he is taking them, some of them just aren't falling. The shooting statistics don't tell the entire story with the shot selection. Out of all the shots he has taken this season, I'd say there is less than a handful that have been poor shot selection. He is actually one of the few players on the team that I haven't been frustrated with his shot selection, even with the 33% FG and 24% 3P. Plus, when he is on the floor, he is often on the floor with some of the other bench players. If he isn't taking a shot every once and a while, than nobody is because Ihnen/Williams/Curry only average a combined 9 shots per game.

[Hollywood42]

Interesting. I've watched most games and completely disagree

Again, I am fine with it. If you have watched him play every minute this season like I have, you would see that he has had a ton of shots rattle in and then out. It's not like he is missing these shots short or long (like Kalscheur). He is often on the money but has had some unfortunate rolls, just like Gach as of late. He isn't forcing up bad shots. He is taking the open shot and the right shot when he is taking them, some of them just aren't falling. The shooting statistics don't tell the entire story with the shot selection. Out of all the shots he has taken this season, I'd say there is less than a handful that have been poor shot selection. He is actually one of the few players on the team that I haven't been frustrated with his shot selection, even with the 33% FG and 24% 3P. Plus, when he is on the floor, he is often on the floor with some of the other bench players. If he isn't taking a shot every once and a while, than nobody is because Ihnen/Williams/Curry only average a combined 9 shots per game.

[mnvikingstwins]

The last ball hog PG we had finished his career at Iona, Mashburn needs to do better than that

[CC_123]

NET Rankings continue to make zero sense, like usual. Gophers, who are 3-2 against ranked opponents, are 43rd in NET rankings, behind freaking Penn State who is 3-4 and Maryland who is 6-4 who has only one quality win?! Gophers have beat #7, #12, and #28 in NET and lost to #4 and #11. I just don't understand how they are 43rd even without a road win on the resume yet. Everyone with a brain knows that the Gophers currently are better than Penn State, Maryland, and Ohio State, all who are ranked higher in NET.

It is the first NET of the season so it can be a little wonky, but having a 3-2 Quad 1 record and being 43rd, while Penn State (42) and Ohio State (28) have 1-3 Quad 1 records and Maryland (32) has a 1-4 Quad 1 record just seems a bid...odd?

There are still 16 games left so the first NET of the year holds little validity, I just thought it was laughable to see. I mean, they have a 1-1 Colgate team (both of which games were Quad 3) as 16th in NET, just to show how little sense this system makes. They need to go back to the old system because the NET rankings system makes absolutely zero sense.

[CC_123]

Here are my rankings for the Big Ten this week. Last weeks spot will be in parentheses.

1. (4) #5 Iowa (2-0 last week, 2-0 vs top 25)
2. (1) #8 Wisconsin (1-1 last week, 1-0 vs top 25)
3. (2) #12 Illinois (1-0 last week)
4. (3) #10 Michigan (2-0 last week, 1-0 vs top 25)
5. (7) #16 Minnesota (2-1 last week, 2-1 vs top 25)
6. (5) #15 Rutgers (1-1 last week, 0-1 vs top 25)
7. (8) Ohio State (1-1 last week, 0-1 vs top 25)
8. (6) Northwestern (0-2 last week, 0-2 vs top 25)
9. (10) Purdue (0-2 last week, 0-2 vs top 25)
10. (9) #23 Michigan State (1-1 last week, 0-1 vs top 25)
11. (11) Maryland (1-1 last week, 1-0 vs top 25)
12. (12) Indiana (1-0 last week)
13. (14) Penn State (0-1 last week)
14. (13) Nebraska (0-2 last week)

[mnvikingstwins]

$230/200 on Rutgers +1 @ MSU tomorrow

[CC_123]

$230/200 on Rutgers +1 @ MSU tomorrow

SHOULD be easy money, but road wins are so hard in the Big Ten

[CC_123]

Looks like they fixed the NET rankings.

Here is where the Big Ten stands in terms of NET.

