Mother F*^!

cncmin

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 20, 2008
Messages
22,623
Reaction score
6,892
Points
113
You'd think with a 10-point lead that you'd make sure to GUARD THE 3-POINTER. You'd think that after you have given up a huge 3-point disparity in almost every game this season that you'd GUARD THE 3-POINTER.

The refs didn't help any in the second half either, that B.S. with taking 6 seconds off of the shot clock to leave only 3 seconds was one of the most terrible calls I've ever seen. Why not just take off ALL the shot clock time, would have made just as little sense. Then to top that off they don't call the foul down low and give DJ his 4th foul on an off-the ball foul call on the other end so our best defender has to get off the court. That was pretty much the continuation of the fall in this game, Lucas-Perry's wide-open 3's being the start of that fall. It also didn't help when the Mich. player got the loose ball skidding towards out of bounds, and somehow got a time out called with two Gophers tying him up. Don't think that play wasn't huge...if I recall correctly the Gophers had the arrow, and Mich. got a 3 from Harris at the other end on the ensuing possession. Tubby's time out call on Westbrook's tying 3 was simply bad luck...Lawrence didn't take a good shot, but if I were Tubby and Westbrook has the ball in transition at the end, I'm letting him take the game-tying shot before I set up another inbounds play that doesn't get anyone open.

This game pisses me off for a whole lot of reasons, most being that they STILL, after two straight years of this stupid collapse defense, haven't learned to guard the 3-point line, including when a team can ONLY shoot from 3 (NDSU, NU, PSU, Michigan) or when the other team catches fire from outside (see almost every game this year, at some point). This kind of stupid collapse defense made a lot more sense when a shorter, slower Tollackson was down in the post, makes NO sense now! Let the other team have some 2-point buckets once in a while, STOP letting every team kill us from 3!!! Well, this would make WAY too much sense. Maybe they'll learn now that they may have stupid-played themselves out of the tourney; or at least made their road much more iffy and difficult. And for all the times I've stood up for Hoff this year, once again he got sucked in on defense on a pass into the post, such that he left his guy wide open for an easy 3. Only this time he did it was a 10-point lead late in the game, and did it twice in a row.

I posted this long before we ever played Wisconsin, that whoever lost THIS game was out of the tourney. Certainly that was the case for Michigan, but Minn. winning the Wisconsin game made this game a little less must-win. I think the Gophers still have a chance, but now they have to at least win one BTT game, possibly 2. Way to piss away an easy tourney bid with some very stupid basketball against a very mediocre basketball team that is entirely one-dimensional except for one player (Harris). I think - no wait, I know - that my rec league team could have guarded Michigan's 3 line better.

Lastly, where was Iverson today to spell Sampson a bit more, and where was Busch when the going got tough? And where was Joseph on the final play (on the bench)? And why do the Gophers never have a half-court inbounds play that works? And why have the Gophers, after having so much success with the full-court zone trap, left it and gone to a man press, which rarely, if ever, succeeds at any level of basketball? A lot of questions to be answered that better be answered in a hurry, as we'll need the first-round win to possibly make a low seed (10-13 or out altogether), and need 2 wins to have a secure bid (8-11 seed).

I haven't thrown that much shit around the house during a game in a long time, pretty much since the Gophers blew that Wisconsin football game with the blocked punt in the end zone, and the time before that when another Michigan guy named Perry beat the Gophers in Minneapolis doing the same play over and over.
 


You'd think with a 10-point lead that you'd make sure to GUARD THE 3-POINTER. You'd think that after you have given up a huge 3-point disparity in almost every game this season that you'd GUARD THE 3-POINTER.

The refs didn't help any in the second half either, that bullshit with taking 6 seconds off of the shot clock to leave only 3 seconds was one of the most terrible calls I've ever seen. Why not just take off ALL the shot clock time, would have made just as little sense. Then to top that off they don't call the foul down low and give DJ his 4th foul on an off-the ball foul call on the other end. That was pretty much the continuation of the fall in this game, Lucas-Perry's wide-open 3's being the start of that fall. It also didn't help when the Mich. player got the loose ball skidding towards out of bounds, and somehow got a time out called with two Gophers tying him up. Don't think that play wasn't huge...if I recall correctly the Gophers had the arrow, and Mich. got a 3 from Harris at the other end on the ensuing possession.

