2011-2012 Gophers

[CodyDawg]

Watched most of the games this weekend and my summary is this: Tubby is a dope. Pick a rotation and go with it for Pete's sake! This mix and match stuff does nobody any good. A bunch of disjointed, fragmented plays, nobody knows what the other players are gonna do and there is no flow. Whoever said bubble team...I assume you mean for the NIT. Tubby has been here long enough, these are his players and we are not going to be a good team. Losing Trevor hurts as he was fun to watch. Beyond that, what exactly is there offense anyway??? Send the bigs out to the 3 point line to get the ball and then watch them fumble around? Can we get a big to catch the ball on the block? Can we have Ralph Sampson the Freshmen back? I think he was better then. Very dissapointed in this team. Maybe better put, very dissapointed in the coaching of this team.

[Bryce]

Just announced that his acl is torn.

[schmitty3]

Any chance he gets redshirted? Well don't think I will watch another game of theirs. They are just so boring to watch, absolutely no offense. Mbakwe was the glue, and now that he's gone I just hope they can make the NIT. Beyond me why year after year they can't get a good guard who can handle the ball and make plays happen off the dribble.

[Scott M]

Season's done. Just the way he couldn't put weight on it you knew it was a torn ligament but you just hoped it was strained.

I expect he'll put in for a redshirt, but he did use a redshirt already. He played in only 7 games this year. He was projecting as a NBA lottery pick and was attracting a lot of attention. I hope he took out an insurance policy. I doubt he'll be rated that highly again unless he comes all the way back and plays next year. But then again he is getting old and he's got a kid or two and probably needs the money. Might go pro even if he could play. He will likely stay on campus to rehab at least and graduate soon.

Things were looking up despite an ugly loss to Dayton...top 10 RPI, lots of minutes for developing guys.

[Dotch]

Yupper, was hoping it was just a bad sprain. Knees are not designed to move sideways very much. For those of us who are U of M alum we'd better hope the hockey team continues to play competitively or this is really gonna be a long winter, again.

[CJH]

So Tubby, are you happy you chased Colton Iverson out of town now?? Its a repeat of last year with Nolan and Devoe Joseph. Starter gets hurt and you have no one. Its a bad ground hogs day. How can Rodney Williams have played that many games in three years and still be the exact same player he was out of HS??

Tubby has the worse offense ever. They might as well just plan on pressing the entire game with all the guards/wings they have.

Feel bad for Mbawke, he looked terrible on the bench afterwards.

[Scott M]

CJH, I was thinking the same thing yesterday on my drive home. The guy has a great Puerto Rico tourney, a great Big Ten tourney the year before, and he can't hardly see the floor. Guys need consistent minutes to build confidence, and Colt 45 never got em. Yes, he had foul trouble at times, yes, he made mistakes around the bucket, but if he had time to get his confidence up, I think he would have been a beast. Now he's gone.

So much for this front court. No depth at all. If Royce had his head screwed on straight. If Colton wasn't run outta town. It's always a bunch of ifs with Tubby. It stinks when the injury bug hits good players, but injuries happen to every team. His lackluster recruiting will keep this team on the bottom of the Big Ten for at least 2-3 more years. Have you seen the other B1G recruiting classes? It's shaping up to be a tough 4-5 years.

Will Tubby adapt and play small ball and press with all these guards? Or will he once again not adapt to his roster and fail like last year? He's certainly not earning his contract, and you can only blame bad luck for so long.

[Ice Shack Baby]

What ever happened to Maurice Walker? I know that he had a knee injury last December. I see that he is still on the roster.

[CJH]

What ever happened to Maurice Walker? I know that he had a knee injury last December. I see that he is still on the roster.

He's not recovering very well, probably going to be red-shirted this year.

[EBass]

So how bad will the ACC beat our beloved Gophs? I was really excited for this season and finally caught them on TV and watched Trevor go down.

Well we can watch Coleman.

[Scott M]

Well, with every reason to roll over, the Gophers came out and played good defense and won the game, 58-55 over Virginia Tech. Almost a game tying shot by Erick Green, what a baller.

How about the performance by freshman Elliot Eliason? 8 and 7 with a few assists and blocks. It was a completely different game with Eliason in the game as he was playing excellent position defense, grabbing rebounds, cleaning up the garbage, hitting Rodney in the high low, giving his teammates help on defense. An inspired effort. It's been a while since I've watched a Gopher player and came away...proud. His calm and collected performance seemed to settle everyone down and if everyone can chip in a little, they can overcome the injury. They won't be the same team without Trevor, especially in the conference season, but they can start to put the pieces together and reform their identity playing small ball.