4. Illinois (1-3 Q1 record)
5. Michigan (1-0 Q1 record)
8. Iowa (1-2 Q1 record)
12. Wisconsin (1-1 Q1 record)
19. Rutgers (3-2 Q1 record)
31. Minnesota (2-2 Q1 record)
32. Maryland (1-5 Q1 record)
36. Ohio State (1-3 Q1 record)
39. Penn State (2-3 Q1 record)
45. Purdue (0-4 Q1 record)
50. Indiana (0-3 Q1 record)
55. Northwestern (1-2 Q1 record)
120. Michigan State (0-3 Q1 record)
184. Nebraska (0-4 Q1 record)

[mnvikingstwins]

Rutgers 1-9 on threes 2-11 on FT

[mnvikingstwins]

Tired of the guard on Rutgers who takes every shot jumping to the side instead of squaring up

[CC_123]

Man, Michigan gets away with a ton of fouls. Not that the officials have called a lot on the Gophers, but for Michigan to not be whistled for their first foul until 5 minutes left in the half is ridiculous. 3 of the 4 fouls on the Gophers have been little to no contact, too.

[CC_123]

Man, apparently Livers can hang on the rim but when Omersa did it twice earlier this year, he got T'd up both times.

[cnewby]

Looking like another blowout dub.

[CC_123]

The Gophers had A LOT of careless turnovers that half. They need to clean that up and they need to defend the pick & roll better (Dickinson has been a killer). Carr started to get going a little bit heading into the half, so hopefully that will carry over. Lucky to be down only 6 right now because, as usual, that was a pretty bad half on the road for the Gophers. Hopefully they come out of the half with some energy.

[CC_123]

Typical road Gophers. Come out of the half flat and dig themselves a hole they can't get out of.

[CC_123]

Gophers average 28.5 FT attempts per game. They have only gotten to the line once tonight. That is a huge factor in the score right now. We typically get 21.5 points per game at the line. It doesn't help that Michigan can't miss tonight (59%) and we are shooting 31%.

[cnewby]

Gophers average 28.5 FT attempts per game. They have only gotten to the line once tonight. That is a huge factor in the score right now. We typically get 21.5 points per game at the line. It doesn't help that Michigan can't miss tonight (59%) and we are shooting 31%.

Excuses be flowin' tonight! :cry:

[CC_123]

Excuses be flowin' tonight! :cry:

How it is an excuse? It is literally a fact. A statistic. Try using them sometime. I am not blaming anyone except for the Gophers for not being aggressive and attacking (which results in free throw attempts). I am sorry that you can't comprehend past a 3rd grade level to see what I was saying.

[cnewby]

How it is an excuse? It is literally a fact. A statistic. Try using them sometime. I am not blaming anyone except for the Gophers for not being aggressive and attacking (which results in free throw attempts). I am sorry that you can't comprehend past a 3rd grade level to see what I was saying.

There's the salt. :cry: :cry: :cry:

Ya'll getting rolled - fact. :)!

[CC_123]

There's the salt. :cry: : cry: :cry:

Ya'll getting rolled - fact. :)!

Again, I am sorry that you have about two brain cells and don't know how to use statistics to back what you are saying.

You guys haven't had to play a single good team on the road yet. Every good team you have played has been at your own house. I'm not saying Michigan isn't a good team, but when your two road games have been against bottom dwellers in the conference, it doesn't tell much about your team. Gophers have shown that they struggle on the road. They are a completely different team at home vs on the road. The splits are insane when you look at them. That what takes the Gophers from being a good team to being a great team.

I can guarantee when you come to the Barn next week, you aren't going to only have 6 fouls in the entire game called on you and I guarantee you aren't going to shoot 60%+ like tonight.

[cnewby]

Again, I am sorry that you have about two brain cells and don't know how to use statistics to back what you are saying.

You guys haven't had to play a single good team on the road yet. Every good team you have played has been at your own house. I'm not saying Michigan isn't a good team, but when your two road games have been against bottom dwellers in the conference, it doesn't tell much about your team. Gophers have shown that they struggle on the road. They are a completely different team at home vs on the road. The splits are insane when you look at them. That what takes the Gophers from being a good team to being a great team.

I can guarantee when you come to the Barn next week, you aren't going to only have 7 fouls in the entire game called on you and I guarantee you aren't going to shoot 60%+ like tonight.

I'm ded. :D

GGS

[CC_123]

I'm ded. :D

GGS

Typical CNewby. Brings nothing to the conversation :)! I guess that's what happens when you can't comprehend anything.

[cnewby]

Typical CNewby. Brings nothing to the conversation :)! I guess that's what happens when you can't comprehend anything.

I tell ya its so damn tough with these two brain cells. :)!

Throw in the damn towel already!

[CC_123]

I tell ya its so damn tough with these two brain cells. :)!

Throw in the damn towel already!

