Gophers Must Win match-up with Hawkeyes

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BOUNDOUTPASSDUNK

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As I commented in an earlier post after the WI game, IA is better than anticipated. Basabe, Cartwright, Marble and freshman White can play. Cartwright played against WI like Burke did against the Gophers - quick, decisive and unafraid of attacking the rim. Marble and White will be good B1G players. Basabe is Trevor 'lite.' So the Gophers (EE and Ralph) can't allow Basabe to dominate inside. IA lacks a true center. The Gophers will have an overall quickness advantage. Because WI isn't quick overall, that played to IA's advantage. Run Gophers run. Rodney, Ralph and the the guards have to exhibit their athletic advantage, and on D, the Gophers will again have to stop the 3.

Gotta have it Minnesota.
 

BOUNDOUTPASSDUNK said:
As I commented in an earlier post after the WI game, IA is better than anticipated. Basabe, Cartwright, Marble and freshman White can play. Cartwright played against WI like Burke did against the Gophers - quick, decisive and unafraid of attacking the rim. Marble and White will be good B1G players. Basabe is Trevor 'lite.' So the Gophers (EE and Ralph) can't allow Basabe to dominate inside. IA lacks a true center. The Gophers will have an overall quickness advantage. Because WI isn't quick overall, that played to IA's advantage. Run Gophers run. Rodney, Ralph and the the guards have to exhibit their athletic advantage, and on D, the Gophers will again have to stop the 3.

Gotta have it Minnesota.
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I don't think you can have a must win in January, but losing this game would not be good. Hopefully they protect home court and get the W.
 

scher215 said:
I don't think you can have a must win in January, but losing this game would not be good. Hopefully they protect home court and get the W.
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For a team with little margin for error like this squad - they cannot afford any losses when favored. This is a must win.
 

scher215 said:
I don't think you can have a must win in January, but losing this game would not be good. Hopefully they protect home court and get the W.
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Sorry, I respect your knowledge and passion for the Gophers, but this one is pretty much a must win. I can't believe I took this game as a given and now I'm already getting anxious.
 

bga1 said:
For a team with little margin for error like this squad - they cannot afford any losses when favored. This is a must win.
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A must win to me is a game where if you lose your season is done. I.e eliminated from playoff contention or the playoffs. I'd feel that way regardless if it was a team I cheered for or hated.

Neither of those happen if they lose to Iowa. This is a game that will be nice to win and horrible to lose. But if they lose this game, they are definitely still alive it just becomes a lot harder.

IMO, must win games don't start until they've hit 7 losses. But this is clearly a game that would be very very bad to lose.
 


If the goal is to get to the NCAA and see what happens, then losses at home against Iowa or Nebraska are crippling. They are must wins. MN needs 10 or at minimum 9 wins to dance. To get there, after starting 0-2 on the road, we need those first two home wins and then win the NW, Purdue and Illinois home games for 5. That leaves 5 wins from among: @ Penn State, IA and NEB (that's 8); then 2 of @ NW, OSU, MSU, IN or WI home games.

Gophers are competitive and as bga1 observes above, there's little margin for error, as no win will likely come easy in the B!G for MN.

Have beverages ready and chilled.
 

Michigan was 1-6 in the B1G last season through 7 games. A lot can happen.
 


scher215 said:
I don't think you can have a must win in January, but losing this game would not be good. Hopefully they protect home court and get the W.
Click to expand...

You're one of the sharper people on this board, but this is a must win.
 



It's a must-win for the psyche of the fans. It may be a must-win for the players and coaches' psyche as well. However, didn't Wisconsin lose like 5 games in a row before recovering and finishing strong a couple of years ago?
 

I agree it's early to talk about "must wins", but nevertheless -- seeing how this team is constituted -- I'd be willing to take it one step further.

In terms of keeping the NCAA as a realistic possibility, I'm looking at the upcoming homestand as a mandatory 2-0 delivery by the Gophers. A split -- no matter the combination -- puts the Gophers significantly behind the 8-ball and staring at 1-4 after a likely loss in Bloomington. Not to mention that no game will be a gimme' for the Gophers (including @ Penn State), I find the Purdue game particularly important. We only play the Boilers once, and perhaps they will be one of the teams we'll be fighting for a bid at the bitter end?

Again, its' early but through Week 1 of the B1G season I feel pretty comfortable saying (barring major injuries) that Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin all will secure NCAA bids. I see the Gophers in the group with Illinois, Northwestern & Purdue. We're already 0-1 vs. that grouping.

For what it's worth, I think the Gophers will deliver with 2 victories this week.
 

If you're going to lose at home to Iowa, you better have an unexpected win to cover it up with. Winning at IL would have been such a game. Since it didn't happen, this is pretty much a must-win. Lose and our hopes are dead until we win a similar game to bring them back (@IU for example).
 

Should the 3rd conference game of the year, and the first at home be considered a must win? Nope

Is it for this team this year? Yep.
 



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