That was a big time win on a big time stage!!!!

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Bad Gopher said:
My thoughts exactly. Getting the Spartan monkey off their back is huge psychologically.

Probably no worse than a 5 seed now, would you say?
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Exactly - now Wisky is the only team in the conference we haven't beat. Will that change by Sunday?
The thought of a 5 seed is dizzying. Like an alternative universe! But I leave those predictions to people like Lunardi and Selection Sunday.

stocker08 said:
Not sure what you saw.....but Murphy was very good. Only 5-9 for 10 points......but he pulled down 13 rebounds. He grabbed nearly everything that came close to him. A double-double in 21 minutes of game time.
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Somehow Murphy skyed above everyone to pull down some critical boards. His early foul worried me, but he did his job and then some.
 

I couldn't agree more. That game was so physical, the type of game so many Minnesota teams have sort of faded away from in years past. Not just the physical part, but the mental part is really refreshing to me. There was a point in the game (maybe like 5 min left?) where the Gophers played a great defensive possession and then a deflected ball bounced over to MSU and they hit a 3. My heart sunk. This was the type of play that so many Gopher teams haven't bee able to recover from a bad bounce and then the everything just goes downhill. This team has been different and it's been a pleasure to watch.

Moonlight mentioned it in the post above, but Jordan Murphy had the rebound of the game. We were up late and MSU missed a jumper and it was Murphy and 3 Spartans for the board and he skied above them for a critical defensive board.

Can't say enough about Reggie Lynch's toughness and his overall game today. The most efficient I can remember him offensively and his post defense on Ward was fantastic.

Amir Coffey continues to make the mature/winning plays you expect from an upperclassmen as a freshman. His dish to a rolling Lynch for a dunk might have been the most important offensive play of the game. It's not just his floor and mental game though...his drive for a two handed dunk in the first half showed why he may have a future at the next level.

Dupree's second half 3's were huge. In a game where neither team could get much going from the perimeter, Dupree came up big.
 

It's amazing how well Reggie has played this year. I never imagined he'd be as good as he's been. When his transfer was announced I thought he'd be a depth big man and might challenge Bakary for starter status. Never would I have imagined him being arguably the best center in the conference.

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Everyone including Dakich was watching the incredible Murphy rebound, and then it became apparent that it was Springs writhing on the ground.

Murphy is still not getting much respect from officials either. He gets called for fouls on defense all the time, yet when he gives a ball fake, takes a hit, then scores, no call.
 

I would be curious to hear reports from any one that was in the arena for the game. The Gopher fans seemed a lot louder in the Verizon Center than I have ever heard them in Indianapolis or Chicago.

The overall environment seemed a lot livelier on TV as well in DC. Unlike most Big Ten teams, we do not seem to have much of a Chicago, Indy presence at these tourneys in my view. I think graduates of Iowa, Illinois, MSU, Michigan, Purdue , Wisco and\Indiana tend to flock to Chicago to live and work (and Indy is a close drive) and our U of M grads tend to stay here.

Maybe it is possible with huge number of U of M grads out there, it is possible that we can draw a better crowd to DC or to Madison Square Garden than most Big Ten Schools. If we can win on Saturday, the crowd might be sort of interesting on Sunday. I might have to look for a Spirit flight.
 


I'd almost trade in this game for Springs' health in the NCAA tourney, but beating MSU puts a satisfying cap on the season even if Minnesota can't make it past the first weekend (the "what if" factor of no Springs will lessen the pain of an early exit as well).
 

Just beat Izzo in March....nice


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oak_street1981 said:
I would be curious to hear reports from any one that was in the arena for the game. The Gopher fans seemed a lot louder in the Verizon Center than I have ever heard them in Indianapolis or Chicago.

The overall environment seemed a lot livelier on TV as well in DC. Unlike most Big Ten teams, we do not seem to have much of a Chicago, Indy presence at these tourneys in my view. I think graduates of Iowa, Illinois, MSU, Michigan, Purdue , Wisco and\Indiana tend to flock to Chicago to live and work (and Indy is a close drive) and our U of M grads tend to stay here.

Maybe it is possible with huge number of U of M grads out there, it is possible that we can draw a better crowd to DC or to Madison Square Garden than most Big Ten Schools. If we can win on Saturday, the crowd might be sort of interesting on Sunday. I might have to look for a Spirit flight.
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I was wondering the same thing too. Then I also wondered if some of the noise was coming from Wolverine fans who were cheering againts the Spartans.
 

sal said:
Just beat Izzo in March....nice


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This is far from a typical MSU team, but I don't think anyone (I didnt) wanted to play MSU or Indiana in March. Indiana because of exactly what they did to Iowa and MSU because of Izzo...
 



Pitino was great managing minutes with Lynch, Murphy and Coffey all with 3 fouls midway through the second half. The Gophers beat Sparty with Mason having an off night shooting. Other guys stepped up and made huge plays when they were needed, that's how you win.