Sorry I don't quit being a fan of my team when they lose like some people do. Move along now, you bring nothing productive to the thread or conversation.

[cnewby]

Sorry I don't quit being a fan of my team when they lose like some people do. Move along now, you bring nothing productive to the thread or conversation.

So bossy. :p Might as well turn on reruns of Seinfeld. This ones been boring for a while now. Should've let the bench play the 2nd half.

[CC_123]

So bossy. :p Might as well turn on reruns of Seinfeld. This ones been boring for a while now. Should've let the bench play the 2nd half.

Talk to me when you guys actually play a real team on the road and beat them handily. Michigan is obviously good but that schedule has been soft so far. Easy to win when everything you throw up goes in too. Just one of those nights for Michigan offensively and the same type of nights offensively for the Gophers on the road.

[cnewby]

Talk to me when you guys actually play a real team on the road and beat them handily. Michigan is obviously good but that schedule has been soft so far. Easy to win when everything you throw up goes in too. Just one of those nights for Michigan offensively and the same type of nights offensively for the Gophers on the road.

..but I want to talk to you right now. Its therapeutic.

Remember football? Good times.

[CC_123]

The home/road splits for this Gophers team are staggering.

Home:
85.5 PPG, 44.9 FG%, 33 3P%, 29.7 FT Attempts, 70.7 Opp PPG, 37.5 Opp FG%, 26.8 Opp 3P%, 10-0 record with 3 Top 25 wins (and beat St. Louis who is now ranked)

Away:
60.3 PPG, 30.1 FG%, 24% 3P%, 17.3 FT Attempts, 81.6 Opp PPG, 53.6% Opp FG%, 35.6 Opp 3P%, 0-3 record, all against top 25 opponents.

Now, obviously winning on the road in the Big Ten is tough (the league is 9-24 on the road) AND the Gophers have had to play #6, #10, and #12 on the road. But some competitiveness on the road would be nice to see. We are a borderline great team at home right now, but we are a bottom of the barrel team on the road, which is frustrating. The splits between home and away are just ridiculous. We have 7 road game (only two vs. Top 25) and 7 home games left. I'd like to see us go at least 4-3 on that road game stretch and find a way to win 5 of the 7 home games. It's going to be tough, like every night in the Big Ten, but hopefully we can start to figure stuff out on the road once we are done with this gauntlet part of our schedule (just @ Iowa and vs. Michigan left). We are still a good team at 10-3, but we need to get some road wins.

On a side note, after digging even deeper into the splits, I am dreading the game @ Iowa on Sunday. I am fully expecting another 20+ point loss with the way we perform on the road.

[Wolves4Life]

No team has lost more talent in the B1G from last year than Maryland but I think having no crowd is really hurting them. There is no better home court advantage than a rocking College Park.

[CC_123]

No team has lost more talent in the B1G from last year than Maryland but I think having no crowd is really hurting them. There is no better home court advantage than a rocking College Park.

I disagree. I think Michigan State, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Purdue, and Iowa all have a better home court advantage when crowds are present.

And, while Maryland did lose key contributors, such is the nature of NCAA basketball. Just about every team in the conference (except probably Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin) lost talent. Next year, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa will all lose talent (among other teams). It is what happens. I'd personally say that Michigan State lost more talent heading into this season. Penn State also lost a lot of talent from last years team.

[Wolves4Life]

I disagree. I think Michigan State, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Purdue, and Iowa all have a better home court advantage when crowds are present.

And, while Maryland did lose key contributors, such is the nature of NCAA basketball. Just about every team in the conference (except probably Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin) lost talent. Next year, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa will all lose talent (among other teams). It is what happens. I'd personally say that Michigan State lost more talent heading into this season. Penn State also lost a lot of talent from last years team.

They should have let guys come back if they wanted like they did in College Football.

[jrfillini]

Never in doubt . . . :o

[sportzluvr1]

Illini showed tonight why they’re a good candidate to either make a Final Four, or lose to Wofford in the first round of the tourney.

[CC_123]

Michigan State really pee'd down their legs down the stretch tonight and blew that one. But honestly, a pretty ugly overall game by both teams. Purdue with a 33%/12% split and Michigan State with 39%/24% splits. Both teams were evenly matched, obviously by the score, but it just was a tough game to watch in my opinion (but I am used to watching a shaky offensive team on the road in Minnesota, so it wasn't much different :eek: )

Michigan State probably shouldn't have stayed ranked after Minnesota blew them out, but I think this loss will for sure knock them out of the top 25.