Nice job stepping up by Welch. He leads the team with 15 points. Rodney had a solid 14. They are going to need him to step it up, whether it is tip dunks or drives, he needs to use his athleticism to get to the hole, now more than ever.

Armelin had a couple nifty drives and finished with 9.

The rest of the bench didn't see much time and wasn't able to contribute much, but I liked that Tubby let the guys that were holding tough stick it out.

They needed this win. Virginia Tech isn't a powerhouse, but they will help the RPI. This team was a bubble team with Trevor, but one that I thought had potential to develop into a solid team. Without him, I think they are NIT team but they need to eke out some wins. Tonight helps, if nothing else, to stem the thoughts of "oh no, we're in trouble" when the players saw Trevor wincing Sunday night.

[hamrej23]

I was at the game tonight, just got home. I really like the way the gophers played tonight- the main thing I noticed is how we didn't get beat up inside. The rbding advantage was zero for v.t.

Chip, and rodney were definetly the heroes I thought. Not taking anything away from welch and elliot. And dchise u are right, eliason was a difference maker when he was in.

Chip hit a few huge shots, and rodney was the difference in the last 2 minutes on the defensive end and his dunk also.

I don't know, I am excited, this was a huge win for them against a mid acc team. Home court yes, but I will take it. Usc will be tough, but if we get through that, we have an outside chance for twenty wins with penn st,indiana,iowa,nebraska in the big ten it is possible.

[Scott M]

Too early to say by far, but I see 7-11 in conference play. I think Indiana is going dancing this year.

[EBass]

Congrats Gophs - I'll eat my post.

Next Game is USC at 1:15 this Sat on the Big Ten Network.

[Scott M]

Elliot Eliason...the rich man's Jeff Hagen

If he continues to play well he might achieve avatar status.

[CJH]

CJH, I was thinking the same thing yesterday on my drive home. The guy has a great Puerto Rico tourney, a great Big Ten tourney the year before, and he can't hardly see the floor. Guys need consistent minutes to build confidence, and Colt 45 never got em. Yes, he had foul trouble at times, yes, he made mistakes around the bucket, but if he had time to get his confidence up, I think he would have been a beast. Now he's gone.

A little CYA from Tubby (From Pioneer Press - Marcus Fuller):

Eliason and Iverson are similar in size, but Iverson was more of a physical player and more defensive-minded. Smith said Eliason is "a lot different" and "much better" because he's versatile.

"He's more of an offensive player," Smith said. "He does a lot of things extremely well. He did an excellent defensive job. He's in the right place. I just think he's got much more upside."

I like Eliason, but let's not play revisionist history here Tubby!!! Can't remember the last time I heard a coach complain about someone being "more physical" and "defensive minded". Especially when the guy that started in front of him (Sampson) is severely lacking in both departments!!!!!

[Scott M]

55-40 Final Score, Gophers beat USC. Not a great win but the Gophers will take every one that comes their way. USC looks like they've been rocked by the O.J. Mayo scandal. For Minnesota, it's all cake until the conference season starts.

Nice game by Julian Welch. Played under control today, cut down on the turnovers. 14 point, 6 assists. No turnovers in the second half. I've been disappointed with Tubby's spring recruits, but this guy is really stepping up. Read some quotes of his from an interview in his hometown, and he said after Orlando, he feels he can play with anyone. Very confident with the ball right now, seems like he's got a great offensive game. This guy could be a Vincent Grier type catalyst for a strong season if he plays within his means.

Rodney Williams. The worst thing that could happen to this team was Trevor going down. The best thing that could happen for Rodney Williams was Trevor going down. He gets off the wing where he's never been comfortable and he plays inside where he can use his athleticism to grab rebounds and finish plays at the rim. Nice highlight reel 360 dunk for Rodney in the first half.

[Scott M]

Just got caught up with the DVR.

Gophers down Appalachian State, 70-56. Game was tied with under 5 minutes to go but a strip and score by Welch, a couple late in the shot clock baskets by Rodney, and some closer free throws from Julian finished off the frisky Mountaineers.

Gophers give up 11 offensive rebounds and 9 made three pointers, while only making two triples themselves. Despite outshooting the Mountaineers, 54 to 35%, the extra attempts and three kept the visiting team in the game.

