Spartans take down Wolverines 75-52

MisterGopher

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Spartans held Wolverines to season low 52. Wolverines (21-4, 8-4) have lost three of four.

Yes, it is tough to win on the road in the Big Ten, but for a program touted as a national-title contender all season, this was Michigan’s last chance to win a significant road game in the Big Ten. And it failed. Miserably.

http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/col...201/rapid-reaction-michigan-st-75-michigan-52

The Gophers loss doesn't look so bad after this.
 

But our no show at home against Michigan looks poorer everyday.
 

The problem is not the losses to Michigan, Indiana, MSU, or even Wisconsin. The problem is the losses to Northwestern and Illinois as well as the poor performance against Iowa and overall lackluster play over the past 8 games.

Michigan can have an off night, the Gophers have taken the conference schedule off. The only remaining game I would bet on the Gophers to win is the PSU game.
 

Well WilliamsArenaGuy, you can't have it both ways when 2 of our former opponents play each other. They both can't win.

So would you rather have the team we played just once win, or the team we played TWICE, and beat once, win?


This win by MSU helps our RPI out more than had Michigan won. ALOT more, since we beat them.


And since our loss to MSU is more recent than our loss to Michigan, it also looks better when looking at the more recent part of our resume.
 

Plus, this Spartan team is playing a whole lot better than the one we played earlier in the year.
 


The problem is not the losses to Michigan, Indiana, MSU, or even Wisconsin. The problem is the losses to Northwestern and Illinois as well as the poor performance against Iowa and overall lackluster play over the past 8 games.

Michigan can have an off night, the Gophers have taken the conference schedule off. The only remaining game I would bet on the Gophers to win is the PSU game.

Wow..just PSU - Step away from the ledge guy!!!
 

I'm not saying that is only game the Gophers will win, just the only one I am confident they will win. The Gophers have the talent to win all of the remaining games, I just haven't seen anything in the past month that makes me confident they can win any of them.
 

The Illinois game? They made 11 three pointers. Even our 1997 Big Ten Title winning team lost to an inferior Illini team that was on fire from 3 point land.

And even #1 ranked Indiana lost to them the game before.



So that leaves us with the NW loss. Which I agree is a truly bad loss. Now do you want me to list for you the 95 Top 100 teams with a bad loss on their resume?!
 

Benadryl --

I agree with you. We have the talent to win all of our remaining games. But the way we've been playing, we could lose them all. And honestly, I'm including the PSU game.

If Kansas can lose to TCU, then you just never know.
 



The Illinois game? They made 11 three pointers. Even our 1997 Big Ten Title winning team lost to an inferior Illini team that was on fire from 3 point land.

And even #1 ranked Indiana lost to them the game before.



So that leaves us with the NW loss. Which I agree is a truly bad loss. Now do you want me to list for you the 95 Top 100 teams with a bad loss on their resume?!
This could be the most bs excuse I've heard on GH.
 


goldengophers - its a common excuse, employed by HUNDREDS of cbb fans, that I've personally witnessed. Apparently they didn't think it was bs. It's obviously an excuse employed by hundreds of thousands of fans that I simply have not witnessed.

Doesn't mean it wasn't. But it doesn't mean that it was, either.


Tubby apparently let Illinois launch a ton of 3's in both games, and they missed most of them the one game, but made a lot of them in the other game. Supposedly its a BAD loss because we lost to them at home, but somehow its not a good win when we beat them on the road?! I'd call it a wash. They are a team that lives by the 3 and dies by it, and they died by it vs us in the game in Illinois. But won with it vs us in the game at Williams.


Not rocket science.
 

goldengophers - its a common excuse, employed by HUNDREDS of cbb fans, that I've personally witnessed. Apparently they didn't think it was bs. It's obviously an excuse employed by hundreds of thousands of fans that I simply have not witnessed.

Doesn't mean it wasn't. But it doesn't mean that it was, either.


Tubby apparently let Illinois launch a ton of 3's in both games, and they missed most of them the one game, but made a lot of them in the other game. Supposedly its a BAD loss because we lost to them at home, but somehow its not a good win when we beat them on the road?! I'd call it a wash. They are a team that lives by the 3 and dies by it, and they died by it vs us in the game in Illinois. But won with it vs us in the game at Williams.


Not rocket science.
Interesting idea, coaching obviously has no role in defending a 3 pt shooting team...especially a game decided by 4 points.
 



afurry10 -

We beat MSU. They have a better record than us.


And we only lost ON THE ROAD, by 1 pt to Wisconsin. Sounds like they tried to win that game.


We've only played Indiana once so far and it was a road game. We've only played Wisconsin once and it was a road game.


We've played 3 teams twice, and both NW and MSU we won at home and lost on the road. The NW game is not a good loss. Our only bad loss.

Wonder how Kansas feels about that loss?! Do you think Kansas fans would be so critical of that loss?! Well, they don't care, because they are too busy worrying about their teams loss to previously winless TCU.


And then the Illinois split? Well, we just switched and won on the road and lost at home. Not such a strange occurrence when you consider that they win when they make their 3 pointers and lose when they don't.