[rats60]

Again, I am sorry that you have about two brain cells and don't know how to use statistics to back what you are saying.

You guys haven't had to play a single good team on the road yet. Every good team you have played has been at your own house. I'm not saying Michigan isn't a good team, but when your two road games have been against bottom dwellers in the conference, it doesn't tell much about your team. Gophers have shown that they struggle on the road. They are a completely different team at home vs on the road. The splits are insane when you look at them. That what takes the Gophers from being a good team to being a great team.

I can guarantee when you come to the Barn next week, you aren't going to only have 6 fouls in the entire game called on you and I guarantee you aren't going to shoot 60%+ like tonight.

Have you looked at Michigan's schedule? It couldn't be any easier. They played a bunch of mid and low majors in NC and they only play one of the top B1G teams on the road, Wisconsin. Illinois, Iowa and Rutgers they play once at home. tOSU they play once on the road.

[CC_123]

Have you looked at Michigan's schedule? It couldn't be any easier. They played a bunch of mid and low majors in NC and they only play one of the top B1G teams on the road, Wisconsin. Illinois, Iowa and Rutgers they play once at home. tOSU they play once on the road.

Yes I have, this is what I was referring to when I said Michigan hasn't had to play a single good team on the road. Michigan has one of the easiest schedules in the conference. All the top teams in the conference they get at home, like you said. Only tough road games they have is @ Minnesota and @ Wisconsin. I'm not saying Michigan isn't good, because they are, but as we have seen in the conference, winning at home is a lot easier than winning on the road. The Gophers beat Iowa at home, but I guarantee we lose by 20 tomorrow on the road. Just the nature of the conference.

The other teams that have pretty easy schedules is Purdue (only have Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan once, but get Penn State, Nebraska, Maryland, Indiana twice) and Illinois (only have to play Iowa and Michigan once, but get Northwestern, Nebraska, Penn State, Indiana twice).

Minnesota has to play Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, and Illinois twice, while only getting Northwestern, Penn State, and Indiana once. The Gophers schedule is brutal this year. When the season is done, they will finish with at least 11 Top 25 games, including 8 of those against the top 4 teams in the conference. Wisconsin also gets Iowa, Michigan, and Illinois twice, so their schedule doesn't get any easier either.

I am sure there are some other teams that have easy schedules where they only play the top teams once each and other teams that have to play them twice each, but I just don't feel like looking through every single schedule.

Honestly, I can't wait until after the Gophers play Michigan next Saturday because then we finally get a stretch where we play 7 unranked opponents in 8 games. After having to play 9 straight games against ranked opponents (well 8 ranked in 9 games but St. Louis is ranked now), it will hopefully be refreshing to play a team without a number next to their name.

[asujbl]

Ohio State absolutely beating down Rutgers at the moment

[CC_123]

Ohio State absolutely beating down Rutgers at the moment

I'm starting to think Rutgers isn't as good as they were ranked this year. This will be what, 4 losses out of their last 5 games (which does include an L to Iowa)? Ohio State isn't a horrible team by any means and they are clearly better than Rutgers is. But Rutgers was ranked, what, 11th at one point this season? I think they are better than how they are playing right now, but maybe they should be ranked in the 23-25 range, not 11-15 range. They got highly ranked by beating Illinois, which is obviously a great win, but they will now have 20+ point losses to a soon-to-be unranked MSU and an unranked (but probably soon to be ranked) Ohio State. This conference is difficult to figure out because anyone can beat anyone by 20+ on any night it seems.

[asujbl]

I'm starting to think Rutgers isn't as good as they were ranked this year. This will be what, 4 losses out of their last 5 games (which does include an L to Iowa)? Ohio State isn't a horrible team by any means and they are clearly better than Rutgers is. But Rutgers was ranked, what, 11th at one point this season? I think they are better than how they are playing right now, but maybe they should be ranked in the 23-25 range, not 11-15 range. They got highly ranked by beating Illinois, which is obviously a great win, but they will now have 20+ point losses to a soon-to-be unranked MSU and an unranked (but probably soon to be ranked) Ohio State.

They were ranked 11 when Ohio State beat them the first time

This is the 2nd win for us

[CC_123]

They were ranked 11 when Ohio State beat them the first time

This is the 2nd win for us

I'm aware of that, I watch about 90% of Big Ten games, including that one. A 12 point road loss isn't as bad as a 20+ point home loss. And it still doesn't change that maybe Rutgers isn't top-20 ranked good right now. It will still be a 20 point loss to an unranked team at home which never reflects well. Of course, it also doesn't help that Ohio State is shooting near 20% higher from three than their season average.