Joe Coleman finally showed up. He mostly got garbage but sometimes the best players in a given game are distinguished by timely cuts and offensive rebounds. Coleman with an efficient 10 and 2 assists in 13 minutes. Sampson goes 10 and 5 in 19 minutes of spot duty.

Armelin and Ahanmisi were nice little spark plugs combining for 11 points, 4 steals, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Rodney had a team high 18 points to accompany 5 blocks and 6 rebounds. Everything came in the flow of the game, so nice showing for him.

Julian Welch continues to show why he needs to be in the last 5 minutes of each game. He hasn't missed a free throw in a long while, going 6-6 today en route to 15 points.

Interesting fact, App State head coach Jason Capel played at North Carolina. (I remember watching him in High School). He is the youngest head coach in Division 1 basketball.

Three point defense and rebounding were again problematic, as they will undoubtedly be all year, but the Gophers did some nice things on defense and in transition. I just wish they had more transition opportunities, but without pressing I don't see it coming.

BTN App State vs. Minnesota Highlights

Kind of a clompfest to finish off the year...St. Peters, Central Michigan, and NDSU. I believe CMU is on ESPN and NDSU is on BTN.

[Scott M]

69-47 Gophers edge St. Peter. Everybody played. It was a steady lead throughout the game. Sampson had 15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 4 assists.

Here's the recap from ESPN. The game was only available with subscription to the Big Ten Network.

Associated Press:

MINNEAPOLIS -- Ralph Sampson III scored a season-high 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds in his return to the starting lineup, leading Minnesota to its fourth straight win, 69-47 over Saint Peter's on Saturday.

Sampson, who also had four assists, had played as a reserve but hadn't started since injuring his ankle Nov. 17. He helped the Gophers (10-1) dominate inside against the smaller Peacocks.

Darius Conley led the Peacocks (2-6) with a career-high 20 points and Chris Prescott scored 12, but Saint Peter's didn't get much from anyone else.

The Gophers never trailed and led by as many as 22. They kept Saint Peter's searching for jump shots for most of the game, allowing them to maintain a comfortable cushion. Minnesota outscored the Peacocks 38-22 in the paint and shot 27 free throws to Saint Peter's 10.

On to Central Michigan on Tuesday.

[Scott M]

Too early to say by far, but I see 7-11 in conference play. I think Indiana is going dancing this year.

Indiana is no pushover. They just beat #1 Kentucky at home. They are going to be ranked now and I think they are going to be a handful. The Big Ten is wide open from #'s 5-9. But, I don't see the Gophers dancing. They have a favorable conference schedule, but I don't know if it will help. I might long for 7-11.

[Scott M]

6 Big Ten teams ranked in the Top 25 (Coaches Poll), including #2 Ohio State. Two other teams receiving votes (Purdue, Northwestern). Not a pretty picture as the conference season looms.

[Scott M]

Gophers take care of business, 76-56 over Central Michigan. 18 turnovers by your Gophers keep things under 20 points for most of the game. Lately its been a different guy stepping up each game, and tonight was no different.

Great start for Austin Hollins, he finishes with 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting. Welch had a steady 15. Tim Doyle's comparison to Andre Miller last week is a fitting description of his playing style. He's good at carving out space with his body. Rodney does a poor man's Damian Johnson impression, filling out his stat sheet. Mav got the start at the 1 and dropped in ten points and 3 assists. Joe Coleman exhibits the efficiency the coaching staff loves with 12 points in 15 minutes. The rest of the bench submitted a bucket or two and everybody played.

Gophers got some open looks and shot 57/47/77 (FG%/3PT%/FT%) while holding CMU to 36/41/63.

Have you noticed all year long, actually for four years, one name that has been lost? Yep, it's Charmin Sampson III. He had a play tonight that was indicative of his playing career. He jogs down on a run out and Mav delivers the ball in his hands in stride with no one in front of him on the right elbow. He misses the pass out of bounds and gets pulled. He's been tweeting about how he doesn't need to show emotion, and he's 100% correct, but what he does need to show, and what he's never shown, is intensity. He's been the soft 7 footer that gets pushed around, that never developed. I never expected him to be the second coming of Ralph Sampson, the National Player of the Year ('81, '82, '83), but I darn sure expected some intensity from him. I've seen some jabronis from SDSU push the guy around...Jared Sullinger is going to eat his lunch! If this guy just got a tinge better each year we'd be talking about the NCAA tournament. Instead, we are talking about a NIT berth. Enjoy this last cupcake romp with NDSU because it's going to be a long conference season. Tubby will probably get to 20 wins late in the year in some second or third tier invitational tournament, but it's going to be another disappointing year in a results-oriented business.

