Game 9: Gophers Host Michigan State (1-30-17)

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Ignatius L Hoops

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Spartan’s Chill?

The Spartans are 4-4 in the B1G having accomplished the unlikely combo of beating Ohio State and losing to Rutgers. It’s been a season of contrast and mystery. Suzy Merchant collapsed on the sideline of the B1G opener missing the next game before returning to the bench. Two games later, following a defeat at Rutgers, Merchant felt the same symptoms and has yet to return to the sidelines. In the interim, Amaka Agugua has taken the reins.

In between Merchant’s absences, Tori Jankoska became the Spartans all-time leading scorer. Tori did it in style with 42 points including 8 three pointers at home against Ohio State.

Monday night’s game will likely be a Jankoska/Wagner duel. In B1G play, Jankoska averages 22 points/game with 35 made three pointers and 28 made free throws (Tori shoots 96.6% from the line). Wagner averages 22.5 points/game with 21 made three pointers and 23 made free throws (79.3 % from the line). The Spartans do have other scoring options; but slowing Jankoska is always a good place to start.

Despite beating the Buckeyes, Michigan State has already lost twice to Purdue. Needless to say, this is a winnable game for the Gophers during a stretch of winnable games facing teams grinding to gain traction.


B1G Wins: Illinois, 71-47, @ Nebraska, 93-73; Ohio State, 94-75; @ Wisconsin, 81-57.

B1G Losses: @ Purdue, 66-54; @ Rutgers, 62-58; @ Northwestern, 76-65; Purdue, 76-66.



Starters (for some reason MSU does not split out B1G stats (or at least I haven’t found them)):

Victoria Gaines: 6’1” F Fr.
Taya Reimer: 6’4” F Sr.
Tori Jankoska: 5’8” G Sr.
Taryn McCutcheon: 5’5” G Fr.
Brandais Agee: 5’11” G Sr.



Others:

Nia Hollie: 6’0” F Fr.
Lex Gussert: 6’0” G/F Jr.
 

The Nia Hollie revenge game. ;)

Let's do this! Shadow Jankoska, win game.
 

I won't have the chance to attend this game so I'll have to settle for BTN. I'm sure that I'll get tired of hearing about Jankoska in the first or second quarter, as every time I've seen her on BTN this year the BTN announcing teams have made a huge effort to make her the focus of the game, much as they did with Banham last year. In fairness to Jankoska, she has turned herself into a good all-around player during her years at MSU. I thought going into the season that MSU might stumble a bit because she tries to do too much, but I don't think that's been the case. She does try to do too much on occasion, but she is surrounded by an inconsistent supporting cast. Wonder what Nia Hollie's thoughts are re: her initial season at MSU? IMO, she hasn't made much of an impact; hasn't played much. I didn't like it when Hollie asked KSTP to cover her college choice announcement last year and then she promptly announced that she had chosen MSU over the Gophers. From what I've seen so far, it doesn't appear the Gophers lost anything in not getting Hollie. The MSU game is a winnable game for the Gophers. This should be an evenly-matched game. If the Gophers lose this game, I think it's time to start favoring the frosh over the seniors and make sure the frosh get some needed experience going into next year. Seniors: Hedstrom, Tinjum, Starr, Barnes. (Barnes is already MIA; Starr playing sparingly.) If this year is a lost cause, I'd like to see more PT for T. Bello, Brunson, Kaposi. On another note, I continue to be baffled by all the minutes Stollings gives Hedstrom. Nothing against Hedstrom; she plays hard and to the best of her abilities. I'm also confounded that Lamke is getting minutes over Barnes...confounded that Lamke is getting any meaningful minutes.
 

tripledouble said:
I won't have the chance to attend this game so I'll have to settle for BTN. I'm sure that I'll get tired of hearing about Jankoska in the first or second quarter, as every time I've seen her on BTN this year the BTN announcing teams have made a huge effort to make her the focus of the game, much as they did with Banham last year. In fairness to Jankoska, she has turned herself into a good all-around player during her years at MSU. I thought going into the season that MSU might stumble a bit because she tries to do too much, but I don't think that's been the case. She does try to do too much on occasion, but she is surrounded by an inconsistent supporting cast. Wonder what Nia Hollie's thoughts are re: her initial season at MSU? IMO, she hasn't made much of an impact; hasn't played much. I didn't like it when Hollie asked KSTP to cover her college choice announcement last year and then she promptly announced that she had chosen MSU over the Gophers. From what I've seen so far, it doesn't appear the Gophers lost anything in not getting Hollie. The MSU game is a winnable game for the Gophers. This should be an evenly-matched game. If the Gophers lose this game, I think it's time to start favoring the frosh over the seniors and make sure the frosh get some needed experience going into next year. Seniors: Hedstrom, Tinjum, Starr, Barnes. (Barnes is already MIA; Starr playing sparingly.) If this year is a lost cause, I'd like to see more PT for T. Bello, Brunson, Kaposi. On another note, I continue to be baffled by all the minutes Stollings gives Hedstrom. Nothing against Hedstrom; she plays hard and to the best of her abilities. I'm also confounded that Lamke is getting minutes over Barnes...confounded that Lamke is getting any meaningful minutes.
Click to expand...

