***OFFICIAL Buckears AT MINNESOTA BOUNCE BACK IN-GAME THREAD!!!***

[BleedGopher]

Coach Pitino chimes in:


Go Gophers!!

 

[Go Gophs]

Ohio St and Michigan St both creamed in the same week, this team is different.

Let's hope so.

1-1 would be great IMO.

Michigan is hot and Iowa is just good. That said, I EXPECT us to beat Michigan and for the Iowa game to come down to the wire and go either way.

After watching Robbins the last few games, I am much more confident in this squad. Now we have an inside prescence that can score, protect the rim and heck, he can even hit one from outside once in awhile.

This team is not just Carr like it looked like at the start of the season. We are 8 strong for the first time since Richard has been coach.

 

[Otis]

Let's hope so.

1-1 would be great IMO.

Michigan is hot and Iowa is just good. That said, I EXPECT us to beat Michigan and for the Iowa game to come down to the wire and go either way.

After watching Robbins the last few games, I am much more confident in this squad. Now we have an inside prescence that can score, protect the rim and heck, he can even hit one from outside once in awhile.

This team is not just Carr like it looked like at the start of the season. We are 8 strong for the first time since Richard has been coach.

Agreed, feel like the Gophers should have gone inside against Whisky when their shots weren't falling and used Liam.

 

[Some guy]

Agreed, feel like the Gophers should have gone inside against Whisky when their shots weren't falling and used Liam.

Agree. However, Wisconsin’s big is a really solid defender
Illinois big is a beast


the gophers are going to beat good teams in three ways
Everyone is shooting okay
Carr goes off
Roberts dominates inside


against a couple of teams number 3 is much less plausible. Robert’s is really good but the big ten has a lot of good bigs

 

[Gopher-in-Keno]

I was disappointed in Gach's on ball defense yesterday. He was blown by numerous times, which either leads to a bucket or fouls a lot of the time. I know he's tall, but he doesn't seem to get low enough or move his feet very well. Is it a lack of effort?

 

[Chico Gopher]

I was concerned about this game going in as it was just so crucial. Great start from Gach, great game from Robbins. Encouraging that Carr wasn't putting up numbers and was fine moving the ball and not forcing things. The key to the game was obviously getting the ball to Robbins in the post and he did a great of converting down there and his shot blocking on the other end of the court was huge as well.

Since Gabe has taken a lot of abuse, I wanted to single him out specifically. He did a great job defensively and it seems like it's far more noticeable to most when he misses a 3 than when for instance tonight Both gives up two straight strong hand drives for layups and then commits a foul on the third possession. Gabe is just so far and away our best defender that he needs to be on the floor even when he struggles with his shot. Great to see him knock down some big ones tonight and hope he can build on it going forward.

My one negative is this team is going to need Isaiah Ihnen or Tre Williams to step up and be a legitimate positive part of the rotation. It would be ideal if it's Ihnen due to the bigs frequent foul trouble in front of him, but at this point I'd settle for either one. Eric Curry tries really hard out there and plays smart, but he's just so limited in what he can do. Ihnen had a nice block at one point, but struggled defenisvely and on the boards and both he and Williams made some loud mistakes.

The team will stay ranked for a 2nd week and gets back above .500 in conference play which is where they need to be.

One of the best moments of the game for me came when Robbins went to the floor, diving for a loose ball near the 3-point line, then somehow got up and recovered enough to block a shot at the rim like 2-3 seconds after being prone on the floor! I thought that was pretty amazing for a big.

I'm in agreement that it's a little frustrating that we don't yet know what we're going to get from Ihnen and Tre when they hit the floor. Sometimes great, sometimes fine and sometimes ugh. I know that usually affects the confidence a coach has when trying to work them into the rotation. The good news is that they're obviously very talented and still pretty young, there's still time for them to get to where they need to be.

 

[UpAndUnder43]

Tre and Ihnen are role players coming off the bench. Same with Curry and Mini-Mash. You combine the 4 of them, you have 2 good bench players every night, in theory. Each of them has had huge games/moments this year, Tre being the least so far. Curry does what he needs to do, doesn't get a ton of minutes but is an effective enough defender and tries. Mash gets some solid run and can knock down shots. Ihnen rebounds the hell out of the ball, defends and can shoot (shot selection is questionable!)

