BleedGopher
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per Greder:
Parallels exist between the Gophers men’s basketball team’s current season and last year’s.
Last season, Minnesota lost a heartbreaking road game to a struggling Nebraska team on Feb. 13 — a game that left coach Richard Pitino furious over pivotal officiating calls against the U. At that point, the Gophers’ NCAA tournament hopes looked like a long shot.
Pitino acknowledged he feels stressed and has had sleepless nights as the need to produce grows and the time to do it in shrinks. But he’s trying to stay in the moment, and is working to keep his players there, too.
“You narrow your focus to the next play,” Pitino said. “You just try to get them to not necessarily focus on the result of the game, but just chip away every four minutes (of the game).”
The Gophers are currently 12th in the 14-team Big Ten and will be counting on the NCAA tournament selection committee to increase the record eight conference teams which got into the Big Dance a year ago. ESPN, for instance, has 10 Big Ten teams in this year’s tournament in its latest projection.
“One thing the committee has shown is league standings don’t matter,” Pitino said. “… They care about the whole body of work, from November to March; that’s what they care about. … The game has changed, you don’t need 20 wins to get in anymore. You don’t need to be above .500, whether or not you think that is right or wrong. … They have said they want you to play tough schedules and then seem to be judging on the quality of our wins.”
www.twincities.com
Go Gophers!!
Parallels exist between the Gophers men’s basketball team’s current season and last year’s.
Last season, Minnesota lost a heartbreaking road game to a struggling Nebraska team on Feb. 13 — a game that left coach Richard Pitino furious over pivotal officiating calls against the U. At that point, the Gophers’ NCAA tournament hopes looked like a long shot.
Pitino acknowledged he feels stressed and has had sleepless nights as the need to produce grows and the time to do it in shrinks. But he’s trying to stay in the moment, and is working to keep his players there, too.
“You narrow your focus to the next play,” Pitino said. “You just try to get them to not necessarily focus on the result of the game, but just chip away every four minutes (of the game).”
The Gophers are currently 12th in the 14-team Big Ten and will be counting on the NCAA tournament selection committee to increase the record eight conference teams which got into the Big Dance a year ago. ESPN, for instance, has 10 Big Ten teams in this year’s tournament in its latest projection.
“One thing the committee has shown is league standings don’t matter,” Pitino said. “… They care about the whole body of work, from November to March; that’s what they care about. … The game has changed, you don’t need 20 wins to get in anymore. You don’t need to be above .500, whether or not you think that is right or wrong. … They have said they want you to play tough schedules and then seem to be judging on the quality of our wins.”
Now or never. Gophers men’s basketball must go on run to make NCAA tournament
Parallels exist between the Gophers men’s basketball team’s current season and last year’s. Last season, Minnesota lost a heartbreaking road game to a struggling Nebraska team on Feb. 13 — a game t…
www.twincities.com
Go Gophers!!