Barnes is advanced version of Jordan Murphy .
 

Looking at the stats from each team, this is one of the only times in the conference season that the gophers look more balanced then their opponent. Jankoska averages 22-22 ppg and then its a hard drop to about 9 ppg for both Agee and Reimer. I will admit I am still shocked at how little of an impact Reimer is having in her first year at Michigan St. I remember her being a lot more impactful at Notre Dame. Anyway, even though on paper gophers look complete, I feel gophers will need Michigan St to only have Jankoska going and then hope the trio of Bell/Hubbard/Wagner can out score her. I do however fear that Agee, Reimer and McCutcheon will probably be better than their averages suggest. Gophers defense isn't know to stop anyone.

However my bold opinion is this: If gophers play tonight the way they did the first 35 minutes against Maryland and the 1st, 3rd and 4th quarters against Ohio St, they will walk away with a win.
 


bball_craz_26 said:
Looking at the stats from each team, this is one of the only times in the conference season that the gophers look more balanced then their opponent. Jankoska averages 22-22 ppg and then its a hard drop to about 9 ppg for both Agee and Reimer. I will admit I am still shocked at how little of an impact Reimer is having in her first year at Michigan St. I remember her being a lot more impactful at Notre Dame. Anyway, even though on paper gophers look complete, I feel gophers will need Michigan St to only have Jankoska going and then hope the trio of Bell/Hubbard/Wagner can out score her. I do however fear that Agee, Reimer and McCutcheon will probably be better than their averages suggest. Gophers defense isn't know to stop anyone.

However my bold opinion is this: If gophers play tonight the way they did the first 35 minutes against Maryland and the 1st, 3rd and 4th quarters against Ohio St, they will walk away with a win.
Click to expand...

Not off to a great start with the usual defensive lapses and TO's. Jankoska is going wild with 12 in the first quarter.
 

Last time I watched this team in the non-conference, it was painful watching Kaposi run. Her mobility has really increased!
 

Outscored 28-15 in the 3rd after being tied at 40 at halftime.
 

overpass said:
Outscored 28-15 in the 3rd after being tied at 40 at halftime.
Click to expand...

Really poor effort with us standing around and not boxing out for rebounds with lazy D. This team is officially on the ropes and I was on the fence about a coaching change but not after tonight.
 



Poorly coached team. Looks like Coyle will get to make another hire.
 

Even in the depths of the Borton era, I do not recall attending a game that was more painful to watch. Coyle, are you watching the small crowds stream to the exits before the end of the game, the lack of cohesion on the team, the winnable games that become blowouts?
 


Minutes Played (Starters in Bold)

38 Bell
36 Hedstrom
35 Wagner
21 Fernstrom
20 Brunson
20 Tinjum
19 T Bello
4 Starr
3 Kaposi
2 Lamke
1 Barnes
1 Edwards


A competitive first half followed by, as noted above, generally poor, painful play. Bell battled on; but for the rest...

Tori Jankoska on an off night (she missed a free throw) posted 20 points, 14 rebounds (!!!) and 7 assists. PLUS, Jankoska did a reasonable job guarding Carlie.

Stollings was pretty loud in some of the second half huddles; but to no effect. There were a lot of combinations used tonight. I think toward the end of the first quarter we had Fernstrom, Hedstrom, Tinjum, Starr and Bell on the court. It ended badly.
 



This isn't even the usual above average MSU team. That's a mediocre Spartan team that just whooped 'em.
 

http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w-baskbl/recaps/013017aab.html

Marlene Stollings:

On Taiye Bello’s start...

"She earned the right to start in practice. We’re going to reward whoever is fighting for that position in practice. We’ve got a lot of people playing that spot right now, and whoever earns it will be rewarded with the starting position."



On use of multiple bench players...

"We’re going to play people that have earned the right to be out on the floor. [Gadiva Hubbard] being out [with a broken nose] obviously allowed Jasmine [Brunson] the opportunity to start, but the subbing after that are people that have earned the right to play. We’re just looking for certain combinations that’ll work."


Kenisha Bell:

On shooting so well in the first half...

"I saw their play kind of lacking of guarding me, waiting for me to pull up because I'm pretty sure everybody was scouting me as a driver. I was taking the opportunity that was there."
 

Over-Under

On the number of games Gophers win rest of the season?

2.5?
 

Maybe this is too harsh, but Stollings has to go. I have been someone who has defended her a lot because of how awful I felt Pam Borton was as a coach but last night was the final straw.

First: Hedstrom. I DONT GET IT! her last two games she has played 36 and 34 minutes and shot a combined 0-10 and 0-8 on 3s. She has averaged 6 rebounds a game in those two games but frankly she only rebounds the balls that come right to her or are tipped her direction. Jessie Edwards who is both a better defender and rebounder than Hedstrom played ONE MINUTE last night. are you kidding me? and then hedstrom was guarding Jankoska? really? Im surprised Tori didn't fall over laughing. I understand that Hubbard was out but then put Bell or Wagner on Jankoska!

