Things I Saw Today

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Friend Of Tubby

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1. Minnesota played better and NWU played worse than when I saw them play in mid January.

2. Gophers really struggle with FG shooting, even in warm-ups. Bostick hit some in 1st half, Westbrook in 2nd half. But that (poor FG shooting) may haunt Gophers down the road.

3. Iverson got in foul trouble and struggled today. I thought Sampson played pretty well.

4. One key to Gopher defense in 2nd half is how little they fouled NWU in last 10 minutes. They were in Double (2 Shot) Bonus with Gophers having 10 fouls at 10 minute mark but Gophers quit fouling them.

5. Hoffarber is a steady (and heady) guard who contributes to Gophers even when his shot is off.

6. Joseph played PG better than Nolen in 1st half but Nolen played better late in the game.

7. Carter and DJ are natural "3" forwards so Mbakwe and Royce get First Dibs on "4" PF next year.

8. I was surprised to see JAS start but he had played well on Senior Night (or was it Day).

9. NWU has regressed. Coble played well today but Gophers shut him down in 2nd half. Moore was not a factor with his FG shooting like he has been in so many NWU games this year.

10. The 12 Noon start seemed to affect both teams with sluggish play for a while. That may help Gophers tomorrow (if Mich St comes out sluggish).
 

Thanks for the breakdown FOT. I have been very down on Hoffarber as of late, and in spite of him still missing his shots today, he played a nice game. Great defensive positioning/rebounds and several key outlet passes that sparked the offense.
 


Friend Of Tubby said:
3. Iverson got in foul trouble and struggled today. I thought Sampson played pretty well.
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Agree that he got into foul trouble, but TOTALLY disagree that he struggled. He and Bostick were the key early in the game. Colton had three steals (including one that led to his own dunk and another when he dove and fired up the entire team), four points, and two blocks (including a big one on Coble) all in that important part of the first half.

Absolutely seemed to spark the Gophers early.
 

Friend Of Tubby said:
Gophers really struggle with FG shooting ... that (poor FG shooting) may haunt Gophers down the road.
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We're struggling making FGs? Really? I think this is the first time I've read this on the Hole. ;)

I think it not only might haunt us, but already has.
 


I think I saw a stat that surprisingly had us as the top FT shooting team in the Big 10.
 

It is strange isn't it. How tough it is to make a shot, and how well we shoot the FT.
 

Friend Of Tubby said:
1. Minnesota played better and NWU played worse than when I saw them play in mid January.

2. Gophers really struggle with FG shooting, even in warm-ups. Bostick hit some in 1st half, Westbrook in 2nd half. But that (poor FG shooting) may haunt Gophers down the road.

3. Iverson got in foul trouble and struggled today. I thought Sampson played pretty well.

4. One key to Gopher defense in 2nd half is how little they fouled NWU in last 10 minutes. They were in Double (2 Shot) Bonus with Gophers having 10 fouls at 10 minute mark but Gophers quit fouling them.

5. Hoffarber is a steady (and heady) guard who contributes to Gophers even when his shot is off.

6. Joseph played PG better than Nolen in 1st half but Nolen played better late in the game.

7. Carter and DJ are natural "3" forwards so Mbakwe and Royce get First Dibs on "4" PF next year.

8. I was surprised to see JAS start but he had played well on Senior Night (or was it Day).

9. NWU has regressed. Coble played well today but Gophers shut him down in 2nd half. Moore was not a factor with his FG shooting like he has been in so many NWU games this year.

10. The 12 Noon start seemed to affect both teams with sluggish play for a while. That may help Gophers tomorrow (if Mich St comes out sluggish).
Click to expand...

As much as I was frustrated at Tubby for the Michigan loss in terms of defensive strategy, I think he nailed this one pretty well. He had Hoff in Moore's face all night so that Moore rarely had an open look (sure took plenty of shots, still, though), and Coble was absolutely shut down in the 2nd half. NW's role players picked up the slack in the 2nd half and made a game of it, but a coaching strategy should, IMO, be to limit a team's star players and make its role players beat you. I think Tubby did that today.

