***OFFICIAL #17 MICHIGAN STATE AT #21 MINNESOTA IN-GAME THREAD***

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GophersInIowa said:
The effort has been great the past few games. And there’s still a lot of improvement that can be made. I know Gabe gets a lot of criticism for his shooting but his defense was excellent once again. Get him and Gach going offensively and look out.
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Agreed. Watched the game with my dad tonight, and we both thought he played very well defensively, especially against Henry.
 

golf said:
Ok. Grimm needs to get a grip. Just said gophs havent beaten ranked teams back to back in 20 years as the last time it happened was 2010 in big ten tournament.
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Last time Gophers beat ranked teams in back-to-back games was 2010 Big Ten Tournament. Beat #11 Michigan State and #9 Purdue.

Gopher_In_NYC said:
Actually 2013 IIRC per the broadcast.
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Last time the Gophers played in a Big Ten game when both teams were ranked was 2013. #18 MN lost to #12 Michigan State.
 

Strib headline: Gophers get unexpected refurbishment of Williams Arena started with bricks donated by Coach Izzo’s Spartans!
 


leib0039 said:
The thing i feel most shocked about is that I don't feel like anyone (i suppose Robbins) really played amazingly. Robbins good, Carr good etc but wasn't like a WHOA CARR HAD 40 or Johnson is 8/9 from 3 game. Gabe continues to be terrible on offense, Gach looks lost on that end, Mash struggled and we still pounded Michigan state!

I know its not a need at this point but I want a little more Mutaf, dude looks smooth on offense! Maybe its blowout related but I have to think he could be a nice guy to get hot in any given 4 min stretch
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Ya, like you, I didn't think we played that well either. I did think Gabe did look better offensively though. He had a couple shots where his stroke was sweet. I have not seen that before tonight.

Both has got to play better...he looks lost on both ends. He is so much better than this.

Mutaf is going to get shots up, no question! ha And I think he makes most of them. He's a gunner. We haven't had many...won't be shocked if he does a Brandon Johnson Iowa impersonation given the opportunity.
 

60's Guy said:
Mutaf is going to get shots up, no question! ha And I think he makes most of them. He's a gunner. We haven't had many...won't be shocked if he does a Brandon Johnson Iowa impersonation given the opportunity.
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People always love the young bench guys that come in and score a couple buckets, but this feels different.. kid looks like a baller. Very smooth, strong and his defence appears to be solid too.
 

Interesting, who would have thought that we would be able to play the whole team against MSU! We didn’t even get to do it in our short preseason. Great feeling.
 

That was fun. I have seen way too many beat downs by Izzo that this was satisfying all the way to the end.

Glad to see a dominate game that didn’t require Carr to have a bunch of points. That’s a great sign for the sustainability of this success.
 



How high will Lunardi have gophs seeded tomorrow?
 








tjgopher said:
Last time Gophers beat ranked teams in back-to-back games was 2010 Big Ten Tournament. Beat #11 Michigan State and #9 Purdue.




Last time the Gophers played in a Big Ten game when both teams were ranked was 2013. #18 MN lost to #12 Michigan State.
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Txs. I might have misunderstood it too. Weird we’re even having conversations about, these types of things, Marcus will likely sort all this out in his article - he likes the history.

Would be cool if both are true. I was on the TV broadcast, so that’s what I was referring to. Hummel. Who is growing on me, and pro us - makes sense as an ex Wolfe, said we were linking MSU- 😆.
I like bully ball
 
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This is going to be a great team...they defend, most important thing and they make freethrows. These two things are about discipline. We have a bench of 7 players who can put in some minutes...four who will get minutes every game. That will give our starters legs as the season wears on. The one thing that concerned me before this game was rebounding...and they showed great progress in that. A team that can make progress from game to game gets unstoppable by tournament time. The last thing that excites me is just how good everyone is...they all have something to contribute and as they get used to playing together (6 of the 12 players are new to the team! Think about that!), they will only get better. It's going to be a fun season! Is it going to be the best one in ages and we can't go to a game?!?!
 

HOOP DREAMS said:
People always love the young bench guys that come in and score a couple buckets, but this feels different.. kid looks like a baller. Very smooth, strong and his defence appears to be solid too.
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I am really intrigued with Mutaf. No question the kid can score, my concern is can he D up? Thought it was interesting that they had him cover Henry when he went in. I think that was Pitino trying to get the answer on the D question. When he moves he appears to be slow, but he is still keeping up or even getting by guys, so apparently he is not slow, but it sure looks like it. Some guys are like that where they don't look like they are moving well but actually are, Mutaf may be one.

What I found interesting was his stance was not good, but he still moved fairly well and for the most part stayed in front of Henry. Now it was a small sample, but I really think Pitino needs to give him some more run and see if he can play D or not. If he can, you really need to give him some more minutes.
 
