Thursday, January 17, 2008

Game Day Prep: Indiana at Minnesota

Series: Indiana leads 84-57 according to Minnesota's Athletic Department. Or, Indiana leads 86-63 according to the IU Athletic Department. Whatever.
Of Note: Minnesota has won 8 of 10 at Williams Arena dating back to the Bobby Knight era.
Of Note II: Tubby Smith is 8-2 all-time against Indiana
Tip: 8 p.m. central time
Television: ESPN

Announcers: Dave O'Brien and Doris Burke. The A-team!!
Liveblog: Not so much. Going to enjoy this one. Plus, it's natinoally televised so you all can watch it.
PJS Prediction: Minnesota 77, Indiana 75
Ken Pomeroy Scouting Reports: Minnesota, Indiana

Rankings:

AP and ESPN: Indiana 9/10, Minnesota Unranked
Basketball Predictions: Indiana 4 seed, Minnesota "Just Missed Cut"
Ken Pomeroy RPI: Minnesota 53, Indiana 34
RPI Ratings: Minnesota 52, Indiana 33
Real Time RPI: Minnesota 56, Indiana 10
Colley Rankings: Indiana 21, Minnesota 52

Articles and Blog Posts:

Louisville Courier-Journal: Rick Bozich, who has written more about Tubby Smith and the Gophers than any of our Twin Cities-based columnists, pens an intersting piece that suggests Tubby is a better fit in Minnesota than he was in Kentucky. Bozich takes a shot at Smith's desire to recruit, but also commends our coach for having the ability to coach his team up.

Evanston Courier & Press: Armon Bassett's ability to fully recover from his ankle injury could be key.

Canton Repository: In this notebook, Mike Popovich looks at the outstanding play of Indiana's DJ White and also notes the play of Minnesota freshman Al Nolen. Tubby is quoted as saying Nolen's ability to steal the ball is "very unusual at this level."

Indiana Daily Student: Kelvin Sampson hearts Tubby Smith.

Indianapolis Star: Hoosiers beat reporter Terry Hutchens, in his blog, suggests IU is ripe for an upset. Hutchens writes that a winning in Minnesota will be a big obstacle for the Hoosiers. In another post, Hutchens ranks Williams Arena as the second toughest venue for the Hoosiers in the conference. Take note, professional Minnesota reporters/bloggers, Hutchens provides the content we are seeking from our major metro papers.

Inside the Hall: Hold up, says the IU blogger. The Gophers don't have what it takes to upset IU.

Pioneer Press: Marcus Fuller's preview notes the Gophers have two chances this week at The Barn for a signature win. For some reason Jamal Abu-Shamala is quoted throughout.

Pioneer Press: A win tonight would give Tubby 400 wins in his Hall of Fame career. This timeline chronicles the milestone victories.

Star Tribune: Myron Medcalf's preview indicates that Lawrence McKenzie--who played for Kelvin Sampson at Oklahoma--might have something to prove tonight. Also, Medcalf reprots that Tubby is going to mix and match his defenses early on to find the best scheme to slow Eric Gordon. Expect McKenzie to draw the assignment early on.

CSTV: Straightforward preview

From the Barn: Myron Medcalf's biggest booster predicts a Minnesota win but tells students not to rush the floor. Bah. Be safe, but enjoy the victory, crazy kids.

Gopher Nation: Typically optimistic Tom at Gopher Nation predicts a Gophers loss. Tom, we're officially in a fight.

Down with Goldy: Not exactly a preview, but in WWWWW's patented drunken rambling from Wednesday night, the blogger predicts a Gophers win. There's also a picture of IU girls drinking out of red cups (Eden Prairie students have taught me that doesn't necessarily mean they are drinking beer).

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

No link to my blog? Sad.

Almost as sad as Myron pointing out earlier this week that both Indiana and Michigan State will try to win when they play the Gophers.

He really belongs in this season of The Wire.

PJS said...

An oversight. It looks like I missed all of the Gopher blogs. My bad. WIll update.

I almost pointed out the typo in Myron's article today, but I was being nice.

And on The Wire: Myron is probably like that douche who covered the O's opener and made up his source.

Tom said...

I don't deserve to be linked, that was my worst preview ever. All I did was talk about what we do well and how we can win, then bam I say we lose. I barely even mention this kid named Gordon. I am ashamed and embarrassed.

Anonymous said...

I hadn't stopped by here in a week or so and I come back to find a whole lot of good content. Good shit.

PJS said...

**Channeling John McCain**

Tom, my friend, you have a lot of explaining to do for your blasphemous prediction and lackadasical preview.

Anonymous said...

PJS, you and I think the same way about Myron/The Wire.

Can we get some photographic evidence of him actually talking to the players? I really shouldn't be in my seat before a beat reporter before a game.

PJS said...

Well we've seen Myron strangely cite "a key source" or something like that. How about he find some sources and tell us the real reason Bryce Webster left. I've heard some interesting stories on the matter.

During college I covered the Twins for a summer for KFAN. I watched LaVelle E. Neal closely. He was at the park early, down in the locker room long before the team took BP talking to the skipper, other coaches and players. He busted his ass. And so I respect him to this day. I'm not sure Myron knows what it takes to really provide top-notch coverage that many of us want.

As I said to someone in the newspaper business, the STrib wouldn't hire a pup reporter to cover the Vikings.

Anonymous said...

You still owe me an email

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