NWMetroGopherFan
Active member
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2017
- Messages
- 355
- Reaction score
- 154
- Points
- 43
Gotta give credit to MTSU, they made shots against the Gophers and mostly got the looks they wanted on offense. The back-breaker was the 3 Upshaw hit where Mason, who could barely walk at the time, couldn't get there in time to close out. Made a 4-point game 7, and was a momentum killer.
Tough day for Mason. He was extremely passive against the zone and took bad shots when he was aggressive. The Gophers didn't have a ton of trouble against the zone, they just missed a lot of their open looks. But they also didn't attack it enough and didn't move the ball enough. I would've liked to see Coffey flashing in the high post rather than Murphy.
Defense was where this game was lost. Poor communication all over the place on screens, especially on the consecutive dunks in the second half. You've just got to know what your plan is defensively when a screen comes. Hurt was also made to look like a statue on a baseline drive and 2 guys could've been there for help at the time, but inexplicably they turn their heads away from the ball and it's a lay-up. You never, ever turn your head away from the ball on defense. If the driver makes a pass for a lay-up, so be it. But you cannot just let him drive free and clear to the basket.
The one thing Lynch couldn't do was get a foul early in the second half, which is exactly what happened with that idiotic reach on the loose ball. I see he complained about the officiating in the Strib. You smacked him in the face Reggie, it was a blatant foul. He has to recognize his value on the floor better next year.
It's weird to say, but the MTSU coach took a pretty good timeout right out of the gate after the Gophers started 7-0. Williams looked terrified of Lynch, the coach re-grouped them and they were off and running.
You could tell this game featured a first-time Big Dance team versus one with experience. Love the fight the Gophers had in the second half, but it left them gassed when they needed to finish. Let's not forget what this team accomplished after just 8 wins. This year was a major improvement and it's fun to be excited about Gopher basketball again. The bar is now raised and the expectations are much higher for next year with everybody but Springs back and adding Washington, Harris and hopefully a healthy Fitzgerald.
Tough day for Mason. He was extremely passive against the zone and took bad shots when he was aggressive. The Gophers didn't have a ton of trouble against the zone, they just missed a lot of their open looks. But they also didn't attack it enough and didn't move the ball enough. I would've liked to see Coffey flashing in the high post rather than Murphy.
Defense was where this game was lost. Poor communication all over the place on screens, especially on the consecutive dunks in the second half. You've just got to know what your plan is defensively when a screen comes. Hurt was also made to look like a statue on a baseline drive and 2 guys could've been there for help at the time, but inexplicably they turn their heads away from the ball and it's a lay-up. You never, ever turn your head away from the ball on defense. If the driver makes a pass for a lay-up, so be it. But you cannot just let him drive free and clear to the basket.
The one thing Lynch couldn't do was get a foul early in the second half, which is exactly what happened with that idiotic reach on the loose ball. I see he complained about the officiating in the Strib. You smacked him in the face Reggie, it was a blatant foul. He has to recognize his value on the floor better next year.
It's weird to say, but the MTSU coach took a pretty good timeout right out of the gate after the Gophers started 7-0. Williams looked terrified of Lynch, the coach re-grouped them and they were off and running.
You could tell this game featured a first-time Big Dance team versus one with experience. Love the fight the Gophers had in the second half, but it left them gassed when they needed to finish. Let's not forget what this team accomplished after just 8 wins. This year was a major improvement and it's fun to be excited about Gopher basketball again. The bar is now raised and the expectations are much higher for next year with everybody but Springs back and adding Washington, Harris and hopefully a healthy Fitzgerald.