BleedGopher
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per RandBall:
*Even after a Friday loss at Maryland (in which the 69-60 final score made things look closer than much of the game really was), the Gophers men’s basketball team could take plenty of positives from the weekend.
Various outcomes broke in their favor, keeping the Gophers as the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. They’ll face No. 10 Penn State on Thursday, which is pretty much ideal. The Nittany Lions have virtually no chance of getting into the NCAA field unless they run the table in the Big Ten tourney because of some tough-luck losses — including a 65-64 loss to the Gophers — that have them at 14-17. But they’re actually above the Gophers in Net Ranking (49 compared to Minnesota’s 56) and KenPom (39 compared to 46).
A Gophers win Thursday would go down as a good one; a loss wouldn’t be a bad one.
Not only that, but they avoided matching up with either Ohio State or Indiana. Those two bubble teams — Ohio is Joe Lunardi’s last team in, Indiana is his first team out, so it doesn’t get much closer or bubblier than that — will play each other in the 8-9 game Thursday. It feels like the winner of that game will have the inside track on a bid, while the loser will probably stay home. And the Gophers, win or lose, should be safely in the field — barring a run of upsets in conference tournaments.
http://www.startribune.com/everything-broke-just-right-so-far-for-gophers-mens-basketball/506980892/
Go Gophers!!
*Even after a Friday loss at Maryland (in which the 69-60 final score made things look closer than much of the game really was), the Gophers men’s basketball team could take plenty of positives from the weekend.
Various outcomes broke in their favor, keeping the Gophers as the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. They’ll face No. 10 Penn State on Thursday, which is pretty much ideal. The Nittany Lions have virtually no chance of getting into the NCAA field unless they run the table in the Big Ten tourney because of some tough-luck losses — including a 65-64 loss to the Gophers — that have them at 14-17. But they’re actually above the Gophers in Net Ranking (49 compared to Minnesota’s 56) and KenPom (39 compared to 46).
A Gophers win Thursday would go down as a good one; a loss wouldn’t be a bad one.
Not only that, but they avoided matching up with either Ohio State or Indiana. Those two bubble teams — Ohio is Joe Lunardi’s last team in, Indiana is his first team out, so it doesn’t get much closer or bubblier than that — will play each other in the 8-9 game Thursday. It feels like the winner of that game will have the inside track on a bid, while the loser will probably stay home. And the Gophers, win or lose, should be safely in the field — barring a run of upsets in conference tournaments.
http://www.startribune.com/everything-broke-just-right-so-far-for-gophers-mens-basketball/506980892/
Go Gophers!!
