Is it possible for Gophs to go 6-2 the rest of the way?

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Sota1

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Michigan - Should Win
Northwestern - They don't seem that good! Winning 1st two will set the pace for the home stand
Wisconsin - If we win the first two we will be jacked - W
Indiana - At home = big win
Purdue - Toughest game - I will mark this a Loss
Illinois- Need to win this one or Michigan away - L
Michigan - Either one of these are winnable - W
Iowa - Win

That gets us to 6-2 (11-7). All the games we should be in, just a matter of which team shows up. At a minimum need to win one of the big home games along with one of the Ill/Mich games. Then take care of the other games that we should be favored to win. Glass half full?? Maybe...
 

1) Of course it is possible. Anything is possible. Likely? No. I would say the most likely scenario is the Gophers finishing out 5-3 with wins coming against Michigan twice, Indiana, Iowa, and stealing one from NW in Evanston. That means losses to Purdue, Wisconsin, and Illinois. I think the NW game in Evanston could go either way. They are always dangerous late in the B10 season.

2) The toughest game will be the Wisconsin game, not Purdue.

3) I think you are right. They need one big win along with the must haves (Michigan, Iowa, Indiana). The question is can they do that against Purdue and Wisconsin? My best guess is no, but it all depends on which team shows up to play (as you stated).
 

Sota

Sota1 said:
Michigan - Should Win
Northwestern - They don't seem that good! Winning 1st two will set the pace for the home stand
Wisconsin - If we win the first two we will be jacked - W
Indiana - At home = big win
Purdue - Toughest game - I will mark this a Loss
Illinois- Need to win this one or Michigan away - L
Michigan - Either one of these are winnable - W
Iowa - Win

That gets us to 6-2 (11-7). All the games we should be in, just a matter of which team shows up. At a minimum need to win one of the big home games along with one of the Ill/Mich games. Then take care of the other games that we should be favored to win. Glass half full?? Maybe...
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YES!

Absolutely possible!

Go Gophers!!
 


Michigan is a very bad matchup for us. Their offense is all about jacking up 3's, and the biggest problem our ball line defense has is defending against the 3 point shot. That combined with the fact that michigan takes advantage of a 1-3-1 zone like Northwestern, which we always seem to struggle with.. I think we're a better team than Michigan, but they are a matchup nightmare for us.
 


I think we will have to wait until the NW game to get a better feel. Although odds are against us at NW, provided that Sampson continues to play well, we may actually have a favorable match-up. If we win there, I think there is a good chance that we will go 6-2 as Purdue, Wisconsin, and at Michigan are more or less 50-50.

Even if we lose at NW, we can still go 5-3. As long as we beat both Wisconsin and Purdue in that scenario, we will be alright.

If not, I will wait till the season is over to find a scapegoat. :)
 

Possible, yes. Likely, no. I'm surprised how many people just wanna' chalk up Northwestern as a win. Of our three remaining road games, I'm least confident about the Northwestern game. I think they're better than both Michigan and Illinois, and I say that knowing we haven't won in Champaign-Urbana in ages. Illinois this season, you never know what you're going to get, so we may catch them on the right night.

Assuming Northwestern gets by Iowa mid-week, the Wildcats (and fans) will have Welsh-Ryan juiced perhaps like it's never been juiced before. It will be a chance for them to get over .500 (very late in the season) in the Big 10, while at the same time knocking off one of their two main competitors for an at-large bid. It's going to be a hornet's nest for the Gophers, and it's not like we've dominated Northwestern in recent times.

I agree with Streetfighter. ... I like our chances better against Purdue than Wisconsin. That said, we really need to win both.
 

saber

Saber said:
Michigan is a very bad matchup for us. Their offense is all about jacking up 3's, and the biggest problem our ball line defense has is defending against the 3 point shot. That combined with the fact that michigan takes advantage of a 1-3-1 zone like Northwestern, which we always seem to struggle with.. I think we're a better team than Michigan, but they are a matchup nightmare for us.
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I tend to agree but the Wolverines have stunk up so many games this year I have to give us the edge at least in the Barn.

I hope they live up to their season average of 29% from the three when we meet them.

http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2009-2010/mich.html#team.tem
 

My bet is 4-4 with wins against Iowa, Mich, Indiana, and Purdue, all at home.
 



Barnyard Road Trip is to NU again this year. The students presence didn't result in a win last year but 150 loud fans can't hurt.
 


Northwestern

The Gophers will win thurs against Mich. The big game is sunday against Northwestern. A win and that separates the Gophs from NW. Northwestern has a real easy schedule down the stretch..

10-8 will get the in if one of the wins is over Purdue or Wisc.
 

We are a completely different team at home than we are on the road. I feel confident that we will beat either Purdue or Wisconsin at home, and should win the rest of our home games. Winning 2 of the 3 road games will be a challenge. A win against NW would be huge this weekend, but I think we will go 1 out of 3 on the road and finish 5-3. I don't know if that will get us in, but it should put us squarely on the bubble.
 



NW scares me more as a 3pt shooting team then Michigan does. They put up just as many as Michigan while making 36.8% and leading the Big Ten in 3PM. I'm pretty confident they have no inside presence in Mirkovic and Rowley, but they can get really hot behind the arc with multiple shooters in Shurna, Juice, Marcotullio, Nash, and Crawford.

How do you improve 3pt defense with the ball line defense?
 

