Gophers Keep Things Interesting Against Bucky

I sat down for the Wisconsin-Minnesota game this afternoon fully expecting to hang my head by halftime, admitting that our eastern rival is superior. Instead the Gophers came out and put together a methodical first half that would keep the game interesting well into the second half, before Bucky pulled away with about four minutes left. The Badgers eventually won 65-56.

So, how exactly were the Gophers able to compete for 36 minutes with the Badgers--a team that ran the maroon and gold out of Williams Arena just two weeks ago? Credit defense, and a first half tempo.

While shots weren't falling in the first half, the Gophers were getting to the free throw line by running effective pick and rolls, cutting and penetrating. The Gophers were playing Wisconsin's game better than the Badgers were. Defensively, the Gophers were limiting Bucky's ability to penetrate and create. All shots were contested. Offensively the Gophers were calm. Shots weren't rushed. The transition game was non-existent and because of the slow play turnovers were sparse. And what resulted was a back-and-forth first half that ended with the Badgers up just one.

Meanwhile, the typically loud Kohl Center crowd was muted. The BTN's Greg Kelser consistently referred to the Kohl Center as a library-type atmosphere. In the first half, the Gophers did exactly what they needed to do to pull off a big upset on the road.

And then, strangely, the Gophers' strategy seemed to change in the second half. Instead of forcing the ball inside after cuts and picks, the Gophers started looking for the first, quick open shot--typically threes. For a few minutes, this up tempo style was paying off. Lawrence McKenzie and Lawrence Westbrook hit a few from outside in succession. The Gophers built a five point lead.

But Bucky continued its methodical play. The Badgers weren't hurried. They didn't start turning the ball over. But Minnesota's second half tempo eventually did damage to the Gophers. Instead of making sound offensive decisions, the Gophers became rushed. Al Nolen--who started I believe for the first time and played well for most of the game--found holes in the Wisconsin defense, but then dumped off a couple questionable no-look passes in the paint. Result: turnover.

More than anything, however, the Gophers were hurt Saturday afternoon by an inability to finish in the paint. Jonathan Williams missed uncountable bunnies underneath. Spencer Tollackson couldn't finish. Dan Coleman, well, Dan Coleman disappeared for most of the game as he is wont to do. But many of the interior misses came at momentum-changing times. Nothing would fall.

Foul trouble also hurt the Gophers. Spencer Tollackson was on the bench for most of the second half with three fouls. Jon Williams, Dan Coleman and Damian Johnson all finished with four fouls. Of the four big men, it was only Williams that made an impact on the boards, leading the team with eight. Senior leaders Tollackson and Coleman finished the game with one rebound apiece.

While poor shooting (the Gophers shot 33 percent) and the faster-paced second half probably cost the Gophers, it was also clear that the defensive effort was far superior Saturday than it was against the Badgers two weeks ago or against Illinois this week. Not until the middle part of the second half were the Badgers able to consistently penetrate and score or kick to an open outside shooter. The Badgers deserve credit for their ball movement and patience, but for most of the game the Gophers were able to play very sound defense, typically playing half court man to man.

The rotation was different again. Al Nolen led the team with 33 mostly solid minutes. He had a couple shaky moments, and he needs to learn how to make crisp interior passes, but it's good to see him playing more. Nolen was part of a three guard lineup that included McKenzie and Westbrook that saw a majority of minutes. Of the four big men, Johnson saw the most action (26 minutes). Coleman (22) and Williams (21) played more than the foul-plagued Tollackson (12)

The boxscore for the game is here.

UP Next: The Gophers come home for two winnable games. On Thursday, the Michigan Wolverines come to The Barn and on Sunday the Gophers host Ed DeChellis' Penn State Nittany Lions.

Interesting Piece On Minnesota Recruiting

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, in its version of a preview for the Gophers-Badgers game this afternoon, looked at how Wisconsin has been able to dominate the recruiting wars in across the border during the Dan Monson years.

I found this section interesting:

In past years, UW has benefited from its ability to identify prospects early as well as a lack of scholarships in the Gophers' program.

The latter is what helped land Leuer at UW. Minnesota initially wanted the 6-foot-10 forward to walk on as a freshman with the promise of giving him a scholarship as a sophomore. By the time they offered a full ride, Leuer's stock had risen and other schools were in the picture.

Jordan Taylor and Berggren were identified as fits for UW's system early and offered scholarships before their junior seasons. Berggren had a Minnesota offer. Taylor did not.

No doubt Dan Monson had some Clem Haskins induced obstacles to overcome, but he clearly struggled in identfying talent early. He was probably always playing catch up.

The article also mentions two 2009 products in Royce White and Rodney Williams. If the Gophers can keep those two players home to build off the outstanding 2008 class, Tubby will be well on his way to righting this ship.

** The inlaws are in DC admiring various monuments. It's game day, so of course I had to pass on the outing. I'll be watching the Badgers-Minnesota game closely to gauge any improvement from the Illinois game.