[asujbl]

I'm aware of that, I watch about 90% of Big Ten games, including that one. A 12 point road loss isn't as bad as a 20+ point home loss. And it still doesn't change that maybe Rutgers isn't top-20 ranked good right now. It will still be a 20 point loss to an unranked team at home which never reflects well. Of course, it also doesn't help that Ohio State is shooting near 20% higher from three than their season average.

OK?

This is a weird reply

Rutgers isn’t good would have been sufficient

[CC_123]

OK?

This is a weird reply

Rutgers isn’t good would have been sufficient

OK?

This is a weird reply

No response would have been sufficient

[DajuanWagner]

ILL-INI.......I told ya'll.........

[sportzluvr1]

ILL-INI.......I told ya'll.........

I-N-I

You didnt even give me a chance.

C’mon rook.

[CC_123]

ILL-INI.......I told ya'll.........

I mean, it isn't really a surprise that Illinois is good. I said at the end of the 2018-19 season when they went 12-21 that they were going to be a problem for the Big Ten in upcoming seasons. The interesting thing will be to see how good they are next year when they don't have Ayo, Cockburn, or Frazier. They have a good tandem of freshman this year, but losing Ayo, Cockburn, and Frazier will be a huge blow.

[hairysasquatch]

Juwan has the Wolverines ballin'!

[CC_123]

Same thing every game on the road. The first 5 minutes of the second half, the Gophers come out flat, turn the ball over on lazy passes, and dig themselves a hole. We played a pretty good first half, but looking like another double digit road loss.

[CC_123]

I honestly haven't seen a player get away with the hook in the paint as much as Garza does since Isaac Haas was playing. Every single touch down low, Garza is hooking his elbow. The officials baby Garza so much because he has a shot at National POTY. He is a great player, he doesn't need to extra assistance.

[CC_123]

Any other player in the conference that throws a high elbow on a box out would be called for a flagrant, but not Garza. Then Garza hooks Robbins, but Robbins comes back and blocks him clean, but its a foul. Its rather annoying how much Garza is babied in this conference and be able to basically do whatever he wants whenever he wants, especially hooking the defender. It's not just me saying it because we we played them today either. He did it when we beat them too. He has done it all season (just search Twitter about it. People calling it out in just about every Iowa game this season).

[CC_123]

It wasn't a great performance by the Gophers, but it also wasn't a 15-point loss bad like the score says. It was a 9 point game with a minute left and Iowa made two contested threes.

But the Gophers still have to shoot better than 35 FG% and 29 3P%. We also shot pretty poor at the line. We missed a ton of wide-open shots that we hit last time we played Iowa. It also doesn't help when Garza can chicken-wing his way to the bucket every time he has it down low. He is a great player, but c'mon, it is so blatantly obvious what he is doing. There is just zero way that Garza only averages 2 fouls per game playing the position he does. He gets away with a lot. Jordan Murphy and Daniel Oturu got called for the hook (chicken wing) all the time when they were playing. But of course, they weren't potential National POTY so they didn't get away with that type of stuff.

One thing I will call out today is that Pitino needed to take Mashburn out sooner. This is the first game I was truly frustrated with Mashburn. He was way off on his shot all day. Why keep him on the floor when he missed 6 straight shots, while Gach, who had a nice game, was sitting on the bench. When Iowa had Garza, Bohannan, and Wieskamp on the bench, we should have had our starters on the floor to make a run. Not the particular reason we lost, but man, it would have helped to have a chance at a run with Garza off the floor.

One positive, we DID play better on the road (score won't show that) AND we don't have to travel to Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, or Iowa the rest of the season now. We got the four hardest road games out of the way. Gophers need to respond big against Michigan next Saturday though. They should be well rested and should have plenty of time to watch film throughout the week. Not a great week, but it was a really tough week and it has been a really tough 8 games stretch. Finish the gauntlet strong with a win against Michigan to get that momentum heading into the "easier" part of the schedule. It obviously won't be easy, but 5-4 during that stretch sounds a lot better than 4-5.

Another thing that I didn't know is that the Big Ten conference uses FIVE different basketballs?! Why does the NCAA not have a universal basketball across all conferences? It doesn't make sense to me.

[cnewby]

Juwan has the Wolverines ballin'!