This game pisses me off for a whole lot of reasons, most being that they STILL, after two straight years of this stupid collapse defense, haven't learned to guard the 3-point line, including when a team can ONLY shoot from 3 (NDSU, NU, PSU, Michigan) or when the other team catches fire from outside (see almost every game this year, at some point). This kind of stupid collapse defense made a lot more sense when a shorter, slower Tollackson was down in the post, makes NO sense now!!! Let the other team have some 2-point buckets once in a while, STOP letting every team kill us from 3!!! Well, this would make WAY too much sense. Maybe they'll learn now that they may have stupid-played themselves out of the tourney; or at least made their road much more iffy and difficult.

I posted this long before we ever played Wisconsin, that whoever lost THIS game was out. I think the Gophers still have a chance, but now they have to at least win one BTT game, possibly 2. Way to piss away an easy tourney bid with some very stupid basketball against a very mediocre basketball team that is entirely one-dimensional except for one player (Harris).

Lastly, where was Iverson today to spell Sampson a bit more, and where was Busch when the going got tough? And where was Joseph on the final play (on the bench)? And why do the Gophers never have a half-court inbounds play that works? And why have the Gophers, after having so much success with the full-court zone trap, left it and gone to a man press, which rarely, if ever, succeeds at any level of basketball? A lot of questions to be answered that better be answered in a hurry, as we'll need the first-round win to possibly make a low seed (10-13 or out altogether), and need 2 wins to have a secure bid (8-11 seed).

I haven't thrown that much shit around the house during a game in a long time, pretty much since the Gophers blew that Wisconsin football game with the blocked punt in the end zone.

I agree. Pitiful that Gophers L this game.
 

IMO...BOTH Mich and Mn will get invites to the Dance.
 

unless...

IMO...BOTH Mich and Mn will get invites to the Dance.

Not if we lose thursday, then we can look forward to seeing JAS and Williams in another home game! I hope it doesnt come to that.
 


The guys were scared to death down the stretch of this game. And that angers me more than anything. Tubby said after the first loss against Michigan that some guys were playing "scared," which irked me at the time.

It was clear these guys were scared to death on the offensive side down the stretch. Michigan was hungry. Us on the otherhand? Scared. There is no excuse for this on your home court. None. zip. zilch. nadda.

This is definitely on both the coaches and players down the stretch. What's more disappointing is that this attitude has been a recurring theme all year long. There is absolutely no acceptable reason to lose to that Michigan team at home.
 

I agree

The guys were scared to death down the stretch of this game. And that angers me more than anything. Tubby said after the first loss against Michigan that some guys were playing "scared," which irked me at the time.

It was clear these guys were scared to death on the offensive side down the stretch. Michigan was hungry. Us on the otherhand? Scared. There is no excuse for this on your home court. None. zip. zilch. nadda.

This is definitely on both the coaches and players down the stretch. What's more disappointing is that this attitude has been a recurring theme all year long. There is absolutely no acceptable reason to lose to that Michigan team at home.

Only Westbrook showed some spunk today. Gotta give that kid credit.
 





Michigan in not a bad team

I'm not surprised they lost this game. What I'm more surprised about is how many people think Michigan is that much more futile than the Gophers. I think people are more frustrated by the way we lost a large lead in the second half. Minn doesn't match up well with teams that can shoot well and Novak, Harris and Simms are decent shooters for their positions.

When the Gophs run a trap or press these shooters are open and when you have a big man like Simms who can shoot, it opens up some room for error. The first game verses Michagan was over before the end of the first half because Minnesota could not guard the perimeter. Not to mention that Michigan is a more athletic team than Minnesota. Michigan beat Duke, UCLA and almost took out UCONN at UCONN. The one place I think Minnesota can compete with them is on the inside and once again we have no effort to complete a pass to the post. I bleed maroon and gold and am just being realistic. Next year should be much different. We win a game in the Big 10 tourney I still think we are in the NCAA's but it is not going to kill me if Minn is not selected. They are still in rebuilding mode and I am impressed with what they have done given the current state of talent.
 

The guys were scared to death down the stretch of this game. And that angers me more than anything. Tubby said after the first loss against Michigan that some guys were playing "scared," which irked me at the time.

It was clear these guys were scared to death on the offensive side down the stretch. Michigan was hungry. Us on the otherhand? Scared. There is no excuse for this on your home court. None. zip. zilch. nadda.