Weekend Hockey Preview: Minnesota at Wisconsin

Series: Minnesota leads the all-time series 148-78-15 in a rivaly that dates to 1922.
Puck Drop: Friday and Saturday, 7:07 p.m. central time
Television: Fox Sports Net North
Announcers: Frank Mazzocco and Doug Woog

While there is an ongoing debate among Gopher fans on who truly is the No. 1 rivalry, the answer is quite simple: Wisconsin. It is a rivalry that extends all the way back to 1922.

That rivalry resumes this weekend as Minnesota travels to the Kohl Center for a pivotal two-game series among teams deadlocked for the fifth position in the standings. If either team sweeps, it clearly gives them the edge on the fifth and final home seed for the playoffs. A split and the series in four weeks in Minneapolis could be even bigger.

My rivalry rankings:
1. Wisconsin (better dead than red - it's the two biggest state schools)
2. St. Cloud State University (they got Bot Motzko - former assistant - and they have the most annoying fans)
3. North Dakota (there has been some great battles recently in the regular and post-season)
4. Minnesota-Duluth (they also wear maroon and gold)
5. Minnesota-Mankato (I guess you can call it a rivalry - one-sided, though)

Note: All five teams would likely rank Minnesota as their No. 1 rival.

The keys to a succesful series for the Gophers are three-fold:
1. Get a solid goaltending performance from Kangas on Friday night. There is no louder crowd in college hockey than in the Kohl Hole - they will be all over Kangas. If he can win Friday, that confidence will carry over to Saturday.
2. Convert on the power play. Over the past four games, the Gophers failed to score in 14 attempts. It comes after the Gophers had been 10-for-59 (17.0 percent) over the previous 14 games. That stretch followed an 0-for-30 stretch that spanned seven games. For the season, Minnesota ranks 49th of 59 Division I teams on the power play at 12.4 percent.
3. While the Gophers have been strong at the start of games, they’ve been outscored 34-18 in the third period, including 24-7 in WCHA games. Minnesota has to get better when they have a third-period lead.

Notes:
* The Gophers have won six of the last eight meetings, including four of five games last year. Minnesota is 4-1 in its last five games at the Kohl Center. The Gophers split games in Madison last year, losing 2-1 and winning 1-0.

* The neighboring rivals will play four times in the next four weeks and are deadlocked in a battle for home ice in the first round of the league playoffs.

* Through 26 games, the Gophers have scored the exact same number of goals as their opponents with 69 apiece. In fact, Minnesota and their opponents have also each scored 14 power play goals.

* I'm leaving for Madison tomorrow, so I'll give you the scoop when I get back late Sunday evening.

Saturday Links: Wisconsin, Kentucky, RSIII

Wisconsin good. Kentucky really bad.

** If you missed it, Kentucky lost Saturday to the University of San Diego. Not San Diego State. No, the Toreros of USD. The loss drops Billy Gillispie's squad to 5-6. The Wildcats lost two starters from a season ago when Tubby Smith led the Wildcats to a 22-11 record (9-7 in SEC play). As we all know, that wasn't good enough and some Wildcats fans labeled our basketball savior "ten-loss Tubby." John Clay reports that UK was booed as the final horn sounded.

** Meanwhile, our annoying friends to the east, Bo Ryan's Wisconsin Badgers, demonstrated with a thrilling victory at Texas Saturday that they will be a factor in the Big Ten this season. Michael Flowers came up very large with a game-changing three and then a game-stealing steal. The Wisconsin Sports Bar says YESSSSSSSSSSSS. The win at Texas should indicate the Badgers are ready for Big Ten play. The Badgers finish the non-conference schedule with a 10-2 mark, with blemishes coming at Duke and at home against in-state rival Marquette.

** One more item to pass along to you. After a brief hiatus from action--the boy was sick--Ralph Sampson III led his Northview team to a win Friday in the Arby's Classic in Bristol, Tenn. Sampson shot 7-9 from the floor for 19 points (This is good, considering the final score was 42-29). Sampson also grabbed eight rebounds and blocked seven shots. And today, Sampson continued his strong play with 21 points, 11 boards and eight blocks in a losing effort.

As an aside, I nearly drove 5 hours to Bristol to catch this tournament. For various reasons, I decided against it but was pleased I did when I learned that Sampson missed the first game of the tournament Wednesday with bronchitis.

Last Minute Holiday Gift Idea

Still shopping for the Holidays? Hate Wisconsin? Me too.

I haven't advertised these shirts because I'm in the process of creating others. But a couple people have ordered the shirt below in the PJS shop linked to in the bottom of the right sidebar. I thought others might be intersted as well to prepare for when Bo Ryan's douchebags come to town.

I also thought that frequent commenter lonebadger might be intersted in purchasing this shirt, seeing as he's become a staunch defender of all things Minnesota and espeically his manlove Joel Maturi. I digress.

I'd love to see the students clad in these beauties when the Badgers come to town. I can even envision a chant.

