Destination Omaha: A Gopher Road map to the NCAA & Beyond

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SelectionSunday

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Destination Omaha: A Gopher Road Map to the NCAA & Beyond

Nope, not talking about the College World Series.

Here's my "Destination Omaha" road map (NCAA 2nd- & 3rd-round games will be played there) for the 2014-15 Gophers, shall we say, a "six-pack" of attainable (but not shoo-in) goals for Year 2 of the Richard Pitino era. Let's see how many of these the Gophers can accomplish.

Gopher Goals
(1) "Big 4" -- Win 3 of 4 vs. Louisville, Saint John's, Georgia/Gonzaga, and Wake Forest. 2-2 would be acceptable, as well, as long as Louisville or Gonzaga is one of the two wins.

(2) "16-2" -- Let's once again make it difficult to win at Williams Arena. Pitino has already discovered how special the atmosphere can be when the place is jumping. The nonconference home schedule is Charmin soft, and there's no Michigan or Michigan State coming to The Barn. There should absolutely be no more than a pair of losses on the home court (that means 7-2 in the Big Ten).

(3) "Cojones Away from Home" -- How about growing a pair away from Williams Arena? There are 13 games at road/neutral sites. This team has a lot of experienced players. A 6-7 record is doable. Let's get away from this notion that winning 3 true road games is acceptable.

(4) "Big Boy Win on the Road" -- More specifically, let's beat someone of true substance on the road. I'm looking at you Michigan State, Wisconsin, Michigan, and/or Iowa. My preference would be Sparty (haven't won at Breslin in ages) or Bucky (the clear title favorite).

(5) "Fun in Chicago" -- It's the same goal I have for the Gophers every year at the Big Ten Tournament, whether they're good, bad, or somewhere in between. Make it to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. When you're playing on Saturday, you're relevant and all bets are off.

(6) "The Final 32" -- Sure, there's a scenario where I can see the Gophers making it to the second weekend, but it's OK to learn to walk before you run. A NCAA tourney win and a Round of 32 appearance is a more reasonable goal.

Let's do it.
 

Amen, Selection. If they play in Omaha, I will be there the first weekend somehow. Too many contacts down there to not visit. We'll pray for a Thursday/Saturday so I can be back for Sunday.

I like the idea of dominating at home again. Those two against Illinois and Northwestern were stinkers last year. The returnees have to know that's what kept them out last year and will want to redeem themselves. Overall, a pretty favorable schedule to return to the tournament.

Don't we usually play pretty well in Chicago versus Indy? This could be the year!

We'll miss Austin, but I think the bigs and guards will be much better than last year. May Andre stay healthy the whole season. I like your goals and I like our chances to meet them.
 

Holy Man said:
I like the idea of dominating at home again. Those two against Illinois and Northwestern were stinkers last year. The returnees have to know that's what kept them out last year and will want to redeem themselves. Overall, a pretty favorable schedule to return to the tournament.

Don't we usually play pretty well in Chicago versus Indy? This could be the year!

We'll miss Austin, but I think the bigs and guards will be much better than last year. May Andre stay healthy the whole season. I like your goals and I like our chances to meet them.
Click to expand...

May DeAndre also stay healthy. Thanks SS--already getting excited for the season.
 


It doesn't matter to me how far we go in the NCAA tournament this year. I just want to make it. Honestly, I'd rather finish in the top 5 in the Big Ten and lose our first game in the NCAA Tournament than finish 8th or 9th and win a game or two in the NCAA Tournament. A top five finish would be much more satisfying throughout the year.
 


Holy Man said:
Amen, Selection. If they play in Omaha, I will be there the first weekend somehow. Too many contacts down there to not visit. We'll pray for a Thursday/Saturday so I can be back for Sunday.

I like the idea of dominating at home again. Those two against Illinois and Northwestern were stinkers last year. The returnees have to know that's what kept them out last year and will want to redeem themselves. Overall, a pretty favorable schedule to return to the tournament.

Don't we usually play pretty well in Chicago versus Indy? This could be the year!

We'll miss Austin, but I think the bigs and guards will be much better than last year. May Andre stay healthy the whole season. I like your goals and I like our chances to meet them.
Click to expand...

Omaha games are Friday/Sunday, Holy Man.
 

Gopherguy0723 said:
It doesn't matter to me how far we go in the NCAA tournament this year. I just want to make it. Honestly, I'd rather finish in the top 5 in the Big Ten and lose our first game in the NCAA Tournament than finish 8th or 9th and win a game or two in the NCAA Tournament. A top five finish would be much more satisfying throughout the year.
Click to expand...

The good thing is if the Gophers accomplish those things they'll certainly be in the top 5.
 