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Gopher Teeth said:
I am really intrigued with Mutaf. No question the kid can score, my concern is can he D up? Thought it was interesting that they had him cover Henry when he went in. I think that was Pitino trying to get the answer on the D question. What I found interesting was his stance was not good, but he still moved fairly well and for the most part stayed in front of Henry. Now it was a small sample, but I really think Pitino needs to give him some more run and see if he can play D or not. If he can you really need to give him some more minutes.
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The cool thing is Pitino can watch him play defense every day against really really good players. I have a feeling in practice sometimes they have him guard other people, not just stand in the corner. I also feel like Pitino wants to win games and will play who he thinks gives him the best chance to do that. If Mutaf deserved a bunch of time I think he'd be getting it. Just my opinion.
 

The last time I saw the Gophers beat up on MSU like this was 1997 at the Breslin Center, in Izzo's second year, when he and his team were still trying to find themselves. (They were better by later in the season, when they kept it close at Williams Arena.)

I don't doubt that Michigan State will be much better, if not a force to be reckoned with, before it's all over this season. Now was definitely the time to play them. But I have to say, this is one of the less physically imposing Spartan teams I can remember watching.
 

Bad Gopher said:
The last time I saw the Gophers beat up on MSU like this was 1997 at the Breslin Center, in Izzo's second year, when he and his team were still trying to find themselves. (They were better by later in the season, when they kept it close at Williams Arena.)

I don't doubt that Michigan State will be much better, if not a force to be reckoned with, before it's all over this season. Now was definitely the time to play them. But I have to say, this is one of the less physically imposing Spartan teams I can remember watching.
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Agreed. They didn't have a guy out there that scared me. Usually they have a couple oversized wings or a thick post. Hauser? Watts? They do nothing to scare me. Henry I know is good but didn't look the part last night
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
Txs. I might have misunderstood it too. Weird we’re even having conversations about, these types of things, Marcus will likely sort all this out in his article - he likes the history.

Would be cool if both are true. I was on the TV broadcast, so that’s what I was referring to. Hummel. Who is growing on me, and pro us - makes sense as an ex Wolfe, said we were linking MSU- 😆.
I like bully ball
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I like Hummel as well. He doesnt feel like he has to fill every second with words. Also will actually say things that arent captain obvious - he is more like Morneau and less like Blyleven which is a good thing.
 



golf said:
I like Hummel as well. He doesnt feel like he has to fill every second with words. Also will actually say things that arent captain obvious - he is more like Morneau and less like Blyleven which is a good thing.
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Great comp and maybe we'll get him again on Thursday.

I loved Bert's pitching and would have been great play behind - lots of strikes and a quick worker. I think he would have also made me want to stuff him in a locker on occasion.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
I am enjoying your optimism. I don't necessarily agree but I don't disagree this team can be really good.
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Remember, i do not look through a biased lens for that optimism . It is from 70 plus years of being taught what to look for. This team showed me the roster versatility right away and then Illinois showed me the closeness they had developed and since then they have become more connected, they play continual, they trust each other. Lower and wider on defense, great energy go a long way. The best teams coaches have are player lead teams and this team is becoming that way.If the stay to that they can withstand rough patches, stay in games, win close games.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
Great comp and maybe we'll get him again on Thursday.

I loved Bert's pitching and would have been great play behind - lots of strikes and a quick worker. I think he would have also made me want to stuff him in a locker on occasion.
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Yeah, the last couple years i would watch twins' games on mute if Bert was in the booth.
 

builtbadgers said:
And if Loyer plays 15 minutes we will run iso and score everytime. IZZO wants to play him 25 for his shooting but he is a huge liability on defense. I am thinking we smell blood period knowing we are the better team right now.
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gopherguy15 said:
That was a fun beatdown to watch! Three big-time victories in a row now (I'm betting that MSU will figure it out and go on a run at some point).

Poor USAF. The Gophers ruined his Christmas, and now made his Monday even worse.
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Don't forget to add New Years Eve.
 

I thought Iowa win was sweeter

but the MSU win gives me more confidence. We're not going to win many games being killed on boards like we did vs IA, but if we play like we did last night, we can be dangerous team
 

builtbadgers said:
Remember, i do not look through a biased lens for that optimism . It is from 70 plus years of being taught what to look for. This team showed me the roster versatility right away and then Illinois showed me the closeness they had developed and since then they have become more connected, they play continual, they trust each other. Lower and wider on defense, great energy go a long way. The best teams coaches have are player lead teams and this team is becoming that way.If the stay to that they can withstand rough patches, stay in games, win close games.
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Pitino has brought in a group of talented transfers that can serve as role models on what it takes to win. They are an instant boost to the team culture of tough defense and hard work. You can see it in the younger players. You can preach it all you want, but it only becomes the culture if the players actually do it. It then gets passed down from class to class.

Pitino has not been the most successful in trying to do this in the past for a variety of reasons. It is still early, but hopefully this is the right mix to launch the standard for decades to come.
 

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