All-in-all, I like our bench just fine. Its short with no Omersa and Mutaf but they weren't playing much.

 

[Chico Gopher]

I

I was disappointed in Gach's on ball defense yesterday. He was blown by numerous times, which either leads to a bucket or fouls a lot of the time. I know he's tall, but he doesn't seem to get low enough or move his feet very well. Is it a lack of effort?

I don't know if I'd call it a lack of effort. Possibly more a lack of focus or maybe his offensive troubles have affected his defense (which should never happen, but it does at all levels of hoops). It could also be a huge jump in caliber of competition and he's just not adjusting as fast as Robbins is.

 

[Some guy]

Mashburn is getting better.

He has poor shot selection at times but I think coach sees the potential and wants him to develop because he seems to have a long leash with mashburn

 

[Otis]

I

I don't know if I'd call it a lack of effort. Possibly more a lack of focus or maybe his offensive troubles have affected his defense (which should never happen, but it does at all levels of hoops). It could also be a huge jump in caliber of competition and he's just not adjusting as fast as Robbins is.

Drake>>>>>>>B1G
Utah>>>>>B1G

I'd argue Gach doesn't have nearly the jump in competition that Robbins has had.

But yes, Liam is having a Thor like effect on the Gopher basketball team this season!

 

[UpAndUnder43]

Mashburn is getting better.

He has poor shot selection at times but I think coach sees the potential and wants him to develop because he seems to have a long leash with mashburn

For a freshman I feel like he has been solid. Shot selection needs work but you could probably say that about the entire team. He handles the ball pretty well, plays solid defense and has had a couple biggish scoring games (10 vs BC, 10 vs OSU, 8 vs Iowa) so I like that he can provide some offense off the bench

 

[Gopher-in-Keno]

Mashburn is getting better.

He has poor shot selection at times but I think coach sees the potential and wants him to develop because he seems to have a long leash with mashburn

Those contested shots just inside the 3 point line are frustrating, it was encouraging to see him finish a tough one at the rim yesterday though!

 

[cjbfbp]

Agree. However, Wisconsin’s big is a really solid defender
Illinois big is a beast


the gophers are going to beat good teams in three ways
Everyone is shooting okay
Carr goes off
Roberts dominates inside


against a couple of teams number 3 is much less plausible. Robert’s is really good but the big ten has a lot of good bigs

Good post. Michigan also has an outstanding freshman center and another very good, albeit shorter, big man in Franz Wagner. Robbins dominating inside like he did against Ohio State might be much tougher. We still don't have a reliable 3rd scorer. At the start of the OSU game, Gach looked like he might hit 20 but finished with only 10. Gabe had his best shooting game of the season but no free throw attempts, a factor where he has been very valuable this season. After exploding against Iowa, Johnson has averaged less than 8 points in the last three games. Mashburn also had his best shooting game of the season but that's only the second time he's reached 10 points. No one else on the team offers much hope of getting into double figures.

 

[golf]

Thought it was interesting that Holtmann commented on he felt his team was not prepared for how physical the gophers played - bigs and guards.

 

[golf]

Let's hope so.

1-1 would be great IMO.

Michigan is hot and Iowa is just good. That said, I EXPECT us to beat Michigan and for the Iowa game to come down to the wire and go either way.

After watching Robbins the last few games, I am much more confident in this squad. Now we have an inside prescence that can score, protect the rim and heck, he can even hit one from outside once in awhile.

This team is not just Carr like it looked like at the start of the season. We are 8 strong for the first time since Richard has been coach.

NW stayed zone for 10 minutes of the first half and got destroyed in it. Dont think we have played zone all season so no worries there. I like your optimism regarding the Michigan game but dont share it . Just so hard to win on the road.