[EBass]

Quote:

Have you noticed all year long, actually for four years, one name that has been lost?

Yes I've noticed that. The only game he played really well was against NC last year in the PR tourney. It's like he really doesn't want to be there. Like he's thinking of his game plan for COD that night. He should have a chip on his shoulder when he wanted to enter the draft and everyone was like why bother. Wouldn't that motivate him? Guess not.

[Scott K]

I just wanted to say thanks for the write ups Scott! I usually dont have the time to watch the games, and I get a better read from your write ups, then I do from the media write ups.

[Snag]

Sampson is so lost out there. I grew up in Virginia and it pains me to think that he is related to Ralph. I think he just plays basketball because his Dad did and he is tall. I don't see any emotion from him and he never plays hard.

Williams has picked up his game since moving to the 4. I like Welch and his consistency. I think he's our only hope of winning some big ten games. Coleman has started to look better the last few games. I'm still waiting for Hollins to take a shot without thinking about it. All the regulars have some talent, but they all seem to be missing something in their games.

[schweady]

Is there free access to a live video feed of tonight's game? Looks like Gopher All Access is fee-based, and I don't see it on any schedule on btn.com... ?

[Scott M]

Fee based at BTN I'm afraid. We're out of luck.

[Scott M]

Just for Cooter...

Wisconsin: The Most Boring Team in America

by Shane Ryan, Grantland.com

Let's say the following happened:

1. You experienced a flash of inspiration.

2. You decided to remake 1997's The Devil's Advocate, a film starring Keanu Reeves as a hotshot lawyer and Al Pacino as his boss. For those who don't remember or haven't yet seen it, Pacino's character turns out to be Satan. Sorry for the spoiler. (At the end, Reeves kills himself in a display of free will after finding out that Pacino is both Satan and his father. But it turned out all to be a dream, or a premonition, or something.)

3. You opted to stage your remake in the world of college basketball.

Assuming you went through these steps -- and I don't recommend it, beyond the original flash of inspiration -- there's only one man you could cast in the role of Lucifer: Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan.

Why? Well, first off, he looks like you might expect the devil to look like if he returned to Earth. Look at the picture above, or just do a Google image search for “Bo Ryan.” The menacing eyes, the wicked grin, the villain's hair; it's evident.

Second, I think he might be a threat to ruin the game.

On Tuesday night, the Badgers survived against UW-Milwaukee, Ryan's former team, winning 60-54. Before we get into that, though, I'd like to take you back to the evening of Nov. 30, when the Badgers visited Chapel Hill. I wrote about the game here, and would like to revisit one particular scene:

Carolina fans have a habit of ratcheting up the noise when the opponent's shot clock nears the 10-second mark, and usually they've got it right; if a team can't create a shot by then, they're out of sorts and close to panic. But it slowly dawned on the Heel faithful that their cheers were misplaced against Wisconsin.

The reason the cheers were off-base was that Ryan's Badgers usually don't shoot until the very end of the shot clock. And while the game against Carolina was a fascinating clash of styles (the Tar Heels are one of the 10 fastest teams in the country, and they won that game 60-57), a harrowing thought occurred to me afterward -- what if every team played like Wisconsin?

Frankly, there's no reason they shouldn't. Ryan has had unbelievable success since he took over in 2001, winning three Big Ten regular season championships, two Big Ten tournament championships, and earning an NCAA berth every single year. His resume in March has been a bit disappointing -- the Badgers have reached the Elite Eight just once, and they've lost in the first or second round in six of his ten years -- but the continued success of Ryan's teams can't be questioned.

And how has he done it? What do I mean when I say “play like Wisconsin”? Ryan's style, first and foremost, is a matter of pace. More to the point, his teams play slow, boring basketball. It's Ryan's way of neutralizing talent; according to ESPN's rankings, he hasn't had a Top 25 recruiting class in the past six years. And I'm not even sure he's trying. Instead, he goes after players who fit his system, and spends his time grooming them to be efficient upperclassmen. This year follows form; of the six players who earn the most minutes per game, four are juniors or seniors, and none are freshmen.

And all of them play at a snail's pace. There are currently 345 teams in Division I, and of those, Wisconsin ranks 345th in adjusted tempo, per Ken Pomeroy. Even without adjusting for the pace of an opponent, Wisconsin averages just 60.2 possessions per game, third-lowest in the country. And it goes without saying that if Wisconsin manages just 60 possessions per game, that's exactly what the other team is getting.