Gopherguy0723 said:
It doesn't matter to me how far we go in the NCAA tournament this year. I just want to make it. Honestly, I'd rather finish in the top 5 in the Big Ten and lose our first game in the NCAA Tournament than finish 8th or 9th and win a game or two in the NCAA Tournament. A top five finish would be much more satisfying throughout the year.
Click to expand...

Not me, I'd rather go 9-9 in the Big Ten and win 2 tournament games. The difference is the bigger spotlight. If a team can get to the final 16, no one cares whether they lost a game in February to Northwestern or Illinois that they should have won.
 



SelectionSunday said:
Nope, not talking about the College World Series.


(4) "Big Boy Win on the Road" -- More specifically, let's beat someone of true substance on the road. I'm looking at you Michigan State, Wisconsin, Michigan, and/or Iowa. My preference would be Sparty (haven't won at Breslin in ages) or Bucky (the clear title favorite).
Click to expand...

If they beat Michigan St. or Wisconsin on the road this year, this is going to be a far better team than expected. Michigan might be doable because they would be expected to be down with the player losses. Iowa might be a bit down from last year, too, but the Gophers have been stomped in IC over the last two years. Maryland away might be a good possibility. They have a good recruiting class but they had numerous contributors transfer and we get them early in the Big Ten season. You would think that Purdue on the road would be a good possibility, too, but there's always a game or two that you lose when you think you should win.

I still think that an 11-7 Big Ten record is probably the ceiling with 10-8 being more likely and 9-9 certainly possible.
 

A simpler goal: how about a winning record in the Big Ten. It's been 9 seasons since we did that and only twice in the last 17 years. I expect it to happen.
 

How good will Illinois, Nebraska, Northwestern, Indiana, Purdue and Rutgers be this year?
 




Updated: Gophers hit only 1 of 6 attainable preseason goals

This from way back in September. ...

Nope, not talking about the College World Series.

Here's my "Destination Omaha" road map (NCAA 2nd- & 3rd-round games will be played there) for the 2014-15 Gophers, shall we say, a "six-pack" of attainable (but not shoo-in) goals for Year 2 of the Richard Pitino era. Let's see how many of these the Gophers can accomplish.

Gopher Goals
(1) "Big 4" -- Win 3 of 4 vs. Louisville, Saint John's, Georgia/Gonzaga, and Wake Forest. 2-2 would be acceptable, as well, as long as Louisville or Gonzaga is one of the two wins. ... Goal not met. Gophers win 2 of 4, and beat neither Louisville or Gonzaga.

(2) "16-2" -- Let's once again make it difficult to win at Williams Arena. Pitino has already discovered how special the atmosphere can be when the place is jumping. The non-conference home schedule is Charmin soft, and there's no Michigan or Michigan State coming to The Barn. There should absolutely be no more than a pair of losses on the home court (that means 7-2 in the Big Ten). ... Goal not met. Gophers finish 13-5 at Williams Arena, and under .500 in Big Ten home games.

(3) "Cojones Away from Home" -- How about growing a pair away from Williams Arena? There are 13 games at road/neutral sites. This team has a lot of experienced players. A 6-7 record is doable. Let's get away from this notion that winning 3 true road games is acceptable. ... Goal not met. Gophers finish with a 4-9 road/neutral record, 5-10 if we add B1G Tournament results.

(4) "Big Boy Win on the Road" -- More specifically, let's beat someone of true substance on the road. I'm looking at you Michigan State, Wisconsin, Michigan, and/or Iowa. My preference would be Sparty (haven't won at Breslin in ages) or Bucky (the clear title favorite). ... The only goal met. Gophers not only get 1 "Big Boy'" road win, they get 2 (Iowa & Michigan State, both who ended up in NCAA tourney).

(5) "Fun in Chicago" -- It's the same goal I have for the Gophers every year at the Big Ten Tournament, whether they're good, bad, or somewhere in between. Make it to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. When you're playing on Saturday, you're relevant and all bets are off. ... Goal not met. The Gophers don't even make Friday's quarterfinals, which they did the previous season.

(6) "The Final 32" -- Sure, there's a scenario where I can see the Gophers making it to the second weekend, but it's OK to learn to walk before you run. A NCAA tourney win and a Round of 32 appearance is a more reasonable goal. ... Goal not met. Gophers couldn't even break the NIT Round of 32 (opening round).

I know Meat Loaf says "2 out of 3 ain't bad," but I don't think he feels the same way about 1 out of 6.
 

In retrospect, beating either Louisville or Gonzaga would have to be considered unrealistic.
 

Bad Gopher said:
In retrospect, beating either Louisville or Gonzaga would have to be considered unrealistic.
Click to expand...

I would agree with that. But even so, setting a preseason goal of 2-2 vs. those 4 (presumed) opponents would have been setting a minimal low bar.
 

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