Perhaps that Boston College game will be pretty important for the Gophers?

SelectionSunday

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Jerry Palm has both the Gophers and Eagles among his "first 4 out".

Has 7 Big Ten teams in the field (where I project teams in B1G standings in parentheses):

#3 Michigan State (1)
#4 Michigan (4)
#6 Purdue (7)
#7 Indiana (2)
#8 Wisconsin (3)
#9 Maryland (6)
#12 Nebraska (5)

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I think all road games are really important. A chance to separate from another bubbler is a great opportunity.
 


SS,

So are you predicting the Gophers to finish 8th or lower?
 



BC loses a key player, Deontae Hawkins

Was granted 6th year by NCAA, but will not return.

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Jerry Palm has both the Gophers and Eagles among his "first 4 out".

Has 7 Big Ten teams in the field (where I project teams in B1G standings in parentheses):

#3 Michigan State (1)
#4 Michigan (4)
#6 Purdue (7)
#7 Indiana (2)
#8 Wisconsin (3)
#9 Maryland (6)
#12 Nebraska (5)

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I really do not understand the love for Wisconsin.

Last Year: 15-18 (7-11)
Last 10 Games: 5-5 (Wins over Illinois, Purdue (we beat Maryland that one year...), Minnesota (Gophers shot themselves in the **** down the stretch), NW, and Maryland)
Incoming Class: Some guy named Taylor Currie (NR on ESPN)

Even with Happ this smells more like an NIT team that an 11 seed like Lunardi has.
 

I really do not understand the love for Wisconsin.

Last Year: 15-18 (7-11)
Last 10 Games: 5-5 (Wins over Illinois, Purdue (we beat Maryland that one year...), Minnesota (Gophers shot themselves in the **** down the stretch), NW, and Maryland)
Incoming Class: Some guy named Taylor Currie (NR on ESPN)

Even with Happ this smells more like an NIT team that an 11 seed like Lunardi has.

They get 2 rotation players back from injury for the majority of the season aside from the fact that many guys that were freshmen last year or had never seen the court regularly have another year of development.

If some of those guys suck, they may actually be on the decline. I’ll wait to judge until then, though.

I think Taylor Currie was a solid recruit but reclassified a year earlier so fell in the rankings. Was a Michigan commit.
 

As a Badger fan, it is hard to tell how they will perform this year. Having Happ is super. You know what he will give and if he improves at all (FTs would be best) it is gravy. Beyond him though, there are lots of questions with many possible solutions.

1) Who is PG? Trice was the incumbent. Davison played well there. Strickland might be better than either. Then you also have Anderson who started for UWGB and had good numbers.

2) Where does Davison play? If not at point, he is the most likely starting SG. He was so good with one arm last year, you wonder how good can he be fully healthy.

3) If Davison is getting majority of minutes at 2, what happens with Pritzl and King. Brevin played very well down the stretch last year and he will likely be the starter at SF. Kobe has a ton of talent though and could supplant him if needed.

4) Assuming the above, does Iverson start at PF or do you go with more size and a better shooter in Reuvers? Iverson was our best defender and I think he starts, but the offense should work better with spacing that Reuvers can provide. Choices...

Simply having more depth will help. Last year beyond Brad and Brevin, UW was turning to walk-ons at guard. This year they have quite a few options.

The real question is the difficulty of the league. My perception is that you could put the teams 2-12 in a hat and pick them out randomly and be almost as good as trying to predict. I have some confidence that MSU will finish in the top 3. Illinois and Rutgers should be pretty awful. Everyone else??? I could argue that Michigan without Wagner could really struggle. Purdue lost nearly everyone. Will Iowa continue to suck? They had good offense, maybe they figure out their defensive issues... Indiana? OSU??? NW has talent that they hadn't had in the past, will it shine?

I like the way UW responded down the stretch, when they knew they were going nowhere. Beating Purdue and playing with Sparty twice showed me that they had figured some things out. Hopefully that carries over and some health follows. 3rd seems a touch high, 4th just about right.
 






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