As far as I can tell, the reasoning behind Ryan's system is two-fold:

1. It frustrates the opposing offense. When a team fails to score against Wisconsin, it knows it have to wait at least 30 seconds before it gets another chance. The pressure mounts on every possession, and small deficits suddenly loom large. Ryan recruits strong, tough defenders, and their stinginess only augments that aura of impenetrability.

2. It wears down the defense. By forcing a team to defend for 30 seconds on almost every possession, Ryan exposes flaws in the opponent that tend to become exaggerated by mental and physical fatigue as the game goes along. The withering persistence clearly takes its toll on the defense, but there's a less obvious effect on offense; when a team is preoccupied on one end, it becomes more prone to errors and quick shots on the other, which plays right into Wisconsin's hands.

Three scores from this season demonstrate the extent to which the Badgers change the way basketball is played.

1. UNLV 90, UNC 80

2. UNC 60, Wisconsin 57

3. Wisconsin 62, UNLV 51

UNLV and UNC love to run, and the Running Rebels surprised the Tar Heels early in the season in a fast, breakneck game. North Carolina was content to beat them at their own game, and would have in most cases due to superior talent. But when both teams faced Wisconsin, the Badgers imposed a different style. Which illuminates an important point -- it's much easier to slow a game down than speed it up. Unless you establish an early lead on Wisconsin and force the Badgers into catch-up mode, how can you ever make them shoot the ball early? It's impossible, and that's the essence of Ryan. He coaches from a position of strength, compelling other teams to adjust to him.

If there's a psychological philosophy behind all this, you could call it “enforced frustration.” Ryan's design is not to beat the other team, or to prove Wisconsin's superior ability, but rather to nullify another team's strength and experience while undermining their confidence. He doesn't want a fair fight, because he knows he'd lose. By limiting opportunities and forcing an unfamiliar style, Ryan, like an [PoorWordUsage] in an argument, brings the opponent to Wisconsin's level and beats them with experience. Or maybe a better comparison would be to guerrilla fighters who force a larger, flashier, more well-equipped army to engage them on mountainous terrain. The training and experience of the invading force is nullified, as are many of their weapons, and the guerrillas have an advantage because they know the land.

If anything, Ryan has bunkered deeper into this mindset over his years at Wisconsin. The bar graph below shows three data points for Badger teams since the 2004-05 season. The first is defensive efficiency, as measured by how many points Wisconsin concedes per 100 possessions. The second is offensive efficiency, or how many they score per 100 possessions. Last is adjusted tempo; how fast they play. The team's respective Division I ranking is shown for each season. Note that that year on the x-axis denotes when the season started, so that 2011 represents the current 2011-12 season.

As you see, while there have been fluctuations in offense and defense, the pace has gone steadily downward. Ryan is like a stubborn auteur filmmaker with a strange aesthetic that becomes more pronounced over time. He's the David Lynch of basketball coaches.

Here are a couple stretches of play from last night's game against UW-Milwaukee.

First half, 16:07 - 6:19 -- Milwaukee scores four points.

Second half, 15:18 - 5:36 -- Wisconsin scores three points.

And that's not atypical. Ten minutes without scoring? No big deal in Badger world. It's the long haul that matters, and the fact that scoring droughts aside, they'll emerge as victors because they understand how to play dull.

Now, pretend you're a coach at a BCS conference in Division I. Your school is middle of the pack or lower, and you struggle to recruit against the high-profile teams. Why wouldn't you adapt Ryan's style? Doesn't it make sense? He routinely beats teams with more talented players, and he's building something like a legacy in Madison. You don't need to worry about stars; Ryan's best player this season is Jordan Taylor, and he's averaging just 11.8 points per game. All you need are guys who are willing to work hard, forsake glory, and submit totally to a system of patience and discipline.

Fortunately, most new coaches don't follow this formula. I say “fortunately” because Ryan's philosophy produces plodding, unattractive basketball. It frankly takes the joy out of the game, and I can honestly say that if I were a Wisconsin fan, I'd trade the steady success of the Ryan years for something more dynamic. I know that sentiment may not be shared in Madison, but there's something retrograde and cynical about holding the ball for 30 seconds on every possession, not to mention the idea of designing a team around an ideal of psychological frustration. It almost makes you long for the NBA's 24-second clock.

And if a Ryan Revolution ever took hold, the NCAA would have to adjust. The Badgers have blatantly exploited the shot clock. By ignoring the intent of the 1985 rule change, they've laid out a risky blueprint for college basketball. The devil is always, always in the details.

