Jerry Palm has Gophers "in" as of today. ...

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SelectionSunday

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and playing in the First Four. Any reasonable Gopher fan at this point would take that end result (sans Mbakwe) in a New York (er, Dayton) minute?

I still need to see the Gophers vs. B1G competition, but one thing Palm hit on accurately is it appears it'll be a big year for the B1G in terms of NCAA bids (7-8?), relative to the other major conferences. The ACC and Pac 12 look really down, so there's likely to be more available bids out there.

Iowa, Penn State and probably Nebraska are the only B1G teams I'd rule completely out at this point.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/bracketology
 

If the Gophers are able to sneak into the field this year, that would get me quite excited about this team going into the future considering how much we would be returning over the next two or three years (assuming no drama like has been the case the previous two years).
 

I think the "assuming no drama" ship has sailed!

Agreed. If the Gophers somehow make the field this season, certainly that would speak well for the current talent on the roster, most of which (knock on wood) would be returning.
 

Can this squad finish out 12-1? And then go 9-9 in the BIG and 21-10? IF so, they will likely make it. PSU, Illini, Mich and MSU make it last year with 9-9 BIG records.

IF is the key word.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
Can this squad finish out 12-1? And then go 9-9 in the BIG and 21-10? IF so, they will likely make it. PSU, Illini, Mich and MSU make it last year with 9-9 BIG records.

[B]IF is the key word.[/B]
Click to expand...

Remember, IF... the dog would not have stopped to take a $hit, would he have caught the rabbit. :banghead:
 


I really like the optimism, but what scares me is the fact this team hasn't had a true road game yet this season, which may make the transition into the B1G season a rude wake-up call. Hopefully they don't spin their wheels too much after jumping into conference play after feasting on low-majors.
 

What a difference from last year in that we lost a very good guard vs. a great big guy this year. We are getting great play from Welch and Rodney is now playing in his best position. IF we can win one of the first two road games (ill or Mich) we will fo very well... just hoping though........
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
Can this squad finish out 12-1? And then go 9-9 in the BIG and 21-10? IF so, they will likely make it. PSU, Illini, Mich and MSU make it last year with 9-9 BIG records.

IF is the key word.
Click to expand...

Agree that IF is the key word, however, a .500 conference record in the Big Ten is not a benchmark for making the NCAA tourney. In the last 5 seasons alone, 5 B1G teams finished with a .500 or better regular-season conference record yet failed to make the tournament. ... Iowa (9-7, in 2006-07), Michigan (8-8 in 2006-07), Ohio State (10-8 in 2007-08), Penn State (10-8 in 2008-09) and Illinois (10-8 in 2009-10).
 

SelectionSunday said:
and playing in the First Four. Any reasonable Gopher fan at this point would take that end result (sans Mbakwe) in a New York (er, Dayton) minute?

I still need to see the Gophers vs. B1G competition, but one thing Palm hit on accurately is it appears it'll be a big year for the B1G in terms of NCAA bids (7-8?), relative to the other major conferences. The ACC and Pac 12 look really down, so there's likely to be more available bids out there.

Iowa, Penn State and probably Nebraska are the only B1G teams I'd rule completely out at this point.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/bracketology
Click to expand...


Nice. December 8 Gophs are in!!!!
 



book said:
What a difference from last year in that we lost a very good guard vs. a great big guy this year. We are getting great play from Welch and Rodney is now playing in his best position. IF we can win one of the first two road games (ill or Mich) we will fo very well... just hoping though........
Click to expand...

Until those two road games it will be hard to tell anything. I don't think they have to win either of them but they have to play tough, be competitive, and keep it close, if they can do that against ranked apponents on the road i will be very optimistic about their chances. If they can steal one then that much better.
 

Agree that the opening 2 road games will tell us a ton, for better or worse, and truthfully that applied even before Trevor went down. It's not like we're playing Ohio State to start the season.

If the Gophers are going to be competitive in the Big Ten this season, they have to get it done vs. their most "like" teams. ... . on the football side of things Gerry DiNardo would call them our "matchup opponents". I would put both Illinois and Michigan in that category, as well as Indiana, Northwestern and Purdue.
 

at Illinois - L
01/01/12 at Michigan - L
01/04/12 vs. Iowa - W
01/08/12 vs. Purdue - W
01/12/12 at Indiana - L
01/15/12 at Penn State - W
01/22/12 vs. Northwestern - W
01/25/12 at Michigan State - L
01/28/12 vs. Illinois - W
02/01/12 at Iowa - W
02/05/12 at Nebraska - W
02/09/12 vs. Wisconsin - W
02/14/12 vs. Ohio State - L
02/18/12 at Northwestern - L
02/22/12 vs. Michigan State - L
Game Either 2/25 or 2/26
02/25/12 vs. Indiana - W
02/28/12 at Wisconsin - L
03/03/12 vs. Nebraska - w
 

One thing that I believe is going unnoticed is the lack of wherewithal on tubby not realizing Williams was playing out of position until Trevor went down. I saw williams play in highschool and it was painfully obvious that he did not have the wing abilities that white had, why did tubby not apprehend this? Or seem to not care? Williams and Trevor should have been playing side by side in the post for sometime prior to trevor going down. Rodney went from a top ATHLETE in the big ten, to a top PLEYER in the big ten over night almost. I understand the entire issue about ralph, but I like what I have seen in the past few weeks from Williams in the post, more than what I have seen from Ralph in his entire career.
 



While a 12-1 start almost seems inevitable given the schedule, I can't see the Gophers going 9-9 in Big Ten play, as much as I'd like to. There are some very tough conference matchups for this team coming very soon. I feel like 6-12 is more realistic and probably eliminates us from Tourney discussion, unless another deep run in the B1G tourney puts us on the bubble.

An NIT appearance seems a more reasonable expectation to me at this point, given the roster and the experience on the team.

Who knows though, perhaps Rodney will continue to improve and develop as a player thru the B1G season, and we'll get some increased production out of Ralph once healthy.
 

kix4kix said:
One thing that I believe is going unnoticed is the lack of wherewithal on tubby not realizing Williams was playing out of position until Trevor went down. I saw williams play in highschool and it was painfully obvious that he did not have the wing abilities that white had, why did tubby not apprehend this? Or seem to not care? Williams and Trevor should have been playing side by side in the post for sometime prior to trevor going down. Rodney went from a top ATHLETE in the big ten, to a top PLEYER in the big ten over night almost. I understand the entire issue about ralph, but I like what I have seen in the past few weeks from Williams in the post, more than what I have seen from Ralph in his entire career.
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I think the Ralph issue is too great. By putting a 6'7" guy in the post you would be moving a 7' guy to the wing. 6'7" skinny guys usually get crushed in the paint. You can be 6'7" and buff and thrive down there... we will see how Rodney fares against Big Ten power forwards.
 

andy said:
I think the Ralph issue is too great. By putting a 6'7" guy in the post you would be moving a 7' guy to the wing. 6'7" skinny guys usually get crushed in the paint. You can be 6'7" and buff and thrive down there... we will see how Rodney fares against Big Ten power forwards.
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THANK YOU! I've been saying this for awhile. Tall skinny guys can do ok in the post because of height, but someone Rodney's size would generally just get crushed by my posts. Also with his athleticism, if he had been able to develop a shot, he would've been DEADLY at the 3.
 

Well, I would hope we're in now, I mean we're still #23 in RPI and had been in the top 10 a week or so ago. I had to laugh at the post titled "soft schedule won't hurt" considering that our schedule, while perhaps "soft," is a lot less soft than most everybody else's.
 

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