Otherwise we won our only game vs Iowa so far, and our only game vs Nebraska so far.

Leaving only the Michigan loss. So I guess we are not a Top 5 caliber team, must mean we suck, because EVERYONE beats Top 5 teams, all the time.
 

goldengophers --

Sure, its possible that a team on fire from 3 point land can be beaten. And sure, Tubby's job of coaching in that game should be analyzed and its very well possible that the loss is his fault.



But that was not what I was contesting about your comment, you called the excuse the biggest bunch of bs you'd ever seen here at the GH.


I remember when we lost to the Illini in 1997. We were a GREAT team that year, and 99% of Minnesota fans defended Minny's honor that year after the loss and accepted the excuse that the Illini was simply on fire from 3 point land. NO ONE, or very few, that 1%, pointed fingers at Clem and criticized his coaching of that game.

But that is because everyone LOVED Clem at that time, and so everyone was accepting of that excuse.


But this year, the only true difference is that YOU HATE Tubby. So the same excuse that was acceptable for a coach that you loved, is not acceptable for a coach you hate. That's being a HYPOCRITE!!!!


See, I accepted the excuse at the time we lost to Illinois in 1997, because at the time I loved the Gophers and I loved Clem. Just because in hindsight I hate the guy now, doesn't mean I'm going to pretend like I didn't accept the excuse then, and NO ONE claimed it was a bs excuse at that time.

So I'm going to accept the excuse this time, too. Because I'm not a hypocrite.



Is it right to accept that excuse?! Maybe not. But its NOT the most bs excuse ever. It's very common. Doesn't make it a good excuse, but it IS a common one, and hence, I don't think its a bs one, either.

No one wins an NCAA title in February, so letting a team that's NOT been making their 3's, shoot away, is not a bad risk to take.

They were missing them early on.


But yes, when they started to make them, they should have adjusted and done something about it, but honestly, I've seen it hundreds of times, when a team gets hot from outside, not many coaches know how to defend it. Defending the 3 often leaves a team vulnerable to other things, and so often times coaches will just let the team keep shooting hoping that they don't continue to make the shots.


Not only did our 1997 team lose its only relevant conf game because of uber hot outside shooting, but the 1990 Elite 8 team lost to a very hot GT team as well, and I witnessed that game in person, so I full well know just how badly we were outplaying GT that game, but they just couldn't seem to miss those 3 pointers. It was a great game to see in person, and would probably be my greatest live sports memory ever had that final shot of Lenard's gone in.

So maybe Clem was a bad coach as well, and not able to defend against the 3 either?! But I never remember him being criticized for it. Maybe because we all loved him, and maybe that's a weakness of mine, but guess what, I'm not the coach and whether I accept bs excuses or not does not change what happens on the court. But what my continuing to accept the same excuse that I accepted, like everyone did, back in 1997, and back in 1990, does do, is it makes me CONSISTENT and not a hypocrite.
 

afurry10 -

We beat MSU. They have a better record than us.


And we only lost ON THE ROAD, by 1 pt to Wisconsin. Sounds like they tried to win that game.


We've only played Indiana once so far and it was a road game. We've only played Wisconsin once and it was a road game.


We've played 3 teams twice, and both NW and MSU we won at home and lost on the road. The NW game is not a good loss. Our only bad loss.

Wonder how Kansas feels about that loss?! Do you think Kansas fans would be so critical of that loss?! Well, they don't care, because they are too busy worrying about their teams loss to previously winless TCU.


And then the Illinois split? Well, we just switched and won on the road and lost at home. Not such a strange occurrence when you consider that they win when they make their 3 pointers and lose when they don't.


Otherwise we won our only game vs Iowa so far, and our only game vs Nebraska so far.

Leaving only the Michigan loss. So I guess we are not a Top 5 caliber team, must mean we suck, because EVERYONE beats Top 5 teams, all the time.

A .455 win %, now below our underwhelming 5+ year B1G win % under Tubby, is certainly nothing more than a continuation of mediocrity. For the record I don't hate Tubby Smith, I was over the moon the day we hired him and gave him four years of both love and at times lenience, but it's been more than enough time to call a spade a spade. There is no grand conspiracy of hate, I'm an individual who expected far more than the results achieved these last 5+ years.
 

goldengophers -

Big Ten is a pretty tough conf to play in. Especially when we have the worst facilities in the Big Ten just about.

Throw in the injuries that have happened far more than the average team suffers injuries, and well, we're doing better than we did under Monson.

But only at Minnesota would an administration hire a coach, then give him little in the way of support, and put him up against the toughest conf in the land, and expect him to regularly do well.

Big Ten fans of those other schools ALL know why they consistently do better than the Gophers, and they hope that Tubby gets fired.

Because the chances of Minny's next coach being the 2nd coming, a big enough miracle worker to win regularly in the Big Ten WITHOUT the facilities and WITHOUT tons of university support, and WITHOUT a fun college town atmosphere and WITHOUT any history other than of cheating and scandals to brag about, are not very good.

They like their odds.
 