**********************

I got a laugh out of the article (Ryan does look like the devil), but I think most programs would love to have Wisconsin's success. Everybody wants scoring in the game, but if you want to win games, you find guys that play defense. Ryan has done that with a whole team. Besides, you can't knock Ryan's team for having no scoring punch and in the same article point out that his teams have fewer possessions because of how they play defense and hold the ball.

[Scott M]

An eye for an eye...

Minnesota Basketball: Waiting for Tubby

by Jon Dolan, Grantland.com

One of my top five opening lines in a novel belongs to Samuel Beckett's darkly comic dagger-turn of a debut, Murphy: "The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new." Don’t that just sum about 78.4 percent of it up? It certainly does if the "it" in question was the game I watched Tuesday night. The fluorescent sun did indeed pour down on Williams Arena for Minnesota (10-1) and Central Michigan (4-4) — warm-up threads were donned, layup drills run, and 40 minutes of going up and down an oddly raised wood surface with some maroon-painted polyurethane lines around were enacted. Fouls were called, bottles of water consumed. Then an overbearingly loud horn sounded and a Big Ten team's schedule was duly padded in an easy win against a middling mid-major. Padded for what purpose, you ask? Good question. None, really. Because the Minnesota Gophers season is over.

It ended the Sunday after Thanksgiving, when senior power forward Trevor Mbakwe went down with a torn ACL in a blowout loss to the Dayton Flyers in the Old Spice Classic. Most preseason polls had the Gophers finishing seventh at best in the Big Ten. As last night's ESPN crew pointed out several thousand times (each time more assiduously than the last), he was their key to the bubble: a dominant inside presence who was last year's conference rebounding leader and a possible first-round draft pick. His loss is just the latest blow in the Lars von Trier highlight reel that has been Tubby Smith's four-seasons-and-counting tenure in Minneapolis: a funeral procession of injuries, transfers, suspensions, a five-star recruit who announced he was leaving the team on YouTube, a talented point guard whose mom e-mailed a local journalist at 3 a.m. to get the word out that her son needed to start seeing other people (like Oregon). Last year was especially torturous; after beating North Carolina and West Virginia in the same weekend at a salsa-fueled tournament in Puerto Rico, senior star Al Nolen went down for the year and they finished the season losing 10 of their last 11 games. This year, like all years, offered the promise of transition. Without Mbakwe, they're a team in transition the way early '90s Yugoslavia was a nation in transition.

The Gophers are still 10-1, a record they’ve amassed in the traditional fake way by playing a non-conference schedule larded with baker's colleges and mime academies. I hadn't had a chance to check them out since Thanksgiving, but what struck me about Tuesday night's win wasn't how terrible they seemed without Mbakwe but how inchoately engaging they might've grown to become with him. Who knows? A break here, an injured Purdue star there, they might've oozed their way up toward the top of the Big Ten's squishy middle tier.

In the obtuse cosmology of preseason hoops, the game itself constituted something resembling a test. The best player on the floor was Central Michigan's Trey Zeigler, a Big Ten-caliber guard who was recruited by several major programs (and some less-than-major ones, like the Gophers) but chose to play for his dad, Chippewas coach Ernie Zeigler. The Chippewas started out strong against the newly center-less Gophers (center-less in the existential sense; they have a center — Ralph Sampson III, a promisingly named but ultimately ill-defined youth with the soft, brooding eyes of a café poet and the impressionistic intensity of a jazz flutist). For a while, they looked liked the better shooting team and the most aggressive on defense (Mbakwe's slack-picker-upper Rodney Williams is himself somewhat hobbled and never really showed up beyond one gob-stopping, if meaningless, dunk in the first half). But the Gophers picked up the tempo, got some turnovers, spread the Chippies' zone further than its super-structure would countenance, and opened up with easy looks for a set of guards who would've been a nice complement to the good ol' Big Ten kidney-punching inside team Tubby had to ready to roll around Mbakwe. By the time Zeigler got going in the second half, the coffin had already been shipped. Honestly, though, there were several points early on and near the end where telling the difference between the MAC team and the Big Ten team was like telling the difference between third and fourth act at New Band Night over at the 7th Street Entry (assuming that vaunted institution remains extant).

The Gophers will never make it as a shooting team in the Big Ten, and playing for the NIT is a hard thing when it's only mid-December. But Samuel Beckett suffered from cataracts, emphysema, and the recurrent visitation of boils on his neck and [badWordUsage], plus the burden of being a genius. So, hey, