Big Ten Tournament Pairings (through March 4)

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SelectionSunday

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First Round (Wednesday)
#12 Nebraska (5-12) vs. #13 Penn State (3-14), 3:30 (ESPN2)
#11 Northwestern (6-11) vs. #14 Rutgers (2-15), 6 (BTN)

Second Round (March 12)
#8 Illinois (9-8) vs. #9 Michigan (7-10), 11 (BTN)
#5 Iowa (11-6) vs. Nebraska/Penn State winner, 1:30, (BTN)
#7 Indiana (9-8) vs. #10 GOPHERS (6-10), 5:30 (ESPN2)
#6 Ohio State (11-6) vs. Northwestern/Rutgers winner, 8 (ESPN2)

Quarterfinals (March 13)
#1 Wisconsin (14-2) vs. Illinois/Michigan winner, 11 (ESPN)
#4 Purdue (11-6) vs. Iowa/Nebraska/Penn State winner, 1:30 (ESPN)
#2 Maryland (13-4) vs. Indiana/GOPHERS winner, 5:30 (BTN)
#3 Michigan State (11-6) vs. Ohio State/Northwestern/Rutgers winner, 8 (BTN)
 

So, right now, the Gophers' reward for finishing 10th is to play the team that gave them their worst conference loss and, if they win that, they get a second game with the team that gave them their second worst conference loss. I'd rather see difference opponents but we'll see what happens.
 

cjbfbp said:
So, right now, the Gophers' reward for finishing 10th is to play the team that gave them their worst conference loss and, if they win that, they get a second game with the team that gave them their second worst conference loss. I'd rather see difference opponents but we'll see what happens.
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I think I'd rather play Illinois than Indiana but I also wouldn't let Indiana scare you too much. They were on fire when we last played them and almost certainly won't shoot that well again, plus I'm confident that Richard would come up with a better game plan.
 

I like Gophers' chances of beating Indiana for a first time (on a neutral floor) than beating Illinois for a second time (in their home away from home). Especially if Hoosiers lose to Michigan State on Saturday. IU is young, and there's a good chance they'll be tight as a drum because their fans are getting restless.
 

If we lose to Wiscy, there's an argument to be made that we'd be better off losing to PSU and being the #11 seed, but only marginally. And we'd probably need to beat PSU to secure the NIT bid.
 


howeda7 said:
If we lose to Wiscy, there's an argument to be made that we'd be better off losing to PSU and being the #11 seed, but only marginally. And we'd probably need to beat PSU to secure the NIT bid.
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We could lose to Wisconsin and beat PSU and still get the 11th seed if Northwestern can beat Iowa for the second time.
 

Even though it's probably unlikely now, I wish we would've been in the first round. We might need that extra win on a neutral court. But with how it looks right now, I hope we can switch out Indiana for Illinois. Although, it's tough to judge our matchup against Indiana since it would be tough for them to make 18 three's again.
 

mcal24 said:
Even though it's probably unlikely now, I wish we would've been in the first round. We might need that extra win on a neutral court. But with how it looks right now, I hope we can switch out Indiana for Illinois. Although, it's tough to judge our matchup against Indiana since it would be tough for them to make 18 three's again.
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I don't think a conference tournament win against a bottom four team would do much to move the needle. I'd take the extra rest for the games against the middle-of-the-pack teams in a heartbeat. If we lose to Wisconsin, I think it's all academic as we'd need the BTT auto-bid anyway.
 

Through March 5: Gophers win + Northwestern loss = bye & #10 seed

First Round (Wednesday)
#12 Nebraska (5-12) vs. #13 Penn State (3-14), 3:30 (ESPN2)
#11 GOPHERS (6-11) vs. #14 Rutgers (2-15), 6 (BTN)

Second Round (March 12)
#8 Illinois (9-8) vs. #9 Michigan (7-10), 11 (BTN)
#5 Iowa (11-6) vs. Nebraska/Penn State winner, 1:30, (BTN)
#7 Indiana (9-8) vs. #10 Northwestern (6-11), 5:30 (ESPN2)
#6 Ohio State (11-6) vs. GOPHERS/Rutgers winner, 8 (ESPN2)

