Gophers Look For Marquee Win Against Painter's Boilers

When the Gophers head to West Lafayette tonight to take on the Purdue Boilermakers, it will mark Minnesota's last best chance to tell the college basketball world that they can play with tournament bound teams.

Until now, the Gophers have flirted with making such a statement. There were the free throw misses at home in a winnable games against Indiana. There was the game at home against Michigan State that was played without Al Nolen. And there was a hard fought loss at Wisconsin's Kohl Center that could have went Minnesota's way had the offense executed down the stretch.

But instead of covering Minnesota's season, let's take a look at the surprise of the Big Ten, perhaps of the country.

Those of you who read this blog regularly know that I have been very high on the Purdue Boilermakers. Early on, there weren't many writers, mainstream or otherwise, who gave Matt Painter's crew much of a chance to compete in the Big Ten. My position on Purdue was so out of the ordinary that a Purdue message board linked to this post and stated something to the effect of "A Minnesota blogger believes in us!"

In that post, I predicted the Boilermakers would finish 4th in the Big Ten. I hate to sound like Aaron Gleeman, and point back at something just to point out I was right, but ... here's what I wrote about Purdue as conference play was about to begin.

I know, I know, they're too young. They lost to Wofford and Iowa State. But ... they also handled Louisville and have the best group of youngsters in the conference. Some early season struggles were to be expected. Now the question is can Matt Painter coach these guys. And I think he can. Just consider that two years ago the Boilers languished at the bottom of the Big Ten. Last season, Painter had Purdue dancing and lost to Florida in the second round by single digits. That would indicate the Purdue alum can coach. Youngsters to watch include combo guard E'Twaun Moore, forward Scott Martin, 6'10" center JaJuan Johnson and forward Robbie Hummel.

When the Gophers tipoff against Purdue tonight--in the only meeting of the season between the two clubs--the Gophers will face a Purdue team has exceeded even my lofty expectations for them. The Baby Boilers are 12-2 in conference and in the thick of the Big Ten regular season title race. A win tonight puts the Boilers in a three-way tie atop the league.

Moore and Hummel have been absolute game changers. Hummel is doing everything: hitting from the perimter, scoring in double-digits and leading the team with 5.9 reboudns per game. Meanwhile, Moore is leading the team with 11.9 poiunts per game. Not bad for two freshman.

I could go on about Purdue's young team, but I want to focus just for a minute on Painter. The Purdue alum is the odds on favorite to collect hardware for Big Ten Coach of the Year. He deserves the nod. And he deserves credit for reecruiting the quartet of freshman in the first place. According to this Rivals article reprinted by Yahoo!, Painter had a decision to make two years ago. He could pursue high-impact talent like Greg Oden and Mike Conley. But he didn't put much effort in there, realizing that Purdue was a longshot to secure those rare talents. Instead, he tied down the area surrounding Purdue. All four of the freshman played high school and AAU ball within 100 miles of West Lafayette.

The Purdue lesson is one that Minnesota fans hope will play out in Williams Arena. Last season, Matt Painter took the Boilers to the tournament with two senior leaders. Now led by youth, the Boilers have taken another step forward. The situation for Minnesota is strikingly similar. Tubby Smith has revitalized the program. A team that finished 9-22 last season is flirting with 20 wins this season while being led by three senior leaders. And next year the Gophers have a mildly hyped five-man recruiting class of their own.

PREDICTION: The Gophers are decided underdogs tonight, even with that experience on our side. The best hope for the Gophers is the Boilermakers realize what they are playing for. But I think Purdue is 12-2 for a reason, and because this game is on the road for the Gophers I'm predicting a 72-64 Purdue win. But watch the game and enjoy it even if it gets ugly. Matt Painter doesn't get the attention Tubby Smith, Tom Izzo, Bo Ryan or Thad Matta do. But he just might be a coach in the process of building something that will sustain.

Coach Of The Year Talk Begins

It is premature. But if the season ended today no Big Ten coach has exceeded expectations the way Tubby Smith has in Minnesota. And it's not just me who thinks that.

Dave Dye in his college notebook in the Detroit News agrees.

Should we just give Tubby Smith the Big Ten coach of the year award right now?

Smith left Kentucky to take over at Minnesota, which was coming off a 9-22 season, including a 3-13 conference record.

Tubby quickly has turned the Gophers into a legitimate contender for an NCAA Tournament bid. They overcame a 16-point, second-half deficit for a 76-73 victory at Penn State.

Minnesota (12-3, 2-1) is No. 45 in the RPI. One thing the Gophers are going to need at some point is a signature victory.

The opportunities are there this week with two big home games against No. 10 Indiana (Thursday) and No. 6 Michigan State (Sunday).

Dye is right on the money here. And as an aside, wouldn't it be nice if our two local periodicals would provide us with a college notebook? I digress. If the season ended today, I would think it would be a two-man race for Big Ten coach of the year between Tubby and Matt Painter, who has his baby Boilers playing very well. Painter's team could be a Big Ten power in the year's to come.

There are a few other interesting tidbits from around the Web to share this morning.

** Rick Bozich of the Louisville Courier-Journal writes a short recap of the Indiana-Illinois game where he notes that Bruce Weber isn't a big fan of Kelvin Sampson. That's cool, and Bill Belichick like, but what I found interesting in this item was that Bozich noted how Weber slowed down Eric Gordon by putting athletic and taller defenders on the Hoosier's star freshman. I wonder if Tubby was taking notes during the Sunday matinee. If he was, we might see Damian Johnson get the honors again. Johnson was the Gopher charged with taking on Geary Claxton Saturday. While Johnson found himself in foul trouble throughout the game, he is our best defender and is versatile enough to play outside against Gordon. Al Nolen is also a candidate here to take on the star freshman, but I would think Nolen's short stature would work against him.

** The Star Tribune's Sid Hartman had a conversation with Tubby Smith, who I imagine before long will be one of Sid's "close personal friends." For now, Smith's just a source, but one who comes off as giddy after the come-from-behind win at State College, Pa. Saturday.

Here's Tubby via Sid:

As for Saturday's rally, which saw the Gophers come back after trailing 58-42 with 12:58 to play, Smith said: "We had plenty of time left in the game, and that's what I told the players: 'Don't panic, fellas. We've got plenty of time, just finish the game plan, let's carry out the game plan, keep attacking inside.'

"And sure enough, Blake [Hoffarber] got hot and we got some momentum and then we started to take the ball back inside. Damian Johnson jumped up and made a three. So, those things, and Spencer Tollackson was having a [solid game] ... [and] no three was bigger than the three that Lawrence McKenzie hit that put us ahead. That really gave us the, 'Hey look, we can win this game.' And they did."

Tubby sounds like a coach who is very pleased that his team didn't pack it in when down 16 Saturday. Also of note, in his dolling out of superlatives, one senior is noticeably missing. Just saying, it could have been an oversight.

** The typically sarcastic bloggers at 10,000 Takes take a break from taking entertaining jabs at Minnesota sports personalities and have compiled a list of The Best of Minnesota Sports. After less than one year on the job, Tubby Smith gets the honor of Best Coach. Williams Arena, pre- and post-Dan Monson gets the nod for Best Stadium Atmosphere. I tend to agree with this one, but you might not—Best Columnist: Patrick Reusse. And among a slew of other honorees you should check out, PJS gets the nod for Best Gophers Web site. Thanks to 10,000 Takes for the recognition.