BleedGopher
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per Donnelly:
And yet, in this anything-goes Big Ten season, is it truly too late for Team Pitino? They've certainly seemed to hit on a formula that's working, with swarming defense forcing turnovers at a record pace and Andre Hollins remembering that he can indeed carry a team if necessary. Throw in one surprise contribution per game - five second-half steals for Carlos Morris against Purdue, 10 second-half points for Nate Mason at Iowa - and suddenly those narrow defeats have become narrow victories.
If anything has been made clear this season it's that Wisconsin and Maryland are the class of the Big Ten and everybody else is beatable. The Gophers still have two games left against the Badgers, but the rest of their schedule - at Indiana, vs. Northwestern, at Michigan State, vs. Penn State - doesn't look as daunting as perhaps it once did. Splitting their final six games would leave the Gophers 8-10 in Big Ten play heading into the conference tournament. That would also leave them squarely on the NCAA bubble after an 11-2 run through their nonconference schedule offered so much hope heading into Big Ten play.
No, nothing has been wrapped up, and yes, the Gophers' season could still careen into the ditch at a moment's notice. But Pitino knew what he was looking for heading into this week. He knew his team could keep the momentum going and perhaps even salvage its season and set itself up for a postseason run with a road win. Don't let the "or two" sidecar fool you. Beating Indiana would be huge, but at this point, it's already been a mission-accomplished week for the Gophers.
http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Donnelly_Did_the_Gophers_just_save_their_season021315
Go Gophers!!
And yet, in this anything-goes Big Ten season, is it truly too late for Team Pitino? They've certainly seemed to hit on a formula that's working, with swarming defense forcing turnovers at a record pace and Andre Hollins remembering that he can indeed carry a team if necessary. Throw in one surprise contribution per game - five second-half steals for Carlos Morris against Purdue, 10 second-half points for Nate Mason at Iowa - and suddenly those narrow defeats have become narrow victories.
If anything has been made clear this season it's that Wisconsin and Maryland are the class of the Big Ten and everybody else is beatable. The Gophers still have two games left against the Badgers, but the rest of their schedule - at Indiana, vs. Northwestern, at Michigan State, vs. Penn State - doesn't look as daunting as perhaps it once did. Splitting their final six games would leave the Gophers 8-10 in Big Ten play heading into the conference tournament. That would also leave them squarely on the NCAA bubble after an 11-2 run through their nonconference schedule offered so much hope heading into Big Ten play.
No, nothing has been wrapped up, and yes, the Gophers' season could still careen into the ditch at a moment's notice. But Pitino knew what he was looking for heading into this week. He knew his team could keep the momentum going and perhaps even salvage its season and set itself up for a postseason run with a road win. Don't let the "or two" sidecar fool you. Beating Indiana would be huge, but at this point, it's already been a mission-accomplished week for the Gophers.
http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Donnelly_Did_the_Gophers_just_save_their_season021315
Go Gophers!!