Sho does. :flex:

[CC_123]

My weekly Big Ten rankings:

1. (1) #5 Iowa (2-0 this week, 1-0 vs Top 25)
2. (4) #7 Michigan (1-0 this week, 1-0 vs Top 25)
3. (2) #9 Wisconsin (1-0 this week)
4. (3) #14 Illinois (1-1 this week)
5. (5) #23 Minnesota (0-2 this week, 0-2 vs Top 25)
6. (7) #21 Ohio State (1-0 this week, 1-0 vs Top 25)
7. (6) Rutgers (0-2 this week, 0-2 vs Top 25)
8. (9) Purdue (1-0 this week, 1-0 vs Top 25)
9. (11) Maryland (1-2 this week, 1-1 vs Top 25)
10. (10) Michigan State (1-1 this week, 1-0 vs Top 25)
11. (12) Indiana (2-1 this week, 0-1 vs Top 25)
12. (8) Northwestern (0-1 this week, 0-1 vs Top 25)
13. (14) Nebraska (0-1 this week)
14. (13) Penn State (0-0 this week)

Not much movement this week just due to schedules, teams playing one game, etc.

NET has the Big Ten as:

4. Michigan (1-0 in Q1 games)
5. Iowa (2-2 in Q1 games)
8. Illinois (2-3 in Q1 games)
10. Wisconsin (1-1 in Q1 games)
24. Ohio State (2-3 in Q1 games)
33. Minnesota (3-4 in Q1 games)
35. Maryland (2-5 in Q1 games)
39. Purdue (1-4 in Q1 games)
40. Penn State (1-3 in Q1 games)
43. Indiana (1-4 in Q1 games)
44. Rutgers (2-3 in Q1 games)
57. Northwestern (2-3 in Q1 games)
84. Michigan State (0-3 in Q1 games)
161. Nebraska (0-4 in Q1 games)

[hairysasquatch]

Let's go BLUE!

[cnewby]

Just another meaningless home beat down. :coffee::coffee::coffee::flex:

[CC_123]

Just another meaningless home beat down. :coffee::coffee::coffee::flex:

Must be nice getting to play one of the easiest schedules in the Big Ten and avoiding having to play @ Iowa and @ Illinois. :coffee:

This isn't saying Michigan isn't a good team this year (obviously they are very good), but they don't exactly have a tough road ahead of them this year. Their toughest road games are @ Minnesota and @ Wisconsin. Everything else is easy.

[cnewby]

Must be nice getting to play one of the easiest schedules in the Big Ten and avoiding having to play @ Iowa and @ Illinois. :coffee:

This isn't saying Michigan isn't a good team this year (obviously they are very good), but they don't exactly have a tough road ahead of them this year. Their toughest road games are @ Minnesota and @ Wisconsin. Everything else is easy.

You're too easy. :cry: :cry: :cry:

[CC_123]

You're too easy. :cry: :cry: :cry:

Just like that Michigan schedule :eek:

[mnvikingstwins]

Michigan first ever to beat 3 straight ranked opponents by 19+

[cnewby]

Michigan first ever to beat 3 straight ranked opponents by 19+

Well to be fair, Minnesotuh is waaaay overranked.

[Hail2TheVictors]

Hail 2 the victors folks. Michigan is playing incredible basketball.

[Hail2TheVictors]

Must be nice getting to play one of the easiest schedules in the Big Ten and avoiding having to play @ Iowa and @ Illinois. :coffee:

This isn't saying Michigan isn't a good team this year (obviously they are very good), but they don't exactly have a tough road ahead of them this year. Their toughest road games are @ Minnesota and @ Wisconsin. Everything else is easy.

LMFAO.

[CC_123]

Well to be fair, Minnesotuh is waaaay overranked.

Yeah, having the hardest schedule in the Big Ten so far and a 3-4 Quad 1 record makes us over-ranked. Wins over St. Louis, Iowa, Ohio State, and Michigan State mean we are absolutely horrible. You're right :doh: Congrats on playing your 2nd Quad 1 game on the season though.

Must be nice to only have to play 6 ranked opponents the entire season. Wish the Gophers got a cupcake schedule like that, instead we had to play 8 ranked teams in 9 games (and the 1 game that wasn't against a ranked team was against a team that is now ranked).

I'm not even saying the Gophers are as good as Michigan because we aren't, but at least we have had to play a real schedule and actually play on the road against the top teams in the conference. 10-4 with the schedule we have had is nothing to sneeze at.