I think we're fully capable of winning all 5 of the home games, honestly. There comes a time when you just gotta protect the home court, and at this point, it's really the only hope for an NCAA berth IMO. Get all five at home. Maybe @ Michigan, and there you go.

Of course, history says they won't likely beat Purdue, so Wisconsin is a must. Then now you gotta steal one @ Northwestern or @ Illinois. Admittedly, I do like our chances at Northwestern than at Illinois simply cause it has been so ridiculously long since we won there. I know NU isn't a pushover or anything, but I think we should be able to go there and get a W. That's a tough one though.
 

I feel more confident in the Wisconsin game (if we win the first two), because we seem to match up a little better. Plus the border rivalry makes this a pride game as well. Purdue seems to have our number. That being said they will both be great matchups. Can't wait for the stetch of 3 home games in a week coming up!
 

Michigan - WIN
Northwestern - LOSS
Wisconsin - LOSS
Indiana - WIN
Purdue - LOSS
Illinois- LOSS
Michigan - WIN
Iowa - WIN

4 Wins and 4 Losses
FINAL REGULAR SEASON RECORD 18 - 12
1 Win in Big Ten Tourn. 1 loss 19 - 13
NIT 1 LOSS
FINAL 2009-2010 RECORD 19-14

That is my prediction

Certainly not what was expected at the beginning of the season but considering all
that has happened not the worst disaster either.
The biggest thing for the team now is the players attitude.

Do they want to fight for all they can or do they consider the season a disappointment
and just want to get it over with? Sometimes the latter happens to teams at this point in
the season. When they get tired and think that they may NOT be going to the big dance
they just want it over.

Tubby has a history of getting players to fight to the very end.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Possible, yes. Likely, no. I'm surprised how many people just wanna' chalk up Northwestern as a win. Of our three remaining road games, I'm least confident about the Northwestern game. I think they're better than both Michigan and Illinois, and I say that knowing we haven't won in Champaign-Urbana in ages. Illinois this season, you never know what you're going to get, so we may catch them on the right night.

Assuming Northwestern gets by Iowa mid-week, the Wildcats (and fans) will have Welsh-Ryan juiced perhaps like it's never been juiced before. It will be a chance for them to get over .500 (very late in the season) in the Big 10, while at the same time knocking off one of their two main competitors for an at-large bid. It's going to be a hornet's nest for the Gophers, and it's not like we've dominated Northwestern in recent times.

I agree with Streetfighter. ... I like our chances better against Purdue than Wisconsin. That said, we really need to win both.
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I've been to a number of games at Welsh-Ryan and it has never been intimidating to other teams at all, so I will believe it when I see it. I will say the loudest I've ever seen it was last year during the Gopher game when NU came back, but I think that was just to spite the 500 or so Gopher fans that shouted their fans out of the gym before the game and in the first half.

I don't agree with everybody that thinks NU is good this year, but the 1-3-1 is nearly impossible for the Gophers to break for some reason, so I'm worried about Northwestern and Michigan.
 

Not sure why everyone thinks Michigan games are wins. We lost twice to them last year and we are playing worse than last year. They still have Manny Harris. We'll be lucky to split with them.
 

chi-town gopher said:
I don't agree with everybody that thinks NU is good this year, but the 1-3-1 is nearly impossible for the Gophers to break for some reason, so I'm worried about Northwestern and Michigan.
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I saw NW playing 1-3-1, match-up, and other junks. Intuitively, 1-3-1 is vulnerable along the baseline. Hence, we need good ball movement to get good looks from the corners without getting trapped. Also, a generous mix of backdoor cuts and low post attacks are a good way to beat 1-3-1. Somehow, we do not move well without the ball. So, if Sampson continues to play well at low post, we may have a chance there.
 

Also, Beilein's motion offense and NW's Princeton are not that different. Michigan will provide additional preparation for NW's Princeton offense. Obviously, Michigan has been shooting horrendously from behind the arc. Considering that Beilein's motion offense relies heavily upon perimeter shooting, it is no wonder how low Michigan has fallen.
 

It absolutely is possible. Protect home court. That is key number 1. Is it really that unbelievable to think we can't win the 5 games at home?

Also, 5-3 could get us in the tournament if those 5 wins are at home. That means 2 quality wins over Wisconsin, and a very highly ranked Purdue team. Is it also unbelievable to think we can't win at least 1 on the road against NW, Ill, or MI? Very doable. We obviously are hoping for a win at NW on Sunday. But after that, let's root for NW to win. It makes the win earlier this year against them look better.

Being a 6 seed in the BTT tournament, would also not be the end of the world. Obviously a win against Penn State would be a must. But then we're setting ourselves up against the 3 seed, which could be either WI, ILL, or OSU. Who would u rather have in that 3 spot? Wisconsin or Illiinois IMO. So I'm hoping OSU drops a few more games.
 

It's certainly possible we go 6-2, but it is also possible we go 3-5. I'll settle on a 4-4 prediction. There are just too many close calls. Indiana and Iowa should be in the bag but other than that every game worries me. I'd be feeling a lot better about the Michigan games if we didn't drop both last year. I could see a split easily, we haven't looked very good since Nolen left.

That being said, one of the reasons we all love sports is...anything can happen!
 

I wouldn't count on beating NW given the Gophers poor play on the road...IF they beat NW, they should then win 3 straight over Wisconsin, IU and Purdue.

I think 4-4 is likely and 5-3 is more realistic...6-2 is a pipe dream for this team.
 

Wisconsin is overrated....we are going to beat them. Just like last year.
 

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