Saturday Links: Obsessing Over Tubby

If you haven't noticed on the right sidebar I've created a couple shirts. The one that is displayed says Tubby Ball, Est. 2007 on the front. On the back side, it says "Thank You Kentucky." I think I can speak for all Minnesota fans when I say this: We couldn't be happier you ran such a respected man and coach out of Lexington. It's your loss and our gain.

That's why it's so entertaining for me to watch some blame-Tubby-first Kentucky fans struggle to find reasons for their loss to Gardner-Webb and close call this week with Stony Brook. What are the radical portions of the UK fanbase going to say if/when North Carolina comes into Rupp Arena today and demolishes the Wildcats. Right, I already know the answer: They'll blame Tubby.

Well, at least most of the time. It seems that some UK fans have already gone to criticizing new head coach Billy Gillespie, per this Scout interview with prize freshman Patrick Patterson. Patterson, you might remember, is the 5-star diaper dandy that UK fans salivated over--literally frothing at the mouth I think--during last year's recruiting wars. They had to have Patterson. And even though it was clear Patterson was going to go to UK when Tubby was there, UK fans pointed to the hiring of Gillespie as a reason why Patterson picked UK. We'll get to recruiting in a second, but here's a telling quote from Patterson:

“People are out there saying this is the worst Kentucky basketball team in the history of Kentucky.”

Who is saying that to you?

“Fans, people around campus, when you are walking in restaurants and stuff like that. I have heard people say stuff about the Kentucky basketball team losing to Gardner-Webb and saying Kentucky hasn’t lost to a mid-major school since 2001 or something like that,” Patterson said. “I have heard people saying this is worst team or that we are not doing anything. On Facebook, they have stuff about Coach (Billy Gillispie). "

It almost makes you sad. Here's this young, talented basketball player, who is apparently bombarded with negativity everywhere he turns. In class? Criticism. On Facebook? Cheap shots at his coach.

But most of the conversations still center around Tubby. In this Lexington Herald-Leader article, Jerry Tipton sits down to talk with Dick Vitale and the ESPN announcer reiterates his criticism that a portion of the UK fanbase went too far in their desire to see Smith jettisoned.

And then the blog Hugging Harold Reynolds suggesting satirically this week that all UK travails begin and end with Tubby. Here's a taste:

You see, it's all Tubby's fault that UK is a mess right now. Through his lack of recruiting and inability to win consistently over his ten years in Lexington, Tubby almost single-handedly destroyed the once-storied legacy of Kentucky basketball.

Earlier this year, it was "Tubby's Fault!" the Cats lost to Gardner Webb. Saturday, it most likely will be "Tubby's Fault!" if the UNC Tarheels crush UK, as expected. Shockingly, new UK coach Billy Gillispie has come under relatively little scrutiny for a man in his position.

Some might view this as the fans just enjoying their honeymoon with him - but that wouldn't be right, because far too many of them are still kicking and screaming about a good man and coach who they ran out of town.

Even though that blogger was writing tongue-in-cheek, it's clear that the UK fan base is forever going to be obsessed with Tubby Smith. Adding salt to their wounds right now is the 2008 recruiting wars. A quick look at Rivals' rankings--there are others that are far more favorable to Minnesota and Tubby--and it would appear that Tubby is recruiting on par with Billy Gillespie, even though Billy Clyde has the UK tradition, facilities and Ashley Judd to fall back on. The Rivals rankings linked to above list UK as 19th in the country and Minnesota right behind at number 20. Tubby also won the first head-to-head recruiting battle when Ralph Sampson III picked Minnesota over Billy Clyde's Wildcats. Once again, Thank You Kentucky! And is there any way ya'll can become livid with Ashley Judd and send her north too?

Now, on to a few other things.

** Staying on the obsessing over Tubby/basketball recruiting topics ... the Wisconsin Rivals site Badger Blitz is beginning to worry about Tubby. Could Tubby be turning the tide in the border recruiting wars? Could Bo Ryan be on defense for once to keep his players home. That'd be a nice change, wouldn't it?

** Star Tribune men's basketball beat writer Myron Medcalf asks in this blog post whether Tubby should go to a big lineup. Medcalf suggests a lineup of Al Nolen, Lawrence McKenzie, Dan Coleman, Jonathan Williams and Spencer Tollackson. That'd be a big lineup, and would help us on the boards. And I think that Coleman is more suited to play on the perimiter, though I worry about how he'd matchup against quicker small forwards. It could be worth a try from time-to-time, but does anyone really think Jon Williams should start?

** The Pioneer Press and Star Tribune report that Tubby benched seniors Spencer Tollackson, Dan Coleman and Lawrence McKenzie during the loss to Florida State Tuesday. Tubby was not happy with their leadership, energy, intensity and lack of scoring, the reports suggest. McKenzie called the development a "reality check." And Fuller also reports that Tubby has tweaked his offense some to encourage fewer jump shots and more penetration/inside play that could help the Gophers get to the foul line--an area where they struggled against FSU.