Murphy and Lynch MUST value their playing time against Michigan, especially with Springs out. Avoid foul trouble at all costs. The good thing is that it's a tough match-up for the Wolverines. The Gophers interior force against the Wolverines perimeter shooting. Gophers need to take advantage of the fact that this is Michigan's third game in three days and pound the ball inside.

Michigan State was 6-30 from three-point range, I'm baffled that Bridges with all his athletic ability and talent took 11 3s. Defending the 3 is the top priority against Michigan. Don't let Duncan Robinson, Zak Irvin and Walton go off.

Regardless off all that, beating Michigan State in a tournament setting is a huge mental boost and we should be playing with all kinds of confidence as a result. Go out and get the job done against Michigan.
 

Yes, it was not a typical Izzo team in that Tum Tum is not much of a shooter, Ellis the former Tubby recruit did not do much, and #1 did not get going until late. The guard play was very suspect, but the Minnesota defense makes a lot of teams look bad.

I still think the two horses fo Michigan State down low are impressive (Bridges and #44) and MSU could easily get into the field of 16. I like our team a lot, but I was awfully impressed by some of the forwards we have faced in the Big Ten recently. (Indiana, Iowa, MSu) Apparently guard play is what matters in March, and Michigan is pretty scary with the 1,2, and 3 spot interchangeable players they have. Walton is the clone of Mason, beyond the hair.

At the very least the next two days should be a lot of fun, watching from the couch.
 

stocker08 said:
Not sure what you saw.....but Murphy was very good. Only 5-9 for 10 points......but he pulled down 13 rebounds. He grabbed nearly everything that came close to him. A double-double in 21 minutes of game time.
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I meant offensively. Murphy scoring 10 is below is season average, especially when the team was winning a lot. If I told you pregame he would have 10 points and Mason would be 2/14, you'd assume the Gophers lost.
 

oak_street1981 said:
I would be curious to hear reports from any one that was in the arena for the game. The Gopher fans seemed a lot louder in the Verizon Center than I have ever heard them in Indianapolis or Chicago.

The overall environment seemed a lot livelier on TV as well in DC. Unlike most Big Ten teams, we do not seem to have much of a Chicago, Indy presence at these tourneys in my view. I think graduates of Iowa, Illinois, MSU, Michigan, Purdue , Wisco and\Indiana tend to flock to Chicago to live and work (and Indy is a close drive) and our U of M grads tend to stay here.

Maybe it is possible with huge number of U of M grads out there, it is possible that we can draw a better crowd to DC or to Madison Square Garden than most Big Ten Schools. If we can win on Saturday, the crowd might be sort of interesting on Sunday. I might have to look for a Spirit flight.
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I'm in DC and have been to Chicago and Indy several times. Inside the arena I am not discerning a lot of difference in noise level for the Gophers. I think there are more fans than previously because the team is better. Neutral fans pull for the underdog which was us despite the higher seed. But there was a lot of Sparty people here. Overall crowds are visibly down from previous years. Second game with the local team was only session even close to full. Lots of Wisconsin people here. Need to get them buried. If Gophers and Northwestern win it will be me and a handful oothers at the final.
 



NWMetroGopherFan said:
Pitino was great managing minutes with Lynch, Murphy and Coffey all with 3 fouls midway through the second half. The Gophers beat Sparty with Mason having an off night shooting. Other guys stepped up and made huge plays when they were needed, that's how you win.

Murphy and Lynch MUST value their playing time against Michigan, especially with Springs out. Avoid foul trouble at all costs. The good thing is that it's a tough match-up for the Wolverines. The Gophers interior force against the Wolverines perimeter shooting. Gophers need to take advantage of the fact that this is Michigan's third game in three days and pound the ball inside.

Michigan State was 6-30 from three-point range, I'm baffled that Bridges with all his athletic ability and talent took 11 3s. Defending the 3 is the top priority against Michigan. Don't let Duncan Robinson, Zak Irvin and Walton go off.

Regardless off all that, beating Michigan State in a tournament setting is a huge mental boost and we should be playing with all kinds of confidence as a result. Go out and get the job done against Michigan.
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Well said. Agree 100%
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
I meant offensively. Murphy scoring 10 is below is season average, especially when the team was winning a lot. If I told you pregame he would have 10 points and Mason would be 2/14, you'd assume the Gophers lost.
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True. But his best skill is rebounding. His scoring in this game was lower due to Lynch getting the ball in the post more often. Doesn't mean he was ineffective. He was the opposite of invisible on defense.
 

Holy Man,

My perspective was from the ESPN TV feed only and I did want to hear a report from the Verizon Center. so thank you.

I think the Veriizon Center is lot like Xcel Energy Center( or MSG) in that there is less visibility to the seating areas on TV due to the dark lighting of the seating areas. This makes it hard to gauge how many are in the seats, but the noise level on TV seemed to be high.

On the HD ESPN broadcast, I could freeze the screen and look for people I knew in the Gopher crowd and I saw a few.

What a great day and win. I am taking a new job in the next week or two and had hoped to score a few days off in coming days if the process played out quick to
to see the Gophers. I was shooting for DC, but maybe next week or beyond will work out better.
 

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