Sid: Gophers basketball title drought gets longer, but team clings to NCAA hopes

[BleedGopher]

per Sid:

Minnesota suffered one of the most difficult losses in recent memory Wednesday night at Williams Arena, when No. 9 Maryland used a 10-1 rally over the final 2 minutes, 2 seconds to steal a 74-73 victory on Darryl Morsell’s three-pointer with 1.9 seconds left. The Gophers battled the Terrapins every inch of the way for a victory they deserved, but couldn’t hold on to what was once a 17-point lead.

The Gophers have lost several close games they could have won with a few breaks going their way. Coach Richard Pitino said after the game that the loss was one of the toughest of his career.

“It was the most difficult game I have been a part of, seeing so many great things in the first half,” Pitino said. “We missed some crucial free throws in the second half and gave up some offensive rebounds and they hit a really tough shot at the end there.”

The Gophers have now lost three consecutive home games to Iowa, Indiana and Maryland by a combined 14 points.

“It has been very difficult, we could have won all three of them,” Pitino said. “I feel for our guys. They’re playing hard and I need to get them back and positive again.”

Gophers basketball title drought gets longer, but team clings to NCAA hopes

Coffey, Curry would have made them Big Ten contenders, but now NCAA bid is uphill climb.

www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[BleedGopher]

Sid continues:

Tournament chance?

Do the Gophers still have an NCAA tournament shot? They are 45th in the country in NET ranking, which is an NCAA calculation the selection committee relies heavily on when picking teams for the tournament.

ESPN.com currently has 10 Big Ten clubs making the NCAA tournament, double any other college conference.

Ken Pomeroy, who does college basketball ratings which the NCAA also considers, has the Gophers ranked as the 32nd-best team in the nation.


One reason they have a shot to make the field is that Pomeroy has 12 Big Ten teams ranked in the top 36 clubs in the country. There isn’t another conference producing that level of quality basketball.

So if the Gophers can finish around .500 in conference play, or maybe win a few games at the Big Ten tournament, they could still realistically make the field.

As ESPN.com wrote of the Gophers’ tournament chances: “The Golden Gophers are 13-14 and looking for a miracle. More specifically, looking for one that will work in their favor this time.”

Gophers basketball title drought gets longer, but team clings to NCAA hopes

Coffey, Curry would have made them Big Ten contenders, but now NCAA bid is uphill climb.

www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[Otis]

The Gophers are currently 13-14 with a 7-10 conference record?

Say they sweep @Wisconsin, @Indiana and Nebraska. That would leave them at 16- 14, 10-10.
Going 1-1 in the tourney would be 17-15. Would that get them in?

 

[ole1710]

I think 18 - 15 would, only because 17-15 they only have one win over top 6 in big ten in last 4 games. Beating Indiana (big if) Nebraska, weekling weds would not give you enough quality. Now if they win all that plus wisc and thurs big ten tourney game they are squarely back on the bubble in my belief. If they were somehow to get to 19-15 I think they are in. 3 quality wins all on the road or at a neutral site.

 

[Outsider]

The Gophers are currently 13-14 with a 7-10 conference record?

Say they sweep @Wisconsin, @Indiana and Nebraska. That would leave them at 16- 14, 10-10.
Going 1-1 in the tourney would be 17-15. Would that get them in?

If they went 2-1 in the tourney after winning the next 3, I would hazard a guess that they would be one of the last ones in and have a game in Dayton. I’m just thinking out loud though. I’m wondering how much is left in the tank after Wednesday.

 

[cjbfbp]

The Gophers are currently 13-14 with a 7-10 conference record?

Say they sweep @Wisconsin, @Indiana and Nebraska. That would leave them at 16- 14, 10-10.
Going 1-1 in the tourney would be 17-15. Would that get them in?

Well, I don't think that will happen but I don't think they should get into the tournament with a 17-15 record even if that happens.

If a team gets to the NCAA tournament with that record, then there is something wrong with the ranking system. If 11 teams from a 14 team conference get in, then there is something wrong with the ranking system. We played 6 power conference teams outside of the Big Ten and we lost to 4 of them. The ones we beat were 14-13 Clemson and 14-14 Oklahoma State. We are not good. We've had some good games but we are not good.

Our conference is ridiculously over-hyped this season. Wisconsin is sitting at 11-6 in the conference but they lost to St. Marys, Richmond, New Mexico, and North Carolina State outside of conference. Iowa is sitting at 10-7 in the league despite having only 7 or 8 healthy scholarship players for almost the whole year. The clear league front-runner needed a great shot at the end to beat us by one point a couple of days ago.

 

[Parcival]

Well, I don't think that will happen but I don't think they should get into the tournament with a 17-15 record even if that happens.

If a team gets to the NCAA tournament with that record, then there is something wrong with the ranking system. If 11 teams from a 14 team conference get in, then there is something wrong with the ranking system. We played 6 power conference teams outside of the Big Ten and we lost to 4 of them. The ones we beat were 14-13 Clemson and 14-14 Oklahoma State. We are not good. We've had some good games but we are not good.

Our conference is ridiculously over-hyped this season. Wisconsin is sitting at 11-6 in the conference but they lost to St. Marys, Richmond, New Mexico, and North Carolina State outside of conference. Iowa is sitting at 10-7 in the league despite having only 7 or 8 healthy scholarship players for almost the whole year. The clear league front-runner needed a great shot at the end to beat us by one point a couple of days ago.

If we're overhyped where does that leave the rest of the P5 conferences? The SEC and ACC are both junk this year compared to the B1G. Top to bottom we have the most competitive conference by far.