Sid: Gophers basketball coach Richard Pitino doesn't love split-up Big Ten schedule

BleedGopher

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per Sid:

The Gophers’ men’s basketball game at Wisconsin on Thursday will be the team’s third in the Big Ten, even though it has been almost one month since the Gophers played their second conference game, a 85-78 victory over Nebraska on December 5.

The Badgers have won eight in a row in the series and will be a big test for Richard Pitino’s squad.

The Gophers (11-2 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) haven’t won in Madison since a 78-74 overtime victory on Jan. 15, 2009. The Badgers (10-3, 2-0) dropped to No. 22 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll this week after losing to Western Kentucky 83-76 on Saturday. The Badgers were led by Maple Grove’s Brad Davison, who scored 26 points.

This is the first year the Big Ten has played a 20-game conference schedule. Pitino said breaking up the schedule into two conference games early in the season and 18 leagues games starting this month isn’t ideal.

“I don’t love it, but as long as everybody else is doing it and it’s a level playing field, I am OK with it,” he said. “The problem is [if you don’t split up the Big Ten games], you’re probably doing away with Christmas [break] and doing away with being able to send your kids home and doing some games on the 27th [of December]. So that’s the alternative, but I would rather do that.

“I just think we’re all trying to beef up our nonconference [schedule], which if you look at ours, we have done that.”

http://www.startribune.com/gophers-...n-t-love-split-up-big-ten-schedule/503822032/

Go Gophers!!
 

Personally, I'd rather they go back to an 18-game schedule than continue to do 20 in this schlocky way.
 

I didn't like the idea initially, but I warmed up to it this year.

I liked getting a taste of the conference season in what typically is the worst month of college basketball (by far).
 

I liked getting a taste of the conference season in what typically is the worst month of college basketball (by far).

Bingo.

I love it. December is college basketball's worst month, the 20-game schedule moving forward spices that up.
 




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