Quarterfinals (March 13)
#1 Wisconsin (15-2) vs. Illinois/Michigan winner, 11 (ESPN)
#4 Purdue (11-6) vs. Iowa/Nebraska/Penn State winner, 1:30 (ESPN)
#2 Maryland (13-4) vs. Indiana/Northwestern winner, 5:30 (BTN)
#3 Michigan State (11-6) vs. Ohio State/GOPHERS/Rutgers winner, 8 (BTN)
 



jaymil said:
I think I'd rather play Illinois than Indiana but I also wouldn't let Indiana scare you too much. They were on fire when we last played them and almost certainly won't shoot that well again, plus I'm confident that Richard would come up with a better game plan.
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The Gophers have the worst 3 pt defense I have ever seen. Every team is 'on fire' against the Gophers.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
The Gophers have the worst 3 pt defense I have ever seen. Every team is 'on fire' against the Gophers.
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That's been the case for about 3 years now (in conference stats only)(sports reference only has Conf. stats separated back to 2010).

year -- Opp 3pt% conference rank
14/15 -- 38.7% -- 13th
13/14 -- 37.2% -- 12th
12/13 -- 36.9% -- 12th
11/12 -- 32.7% -- 5th
10/11 -- 33.6% -- 2nd
09/10 -- 34.1% -- (this is total stats)
 

Just to give you guys reference here were the heights of our small forward position over those same years


Year---Players who(most) played SF that year
14/15 --- Carlos Morris(6'5"), Nate Mason(or other 6'1" gaurd) Charles Buggs(6'9")
13/14 --- Austin Hollins(6'4"), Daequein McNeil(6'3")
12/13 --- Austin Hollins(6'4"), Joe Coleman(6'4")
11/12 --- Rodney Williams(6'7")(he played some PF too) Austin Hollins(6'4"), Joe Coleman(6'4") did Oto(6'8") play sf some too?
10/11 --- Rodney Williams(6'7"), Austin Hollins(6'4")


I was thinking it had something to do with the average size of our defenders in 09/10 it was a combination of Paul Carter(6'8"), Devon Bostwick(6'5") and Damion Johnson(6'7"). It should also be noted the quality of defenders at those positions. Maybe I'm looking into this too much.

Please correct me if I missed someone or i assigned a player to SF who didn't actually play there.
 

Tim1406 said:
Just to give you guys reference here were the heights of our small forward position over those same years


Year---Players who(most) played SF that year
14/15 --- Carlos Morris(6'5"), Nate Mason(or other 6'1" gaurd) Charles Buggs(6'9")
13/14 --- Austin Hollins(6'4"), Daequein McNeil(6'3")
12/13 --- Austin Hollins(6'4"), Joe Coleman(6'4")
11/12 --- Rodney Williams(6'7")(he played some PF too) Austin Hollins(6'4"), Joe Coleman(6'4") did Oto(6'8") play sf some too?
10/11 --- Rodney Williams(6'7"), Austin Hollins(6'4")


I was thinking it had something to do with the average size of our defenders in 09/10 it was a combination of Paul Carter(6'8"), Devon Bostwick(6'5") and Damion Johnson(6'7"). It should also be noted the quality of defenders at those positions. Maybe I'm looking into this too much.

Please correct me if I missed someone or i assigned a player to SF who didn't actually play there.
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Short guards and below average height small forwards do not help three point defense. You are on to something. I also believe that in general the team's lack of quickness has hurt in the three point defense category. Hopefully the upgrade in speed and quickness will help the defense all the way around. If Bakary can become a solid shot blocker it will allow the guards to push out a little farther on the perimeter. I have to say it is horrible witnessing teams getting all sorts of three point shooting records against us.
 



Holy Man said:
I have to say it is horrible witnessing teams getting all sorts of three point shooting records against us.
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Yep. It's so bad and such a regular occurrence that it's like I don't even notice any more. Listening to the post-game on the way home I heard the Badgers were 10 for 20 (?) from 3 and I thought, "Gave up 10 3s and 50%? That's no big deal."

Seems like it happens all the time.
 

Holy Man said:
Short guards and below average height small forwards do not help three point defense. You are on to something. I also believe that in general the team's lack of quickness has hurt in the three point defense category. Hopefully the upgrade in speed and quickness will help the defense all the way around. If Bakary can become a solid shot blocker it will allow the guards to push out a little farther on the perimeter. I have to say it is horrible witnessing teams getting all sorts of three point shooting records against us.
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The team defensive strategies also contribute significantly. I watched Purdue play Indiana a week after our beat down. Our guys tended to play off the perimeter shooters in order to help inside or close driving lanes. They would then go toward the shooter, mostly too late, when the pass was thrown to the shooter. In contrast, Purdue's defenders played very tightly on the Indiana perimeter shooters often denying them the ball or giving them no space even if they caught the pass. Indiana shot 18 of 32 on threes against us and only 5 of 16 against Purdue.
 

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