This is definitely on both the coaches and players down the stretch. What's more disappointing is that this attitude has been a recurring theme all year long. There is absolutely no acceptable reason to lose to that Michigan team at home.

The Gophers better play both smart and hungry in the BTT. Cause right now they're out of the dance, IMO, with Michigan taking the 7th Big Ten slot (and NU and MINN out). So, start full-court zone pressing again, start playing only your best players in the right situations, and for god sakes, Hoff, shoot! Last year he'd have taken 8 or 9 threes in the exact same situations that today he only took 3. Did Tubby tell him to quit shooting so much or is it all him being scared? If I'm Tubby I pull him aside and say look Blake, you pass well and I like how hard you play, but you need to do 2 things: guard the 3-point shooter at ALL times, and SHOOT the damn ball!
 

I'm not surprised they lost this game. What I'm more surprised about is how many people think Michigan is that much more futile than the Gophers. I think people are more frustrated by the way we lost a large lead in the second half. Minn doesn't match up well with teams that can shoot well and Novak, Harris and Simms are decent shooters for their positions.

When the Gophs run a trap or press these shooters are open and when you have a big man like Simms who can shoot, it opens up some room for error. The first game verses Michagan was over before the end of the first half because Minnesota could not guard the perimeter. Not to mention that Michigan is a more athletic team than Minnesota. Michigan beat Duke, UCLA and almost took out UCONN at UCONN. The one place I think Minnesota can compete with them is on the inside and once again we have no effort to complete a pass to the post. I bleed maroon and gold and am just being realistic. Next year should be much different. We win a game in the Big 10 tourney I still think we are in the NCAA's but it is not going to kill me if Minn is not selected. They are still in rebuilding mode and I am impressed with what they have done given the current state of talent.

Fine points. However, to suggest that Michigan is that much better of a basketball team than we are is problematic. The fact is, Michigan is about an inconsistent a team as I have seen all year long. The reason? They are a one-trick pony. Any team can win when you allow them to do exactly what they want to do on both ends. When teams throw them off their game even slightly, they are brutally bad.

The fact remains that Michigan is simply this: Two good players and a bunch of outside shooters. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. They are VERY beatable, as we showed for the first 35 minutes or so. Our problem was that we made the same dumb mistakes over and over and over and over in the final five minutes and they capitalized. I'll give them credit for that, but they aren't nearly the team your making them out to be.
 

I'm not surprised they lost this game. What I'm more surprised about is how many people think Michigan is that much more futile than the Gophers. I think people are more frustrated by the way we lost a large lead in the second half. Minn doesn't match up well with teams that can shoot well and Novak, Harris and Simms are decent shooters for their positions.

When the Gophs run a trap or press these shooters are open and when you have a big man like Simms who can shoot, it opens up some room for error. The first game verses Michagan was over before the end of the first half because Minnesota could not guard the perimeter. Not to mention that Michigan is a more athletic team than Minnesota. Michigan beat Duke, UCLA and almost took out UCONN at UCONN. The one place I think Minnesota can compete with them is on the inside and once again we have no effort to complete a pass to the post. I bleed maroon and gold and am just being realistic. Next year should be much different. We win a game in the Big 10 tourney I still think we are in the NCAA's but it is not going to kill me if Minn is not selected. They are still in rebuilding mode and I am impressed with what they have done given the current state of talent.

The first game was AT Michigan, if I'm the coach I'm not going to let the fact that they lost there dictate all of my actions in the home game. As for 3-point shooting, I'd much rather give up some open looks off of the zone press, which so often works at forcing both turnovers and bad offensive sets, than give them just as many or more open looks in the half-court defensive set. If you're not going to utilize a proper press, then at least expand the D outwards - they were playing a frigging shooting team not a team with a bunch of Shaqs. As for Sims, he played well - very well - and yet, the Gophers still destroyed Michigan in paint points, but got destroyed and then some on outside shots. If I'm coaching that team, I give Sims that fade-away baseline jumper all day - him scoring against Sampson (or Iverson, had he played) inside would have been few and far between. Then I'd take DJ and put him on Harris, Nolen on Lucas (Luke)-Perry, and Hoff on their slowest shooter and tell them to stay the hell outside while doing your best to force a drive into the interior. But I certainly would not have my guys collapse when we have towers in the interior.
 






Top Bottom