 

[WriterGoph]

Agree. However, Wisconsin’s big is a really solid defender
Illinois big is a beast


the gophers are going to beat good teams in three ways
Everyone is shooting okay
Carr goes off
Roberts dominates inside


against a couple of teams number 3 is much less plausible. Robert’s is really good but the big ten has a lot of good bigs

Who is Roberts?

 

[Some guy]

Who is Roberts?

It’s what I call Robbins lol

 

[Otis]

It’s what I call Robbins lol

No one would lose to the Dread Pirate Rollins.

 

[golf]

No one would lose to the Dread Pirate Rollins.

Got me excited that Julia Rollins had joined our team.

 

[PoockItInfor6]

For a freshman I feel like he has been solid. Shot selection needs work but you could probably say that about the entire team. He handles the ball pretty well, plays solid defense and has had a couple biggish scoring games (10 vs BC, 10 vs OSU, 8 vs Iowa) so I like that he can provide some offense off the bench

He also gives a legitimate option to get Carr off the ball when teams double him like last nights game.

 

[MplsGopher]

Three awesome wins, so far. At home.

Two awful to disappointing losses, so far. On the road.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

Three awesome wins, so far. At home.

Two awful to disappointing losses, so far. On the road.

Road Ws are coming IMO.

 

[builtbadgers]

Road Ws are coming IMO.

Agree but understand those that doubt because we have a historically bad road record over 7 plus years.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

Agree but understand those that doubt because we have a historically bad road record over 7 plus years.

Agreed and I definitely understand their reticence, however love how confidently we rebounded @ OSU after poor outing in Madison. Fun to watch the growth and maturity of the this team.

 

[golf]

Three awesome wins, so far. At home.

Two awful to disappointing losses, so far. On the road.

Am expecting two more road losses this week and thats ok. Any team not named gonzaga or baylor would also be underdogs going into michigan/iowa. Would like us to be more competitive, though, than the other 2 road losses.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

Am expecting two more road losses this week and thats ok. Any team not named gonzaga or baylor would also be underdogs going into michigan/iowa. Would like us to be more competitive, though, than the other 2 road losses.

I think we get Michigan in a tight one and take it on the chin against Iowa.

 

[golf]

I think we get Michigan in a tight one and take it on the chin against Iowa.

Yeah, we couldve easily lost the lmu, bc, and iowa games. Maybe some good karma due us after all the close losses last season. The balanced scoring last night was very welcome thats for sure. Watch out if Gabe and Gach join the party.

 

[Holy Man]

Yeah, we couldve easily lost the lmu, bc, and iowa games. Maybe some good karma due us after all the close losses last season. The balanced scoring last night was very welcome thats for sure. Watch out if Gabe and Gach join the party.

I think we won the first two because we have much better players than LMU and BC. We beat Iowa because we match up well, even if they have the edge in talent and experience.

If we knock off Michigan on the road, I'll call it Providence. If we take Iowa after that I'll call it an unverifiable miracle. Worthy of belief even if it can't be counted. Hawkeyes have payback in mind, but I still think we match up with them well, and they play poor defense. And Iowa is one of the places we've had at least some success in the recent past. I don't know anything about Michigan other than they are undefeated and have not played a strong schedule. Seems like as good a shot as we have on the road against a really good team.

 

[Gopher Teeth]

Agree but understand those that doubt because we have a historically bad road record over 7 plus years.

We have been historically bad on the road since at least the Haskins era (35+ years), with a year or two blip of life along the way.

 

[golf]

I think we won the first two because we have much better players than LMU and BC. We beat Iowa because we match up well, even if they have the edge in talent and experience.

If we knock off Michigan on the road, I'll call it Providence. If we take Iowa after that I'll call it an unverifiable miracle. Worthy of belief even if it can't be counted. Hawkeyes have payback in mind, but I still think we match up with them well, and they play poor defense. And Iowa is one of the places we've had at least some success in the recent past. I don't know anything about Michigan other than they are undefeated and have not played a strong schedule. Seems like as good a shot as we have on the road against a really good team.

I feel purdue, maryland, indiana, penn st will all give us better chances for road wins. But we'll see, still early maybe michigan isnt as good as i think.