Then she hasn't played Barnes all conference season but then puts her in as the first post off the bench instead of Fernstrom or Tinjum or Edwards? once again REALLY??

Then had a lineup of Bell, Starr, Hedstrom, Tinjum and Fernstrom. So to make clean she will rest Wagner our best scorer but leave out 0-10 and 0-8 on 3-pointers Hedstrom? Makes ZERO sense. This season will be damn lucky to be a WNIT season. Time to play the freshman more and sorry not sorry, seniors thank you for your time but don't let the door hit ya when the good lord split ya
 

overpass said:
Last time I watched this team in the non-conference, it was painful watching Kaposi run. Her mobility has really increased!
Click to expand...

Her ability to run back to the bench after a minute of play is astounding.... much improved
 

Hedstrom's playing time hasn't bugged me much because Tinjum and Starr seem so quickly error prone. But as bball said, you can't get almost nothing in 30 plus minutes. Early in the game Brunson guarded Jankoska and Tori just posted up Jamine.

That strange lineup of Bell, Starr, Hedstrom, Tinjum and Fernstrom came after (I think) Carlie committed three straight turnovers and earned herself a short visit to the bench.
 

Teams are supposed to get better as the season progresses. This one gets worse. Stollings desperately trying to find a combination that works. Trouble is it's too much desperation and not enough stability and players knowing their roles. I too am confounded by the Hedstrom minutes. I'll call it the Bailey Effect. They have been snake bit by steady eddy Hubbard's issues, for sure, but that shouldn't be enough of an excuse for what has happened this season.

I feel bad that Carlie Wagner's loyalty to Minnesota hasn't been rewarded better than this. With one more year of eligibility left, I hope Wagner doesn't have to spend it with Stollings as a coach. C'mon AD, give us some hope for the future starting next year.
 

I don't like the concept of trying to find a lineup that works this late in the season. I'm OK with that during the non-conference schedule, but once we get into conference play, I think the players themselves prefer more defined roles. And I also don't like the concept of removing players the first time they make a mistake, especially the young players. I continue to think that some of the first year players can play at this level, including T. Bello, Brunson, and maybe Kaposi. Obviously, Hubbard can play at the BIG level. Hopefully we'll get a chance to find out soon if these younger players can play. Michigan State is a very beatable team and to get whipped by them in Williams isn't acceptable.

Other random thoughts: Whalen and Cheryl Reeve sitting together at the game last night. Nice to see them in attendance. I wouldn't have minded if either of them was on the sidelines instead. Bell had a solid game, especially in the first half. The way Bello started the game with some early rebounds I thought she was going to have a great game, at least on the boards. She's still going to have to get stronger and become more of a finisher, but I love her athleticism. Gophers did a decent job of getting the ball inside to Fernstrom. Haven't seen that much before. Fernstrom had a decent game, although her numbers are a bit skewed because Edwards hardly played at all. MSU's Hollie not a big miss for the Gophers based on what I've seen this year. She might turn out to be a serviceable player, but doesn't appear that she'll be anything special.
 

Lacking another scorer in Hubbard hurt. Brunson is not a scorer or shooter. MSU also posted her up because of her height. Whoever coached Bello in HS didn't help her out a lot. . She is really raw. She would've had several more rebounds last night had she sealed her defender off.If Stollings would've had the numbers, she should've been RS. Hedstrom playing those minutes?
Something is not right guys. I'll let you use your imagination. There is not a coach in the country who would give her 34 minutes at this level. Starr gets pulled on any mistake immediately.
Fernstrom is the kind of post players you saw 15 years ago in the women's game. Enough said.
Why isn't Leonard playings? A practice thing? . Feel bad for Wagner . You could see the frustration on her face last night. Make the call Mark.
 

Coaches that have no confidence in what THEY are doing are very quick to throw multiple combinations out on the floor hoping that something sticks - that is what we are now seeing. Marlene Stollings has no business coaching at the Big 10 level and time is showing us that now on a regular basis. Is Michigan St. that much more talented than us? No way. As others have said this was a average Michigan State team at best. You see players deflated and showing average effort at best. You see players that don't show a love for the game. You see Michigan St score on set play after set play. You see ZERO adjustments as Michigan St. made its run. This is all coaching. One question I have is what do the assistants do? I recall Melissa McFerrin, Kelly Roysland, Ted Riverso, and others being active in the in-game situations - do we even have three assistant coaches - its Stollings, and Dawkins will glare every once and a while. They showed the pre-game speech on BTN - how un-inspiring of a talk - based on the players body language there seems to be a major dis-connect between staff and players - time for a change as this staff is being out-coached on a nightly basis.
 

Trying hard not to go over the line from being frustrated to not caring. Was so hopeful when Borton was let go, but this one is looking like a major mistake. Just a lifeless, not fun atmosphere.
 

It was pretty clear Marlene was a bad hire at her press conference. She could barely string together coherent sentences.

Then she scared off Amanda Zahui after a year, squandered Rachel Banham's record breaking senior season and now has an, at best, listless program.

So long, Marlene.
 

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