As for 7., I didn't realize that Royce White was big enough to play the 4 position. I thought he was more of a 3 player. As for 9., I don't think NW has regressed, but I do think that Tubby got the better of Carmody today. The rest of your observations are dead-on.
 





cncmin said:
As much as I was frustrated at Tubby for the Michigan loss in terms of defensive strategy, I think he nailed this one pretty well. He had Hoff in Moore's face all night so that Moore rarely had an open look (sure took plenty of shots, still, though), and Coble was absolutely shut down in the 2nd half. NW's role players picked up the slack in the 2nd half and made a game of it, but a coaching strategy should, IMO, be to limit a team's star players and make its role players beat you. I think Tubby did that today.

As for 7., I didn't realize that Royce White was big enough to play the 4 position. I thought he was more of a 3 player. As for 9., I don't think NW has regressed, but I do think that Tubby got the better of Carmody today. The rest of your observations are dead-on.
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Royce says he is 6-8 but is listed at 6-7. Probably a size "3" but will play "4" back-up to Mbakwe.
 

tjgopher said:
Agree that he got into foul trouble, but TOTALLY disagree that he struggled. He and Bostick were the key early in the game. Colton had three steals (including one that led to his own dunk and another when he dove and fired up the entire team), four points, and two blocks (including a big one on Coble) all in that important part of the first half.

Absolutely seemed to spark the Gophers early.
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U R right - Iverson was a "spark" in 1st half rally.

I should have said Struggled IN 2ND HALF Due to Foul Trouble.
 

Friend Of Tubby said:
2. Gophers really struggle with FG shooting, even in warm-ups. Bostick hit some in 1st half, Westbrook in 2nd half. But that (poor FG shooting) may haunt Gophers down the road.
Click to expand...

MAY it? Are we not sure on that one?

Haha, I kid FoT. You really got lucky, though, that the Gophers won today and will get an NCAA bid. You have been pretty much guaranteeing we would make the tourney this year since last year ended. We came a lot closer to not making it than you expected. Not complaining though, I am glad you were right!
 



thanks to..

ShowinGoldyLove said:
I think I saw a stat that surprisingly had us as the top FT shooting team in the Big 10.
Click to expand...


primarily thanks to Westbrook getting to the line so much and hitting 88%. Others have stepped up too. It is a nice stat to have in your pocket.
 

ShowinGoldyLove said:
I think I saw a stat that surprisingly had us as the top FT shooting team in the Big 10.
Click to expand...

I could believe that... we have improved on FT shooting a lot as the season has gone on. I found myself upset about missed FT's far less once BT play started. It helps when Westbrook (88%) and Sampson (79%) get most of the attempts.
 

Not to sound like a broken LP :) .. but if you have fewer TO's (Gophers only had 9 yesterday to NW's 12) and make a high % of your FT's (20 of 26 or 77%) .. you usually win. I think the key (as FOT pointed out) was that we were not putting NW on the line in the 2nd half. That, along with having fewer TO's than our season average (14) helped us steady the ship and make that 2nd half run. Now let's see if we can continue having stats like that against Sparty.
 

ChemEGopher said:
MAY it? Are we not sure on that one?

Haha, I kid FoT. You really got lucky, though, that the Gophers won today and will get an NCAA bid. You have been pretty much guaranteeing we would make the tourney this year since last year ended. We came a lot closer to not making it than you expected. Not complaining though, I am glad you were right!
Click to expand...

Well, thanks (I guess). I didn't guarantee NCAA bid (and still don't) but thought it was a good possibility (and still do).

Funny that Tubby's UK teams had pretty good (47%) FG numbers but not so good (under 70%) FT numbers. This team, just the opposite.

The Gophers have some good shooters (Westbrook, Hoffarber, Joseph, Bostick, even JAS) but none is having a sterling year (in terms of FG shooting).
 

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