[cnewby]

Yeah, having the hardest schedule in the Big Ten so far and a 3-4 Quad 1 record makes us over-ranked. Wins over St. Louis, Iowa, Ohio State, and Michigan State mean we are absolutely horrible. You're right :doh: Congrats on playing your 2nd Quad 1 game on the season though.

Must be nice to only have to play 6 ranked opponents the entire season. Wish the Gophers got a cupcake schedule like that, instead we had to play 8 ranked teams in 9 games (and the 1 game that wasn't against a ranked team was against a team that is now ranked).

I'm not even saying the Gophers are as good as Michigan because we aren't, but at least we have had to play a real schedule and actually play on the road against the top teams in the conference. 10-4 with the schedule we have had is nothing to sneeze at.

For sure, a cute little season ur having. :)!

[CC_123]

For sure, a cute little season ur having. :)!

Honestly, I hope you guys aren't peaking early. Of course, with a schedule like that, we will never find out. :coffee:

All joking aside, I legit don't mind Michigan when it comes to basketball, I just think they have a easy schedule this season. They typically play the right way and this years team is tough defensively. The ONLY chance you have to beat Michigan is to hit your threes because that is the weakest part of their defense. If you can hit threes against Michigan, you might have a shot to pull the upset.

[texmcpherson]

Hail 2 the victors folks. Michigan is playing incredible basketball.

Must be making up for the football season

[DetroitFan14]

GO BLUE!!!!!!!!! Just runnin' teams smooth out the arena!

Oh Juwan has the #1 crootin' class coming in, too... incase ya forgot. ;)

[texmcpherson]

GO BLUE!!!!!!!!! Just runnin' teams smooth out the arena!

Oh Juwan has the #1 crootin' class coming in, too... incase ya forgot. ;)

I haven’t watched them all season but didn’t they start the season un ranked? What are they doing so well to, for lack of better words, be dominating teams in an incredibly difficult Big 10 conference?

[CC_123]

I haven’t watched them all season but didn’t they start the season un ranked? What are they doing so well to, for lack of better words, be dominating teams in an incredibly difficult Big 10 conference?

Michigan is extremely tough defensively. And they turn that defense into offense. In their last 3 games, they have shot a decent percentage above their season averages, but they have been playing confident. Confident teams are hard to beat.

[hairysasquatch]

Michigan kicking some a$$

[CC_123]

Rutgers is in a little slump right now. Obviously Wisconsin is good, but they didn't even play great tonight and still got the win. Rutgers usually defends The Rac well, but shooting 38/10/28 splits from FG/3P/FT isn't going to win them games. Hell, they out-rebounded Wisconsin by 15 and still couldn't capitalize. They won't win a lot of close games unless their free throw shooting improves either. They are shooting 57% from the stripe, which is 6th worst in the country.

[CC_123]

So far, two straight games that Illinois has struggled at home. Ohio State has shot incredibly well so far today, but Illinois defense has slacked some the last two games which has put them in danger of dropping two straight at home.

[sportzluvr1]

So far, two straight games that Illinois has struggled at home. Ohio State has shot incredibly well so far today, but Illinois defense has slacked some the last two games which has put them in danger of dropping two straight at home.

Very disappointing so far this season.

[mnvikingstwins]

Gophers could beat wisconsin by like 60

[CC_123]

For sure, a cute little season ur having. :)!

Cute win today too, eh? Amazing what happens when Michigan has to leave their comfy home floor and actually play a good team on the road :coffee:

[Hollywood42]

https://media.tenor.com/images/d1e2836255383b1d59fbaf89b8bc508b/tenor.gif

[mnvikingstwins]

Schedule really easy rest of the way for Gophers

[oldgoldy97]

Schedule really easy rest of the way for Gophers

Will be fun to see where they finish.

[CC_123]

Gophers continue to be a force on their home floor. Would love to figure it out on the road, but we have played an absolute gauntlet on the road (Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan). To go 5-4 in our last 9 game stretch against ranked opponents is fantastic!

Wins against (at the time of the game) St. Louis (now ranked 24th), #4 Iowa, #17 MSU, #25 Ohio State, and now #7 Michigan is a legit resume. This team is great at Williams Arena. Hopefully now that we have went through the hardest part of our road schedule, we will be able to figure things out on the road.