Gophers should take their queue from Kansas, Michigan State

I hope the coaching staff and Gopher players paid attention to the Kansas State-Kansas and Michigan-Michigan State games this week. If they needed examples of how to play for 40 minutes on your home floor vs. a ranked & hated rival, that's how you go about it. Relentless, a little more relentless, relentless some more, and then put your friggin' foot directly on their throat. Bury 'em, and then throw away the shovel.

An argument could be made the Gophers' season is hanging in the balance tomorrow night. An argument also could be made if the Badgers win they become the odds-on favorite to win the regular-season title (has anyone looked at their remaining schedule?). Who wants it more?
 

I hope the coaching staff and Gopher players paid attention to the Kansas State-Kansas and Michigan-Michigan State games this week. If they needed examples of how to play for 40 minutes on your home floor vs. a ranked & hated rival, that's how you go about it. Relentless, a little more relentless, relentless some more, and then put your friggin' foot directly on their throat. Bury 'em, and then throw away the shovel.

An argument could be made the Gophers' season is hanging in the balance tomorrow night. An argument also could be made if the Badgers win they become the odds-on favorite to win the regular-season title (has anyone looked at their remaining schedule?). Who wants it more?

Thursdays game is right up there as the biggest in Tubby's tenure.
 


No argument here.

I hope all starters are playing over 30 minutes barring foul trouble... Maybe Elliot and Welch get some extended minutes if playing well (or needed for injury).. with Mav getting 2 minutes as Andre should play 38 minutes.. there should be plenty of tv timeouts to give him a rest.
 


goldengophers -

Big Ten is a pretty tough conf to play in. Especially when we have the worst facilities in the Big Ten just about.

Throw in the injuries that have happened far more than the average team suffers injuries, and well, we're doing better than we did under Monson.

But only at Minnesota would an administration hire a coach, then give him little in the way of support, and put him up against the toughest conf in the land, and expect him to regularly do well.

Big Ten fans of those other schools ALL know why they consistently do better than the Gophers, and they hope that Tubby gets fired.

Because the chances of Minny's next coach being the 2nd coming, a big enough miracle worker to win regularly in the Big Ten WITHOUT the facilities and WITHOUT tons of university support, and WITHOUT a fun college town atmosphere and WITHOUT any history other than of cheating and scandals to brag about, are not very good.

They like their odds.

This is the only thing that matters to me...we hire a future HOF Coach, promise him the facilities to win here...and 5 plus years later we have done NOTHING....not one Fu_ckin_g thing to make the program better. I find it appalling that a player for a big ten team talks about how they can't work out on campus during the summer because they can't get access to the gym to shoot baskets. Are you serious!?!?!?!?!?!?! We are a joke for a reason. Good luck hiring the next coach after the lies we told the HOFer we just fired.
 

I hope all starters are playing over 30 minutes barring foul trouble... Maybe Elliot and Welch get some extended minutes if playing well (or needed for injury).. with Mav getting 2 minutes as Andre should play 38 minutes.. there should be plenty of tv timeouts to give him a rest.

Honest to god, SS couldn't be more right. This is an absolutely huge game. The fans need to come prepared to put in 40 minutes themselves.

If I look up at the scoreboard and the clock says 14:xx in the first half, and I see four or five reserves on the floor, I'm going to have a hard time with that.
 

This is the only thing that matters to me...we hire a future HOF Coach, promise him the facilities to win here...and 5 plus years later we have done NOTHING....not one Fu_ckin_g thing to make the program better. I find it appalling that a player for a big ten team talks about how they can't work out on campus during the summer because they can't get access to the gym to shoot baskets. Are you serious!?!?!?!?!?!?! We are a joke for a reason. Good luck hiring the next coach after the lies we told the HOFer we just fired.


But the baseball team has a spanking new stadium, the jewel of the B1G, for all 300 game day spectators to enjoy.
 

I hope the coaching staff and Gopher players paid attention to the Kansas State-Kansas and Michigan-Michigan State games this week. If they needed examples of how to play for 40 minutes on your home floor vs. a ranked & hated rival, that's how you go about it. Relentless, a little more relentless, relentless some more, and then put your friggin' foot directly on their throat. Bury 'em, and then throw away the shovel.

An argument could be made the Gophers' season is hanging in the balance tomorrow night. An argument also could be made if the Badgers win they become the odds-on favorite to win the regular-season title (has anyone looked at their remaining schedule?). Who wants it more?

Kansas also showed how you break out of a bad funk. They were struggling almost as much as we were, but they shut the door on that nonsense with that performance.
 

It seems you have to play with some confidence, I have no idea why but the teams under Tubby have just not exhibited that when experiencing a losing streak, the swagger disappears, they seem to play tentatively, one bad play or a couple of good ones from the apposition and they hang their heads, hope that changes tommorow.
 

Kansas also showed how you break out of a bad funk. They were struggling almost as much as we were, but they shut the door on that nonsense with that performance.

Excellent point. I'd argue KU was struggling a lot more than the Gophers are right now. TCU is downright awful. One of the single most puzzling college basketball results I can ever remember.
 


Back to the subject of this thread, did you all notice how active the fans were at Breslin last night. We have to bring that energy tomorrow night. Michigan was shell shocked and never recovered.
 




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