***OFFICIAL PENN ST AT MINNESOTA IN-GAME THREAD!!!***

I'm being talked into buying the Mitchell stock due to everyone on here. The potential is high for him, I've just always questioned the mindset. I need to buy in.
It’s a huge jump from Pepperdine to the Big Ten. He had to learn to play defense and move the ball. Has much higher ceiling than where he is now. Most importantly, he works well with Hawkins.
 

I’d like to see him really commit to the weight room and chisel up, make him stouter against downhill drives.
That would really help Mitchell. And the other things would be to reduce his number of turnovers (he had 4 yesterday) and to make sure he understands game situations better, and when to take a quick shot.

You certainly don't want to reduce his aggressive approach too much, because he can be instant offense, and the guy can shoot it-but eliminate the quick contested shots when you can get a better shot by running some offense.

And if Ben were to get a good "3" in the portal, I also wouldn't mind seeing Mitchell come off the bench to provide some scoring and energy.

From the beginning of the season, he's improved as much as anybody on the team-he's a keeper.
 

That would really help Mitchell. And the other things would be to reduce his number of turnovers (he had 4 yesterday) and to make sure he understands game situations better, and when to take a quick shot.

You certainly don't want to reduce his aggressive approach too much, because he can be instant offense, and the guy can shoot it-but eliminate the quick contested shots when you can get a better shot by running some offense.

And if Ben were to get a good "3" in the portal, I also wouldn't mind seeing Mitchell come off the bench to provide some scoring and energy.
Well put - Agreed
 

I like MM! He's a solid defender, and a darn good shooter. I believe he struggles to pass the ball under pressure. He seems to panic with the ball in his hands when he is double teamed. He could also get a bit stronger for next year. Lacks a little size but makes up for that with hussle plays. Otherwise a solid player!
 

I like MM! He's a solid defender, and a darn good shooter. I believe he struggles to pass the ball under pressure. He seems to panic with the ball in his hands when he is double teamed. He could also get a bit stronger for next year. Lacks a little size but makes up for that with hussle plays. Otherwise a solid player!
He's very intense and one of the emotional leaders. It helps him play good defense. If he could dial it down a notch on offense it would help. But probably easier said than done.
 


Somewhat of a change for Mitchell in his role here as compared to Pepperdine. More of a shooting guard here as opposed to being the point guard for Pepperdine. He’s adapted better than I thought he would.
 






My bourbon friends are on the Buffalo Trace bandwagon.
If you can find it. Pretty limited quantities in MN. Wife got me a four roses for Valentine’s Day. Not as spicy as BT but still good. 1792 is a good alternative to BT though.
 

One NIT Bracketology site has Gophers a #7 seed.


I think the Star Tribune article today says Minnesota cannot host NIT this season. Not sure, I just saw the headline on Google saying that, didn't read it.
 

One NIT Bracketology site has Gophers a #7 seed.


I think the Star Tribune article today says Minnesota cannot host NIT this season. Not sure, I just saw the headline on Google saying that, didn't read it.
Williams not available, high school tourney
 

I was only able to watch the second half. Looked like Christie was trying to drive to basket more. If he can learn to get to the hoop and if Payne can develop a short range jumper… look out!
 




Somewhat of a change for Mitchell in his role here as compared to Pepperdine. More of a shooting guard here as opposed to being the point guard for Pepperdine. He’s adapted better than I thought he would.
He brings a toughness that we haven’t seen in years as well.
 

You picked the better of the two to watch

Yes and no. True, the first half was excruciating and one had to have serious doubts that even a team that had come back from big deficits multiple times could come back from this one but seeing the first half made the comeback sweeter.
 





I was only able to watch the second half. Looked like Christie was trying to drive to basket more. If he can learn to get to the hoop and if Payne can develop a short range jumper… look out!
Next year when he adds some muscle, he's going to be very dangerous driving. You can see when he drives this year, that that added muscle would be very beneficial.
 

Mm is probably the smallest sg in the power 5. He’d be better as a 6th man ideally.
Ideally when the roster was set, I initially thought that was going to happen and be able to spell Hawkins and Carrington was going to start. But I think CBJ wanted as much ball-handeling as possible to start the game and eventually rolled with it. That and Mitchell started getting after it on defense.
 

Ideally when the roster was set, I initially thought that was going to happen and be able to spell Hawkins and Carrington was going to start. But I think CBJ wanted as much ball-handeling as possible to start the game and eventually rolled with it. That and Mitchell started getting after it on defense.

Carrington did start the first ten games of the season, so I think that was the plan. Mitchell took over the starting duties when Carrington took the mental health break at Xmas time and Mitchell played so well there was no way Johnson could take him out. And, he has started every game since.

Mitchell has been great for us. I think way underrated by people on this board. His defense spurred the entire comeback on Saturday. And Holy Man is correct. His toughness is something this team needs and feeds.
 


Carrington did start the first ten games of the season, so I think that was the plan. Mitchell took over the starting duties when Carrington took the mental health break at Xmas time and Mitchell played so well there was no way Johnson could take him out. And, he has started every game since.

Mitchell has been great for us. I think way underrated by people on this board. His defense spurred the entire comeback on Saturday. And Holy Man is correct. His toughness is something this team needs and feeds.
His offensive numbers are very comparable to Christie. He has been a good addition.
 

His offensive numbers are very comparable to Christie. He has been a good addition.
Mitchell is clearly an important part of the team, but I am with those that would love to see us be in a position to slide him into a 6th man role.

Only way that happens though is if we bring in a starting caliber player from the portal and that may or may not be in the cards depending on who decides to come back next year.
 

One possible explanation would be the conference as a whole isn't nearly as good as previous years. Defense.
Probably has something to do with it. It does feel like more teams are more up-tempo. I think scoring is up across college basketball as a whole.
 

Was any one else surprised at how high Christie got on his baseline dunk? He was way up there!

Put 15 lbs on Cam and with that lift he will be worth the price of admission by himself!

As for Mitchell, he is a very nice complementary player. If we could pick up a bigger SG or SF, he may make us better off the bench but I’m fine with him.


As for bourbon, I had some nice Blantons yesterday!
 


One possible explanation would be the conference as a whole isn't nearly as good as previous years.

The quantitative evidence continues to refute that claim while jokers like you continue to make it. The conference is rated second best this year by rating indexes just like it was last year. Using a simpler but more easily verifiable measure, the conference's winning percentage this season is the highest of the past five seasons. The clearly lowest winning percentage during that period was the pandemic season (20-21).

Now, the conference's winning percentage this season is below the average of the five seasons prior to the most recent five but not by much. One might be able to make a good argument that the Big Ten's recent history is weaker than the period spanning 5 to 15 years ago but the claim that the conference is weaker this season than the most recent seasons is not supported.

The evidence that many clods around here have used to claim that the conference is really weak in this particular year is that there are only two ranked teams currently. That's only slightly more convincing than saying "there's no global warming because it's cold out today."
 
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