Anyways, great win today. Robbins played angry and it showed. 22 points, 8 boards, 3-3 from three. Carr, while not super efficient shooting, did a lot of great things today. 17 points (but on 6-18 shooting), 6 assists, 5 rebounds. Kalscheur also had a really nice game with 10 points, but most importantly, stingy defense. The team, as a whole, played incredibly tough defense. Forced Michigan to have 20 turnovers and we had 12 steals.

SKI-U-MAH!

[Hollywood42]

They've been so much fun to watch this year. Had a few blowout losses against ranked teams, but they've blown out a few ranked teams themselves as well. And now we have just 1 game against a ranked team left this year. Been a great year!

[CC_123]

They've been so much fun to watch this year. Had a few blowout losses against ranked teams, but they've blown out a few ranked teams themselves as well. And now we have just 1 game against a ranked team left this year. Been a great year!

Only 1 ranked team left RIGHT NOW. As the Big Ten has seemed to go, I suspect there will probably be 3 more games against ranked teams. Teams in this conference have been beating up on each other which has made teams bounce in and out of the rankings.

[Hollywood42]

Agreed! At any rate, the hellish part of the schedule is now complete. Hopefully we can stay focused and take care of the games we should win

Only 1 ranked team left RIGHT NOW. As the Big Ten has seemed to go, I suspect there will probably be 3 more games against ranked teams. Teams in this conference have been beating up on each other which has made teams bounce in and out of the rankings.

[CC_123]

Only four teams in college basketball have four ranked wins. Gonzaga, Iowa, Kansas, and Minnesota.

[CC_123]

Agreed! At any rate, the hellish part of the schedule is now complete. Hopefully we can stay focused and take care of the games we should win

I hate that @ Nebraska is the next game on our schedule. Nothing like a trap game after a huge win.

[sportzluvr1]

Grats to the gophers. Big time beatdown of a legit top 3 team in the conference.

[cnewby]

Cute win today too, eh? Amazing what happens when Michigan has to leave their comfy home floor and actually play a good team on the road :coffee:

Pffft, @ me when you win one on the road. :cry: :cry: :cry:

[CC_123]

Pffft, @ me when you win one on the road. :cry: : cry: :cry:

Don't worry, the Gophers finally get to play unranked opponents on the road. They'll get some road wins against the same type of teams Michigan has road wins against. @ me when you play 8 ranked teams in a row :)! oh wait, that Michigan schedule is the softest in the conference this year.

[cnewby]

Don't worry, the Gophers finally get to play unranked opponents on the road. They'll get some road wins against the same type of teams Michigan has road wins against. @ me when you play 8 ranked teams in a row :)! oh wait, that Michigan schedule is the softest in the conference this year.

Did I sound worried? That's your shtick. :)!

[CC_123]

SOS in the Big Ten (not including today's games)

Penn State-3
Rutgers-8
Northwestern-9
Purdue-11
Minnesota-12
Illinois-21
Maryland-25
Indiana-26
Nebraska-37
Wisconsin-43
Iowa-52
Michigan State-62
Ohio State-64
Michigan-82


:coffee::coffee::coffee:

[cnewby]

SOS in the Big Ten (not including today's games)

Penn State-3
Rutgers-8
Northwestern-9
Purdue-11
Minnesota-12
Illinois-21
Maryland-25
Indiana-26
Nebraska-37
Wisconsin-43
Iowa-52
Michigan State-62
Ohio State-64
Michigan-82


:coffee::coffee::coffee:

Ermahgerd, I'm soooo upset. :D

You're simply that easy and take this stuff waaaay too serious.

[CC_123]

Ermahgerd, I'm soooo upset. :D

You're simply that easy and take this stuff waaaay too serious.

I "take this stuff way too serious", yet you are always quick to respond to whatever I post :)! It's just too easy to get you to keep coming back.

You know what the saddest part about you is? That you are a grown man who thinks talking/acting like a teenager is entertaining. Try a new routine because this one is worn out.

[cnewby]

I "take this stuff way too serious", yet you are always quick to respond to whatever I post :)! It's just too easy to get you to keep coming back.

You know what the saddest part about you is? That you are a grown man who thinks talking/acting like a teenager is entertaining. Try a new routine because this one is worn out.

Apparently 4 hours on gameday is quick to you. :doh: See how triggered you get? Its precious. Never change. The forum needs more CeeCee.

Go for it, get that long-winded last word we all know you yearn for. :)!

[hairysasquatch]

mnvikingstwins announcing his departure elsewhere on the boards. :coffee: