Gophers Draw Terrapins In NIT Opener

PJS Note: Before we delve into the National Invitation Tournament, I want to direct your attention to Down with Goldy, the sarcastic Gophers blogger. DWG is hosting a NCAA Tournament bracket challenge, replete with prizes, or so at least that is alleged. I was going to host one myself, but seeing no reason to double-dip, I instead encourage joining DWG's bracket challenge. Your favorite Minnesota bloggers--Gopher Nation, DWG, PJS, From the Barn, and various readers--have at least been invited to participate. Hopefully you'll join the fun.

Now, on to the NIT!

The Gophers have been given a 4-seed in the NIT and will host Maryland Tuesday night at 9:30 eastern time. Should the Gophers survive they most likely will face Syracuse.

Typically I'm uninterested in the NIT, but the great coaches just in this portion of the NIT bracket provide some interesting story lines. Tubby Smith versus Gary Williams, two coaches with large bling on their fingers meet in Minneapolis. And one of those coaches will likely face Jim Boeheim in the second round. Those three could just as easily be in the Final Four together.

In various reports, Tubby Smith made a case for why the Gophers should be in the big boys tournament. He said, in part, the Gophers were playing their best basketball at the end of the season. Tubby had to make these statements, but that doesn't mean the Gophers deserved an NCAA bid. They didn't. In fact, if it weren't for a cream-puff filled non-conference schedule, the Gophers wouldn't be in the NIT either.

Minnesota's only signature win of the year came last week via the Hoffarber Miracle. Glorious as it was, that simply wasn't enough for a team that went 8-10 in conference play and lost to Illinois three times.

In Maryland, the Gophers face a team that can actually beat Illinois (the Terps beat the Illini 69-61 in November). But the Terps have fallen flat down the homestretch, losing six of their final eight games, with lone wins coming against Florida State and Wake Forest.

And while Minnesota is the home team, I feel Maryland is the favorite. The Terrapins competed in a more athletic and deeper league in the ACC. The Terrapins aren't a great shooting team, in fact they are at or near the bottom of the ACC in many shooting categories. They have some quality guards in sophomore Greivis Vasquez (who leads the Terps in scoring) and sophomore Eric Hayes. Senior forward James Gist, a 6'9 235 pound big man, gives the Terps an inside presence.

The Terps were an average ACC team. The Gophers were an average, to below average Big 10 team. I give the advantage to the ACC team.

That said, I'm going to watch the Gophers' offense closely. Some of us in the blogosphere have begun to look warily at the offensive sets the Gophers are running. We've begun to question Minnesota's inability to get quality looks coming out of timeouts. We can write some of this off to a lack of talent and athleticism, but I'll be paying close attention to whether or not there is any indication of cohesiveness on offense.

Finally, I'm really going to watch Damian Johnson and Lawrence Westbrook. These two players have the defensive ability to shut down an opponents top threat. But they also need to look to take over games offensively. I'd like to see Johnson be aggressive in the post and Westbrook to pick and choose his opportunities wisely. Westbrook needs to stay under control, yet attack when the opportunity is right. That's a tough middle ground.

For the faithful at The Barn, this is one last chance to watch Dan Coleman, Lawrence McKenzie and Spencer Tollackson. Talent-wise, they might not be missed. But all three would seem to have represented the U well.

Prediction: Maryland beat North Carolina, the NCAA's #1 overall seed. A win against Maryland would surely indicate the Gophers are the best team in college basketball. I don't think that's the case. Pick: Terps 78, Minnesota 62.