Some perspective on TX loss

I was impressed with the athletes of Texas and thought they were both unbelievably big and unbelievably skilled. I didn't think this before we played, but now I've come to the conclusion that we caught a bit of an unlucky break in getting matched against the Longhorns. They were a 7-seed (and that is what they rightfully earned for the season they had). But, the talent level on that team is far better than that of a seven-seed.

How much better? Well, they were preseason ranked 7th in the country. So, the "experts" felt they had No. 7 in the nation type talent, not 7-seed in a region type talent. They were ranked ahead of Duke, Memphis, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Purdue, Villanova, Syracuse, and many others to begin the year. They were the clear choice for preseason Big 12 favorite. At one point, they rose to No. 6 in the nation in the polls. They beat Villanova and Notre Dame in the preseason. Yet, they stumbled around to lose 11-games and get a 7-seed in the tourney.

And, we draw them in our matchup. Then, they "turn it on" against us. Pittman, James, and Abrams all have NBA potential and 2 or 3 guys off the bench could someday be NBA players, too. Yet, they are a 7-seed.

So, in conclusion, while we lost to a 7-seed, this particular Texas team doesn't fall into the "everyday" 7-seed category.

Nothing earth-shattering here, I know. Simply put, we lost to a team loaded with talent that had underachieved all year. Unfortunate for us that 1) we couldn't take advantage of the opportunity to beat an underachieving quality team (I thought we had our chances); 2) they played more like the #7 team in the nation against us in the 2nd half.

Add that to the fact we have no guards.

Many good points TJ. I was also very impressed with the quality of Texas' basketball players and found myself wondering how they played themselves to a 7 seed. It was a very tough draw for the Gophers.

And as nice as it would have been to get a first round win and maybe sneak into the Sweet 16 if they were in another bracket, for the long range development of our players (especially our Sampson and Iverson) I think the Texas game could have been excellent for our team. It should give them an idea what they need to do and develop into over this next offseason to compete with the premier athletes of college basketball.

The Gophers guards are not that bad. Joseph needed some experience, Nolan needs some consistency, Westbrook is streaky, Some are a little hard on Busch. Personally I think he is a more gritty in the trenches player. Hoff just needs to get his shooting touch back. Bostick needed to be understood and bith he and Carter needed to adjust from JC play. Payton probably will not be back.

Basically they all needed the experience and the exposure to the dance this year. Next year they will step up the play a little more with Royce, Williams, Mbakwe, Cobb and Allen raising the talent level (and may have a little chip on their shoulder besides).

Royce, Cobb and Allen may play some, but unless they stand out real quick. I look for Allen to be a 6th man off the bench type player that adds an explosiveness when called into the game.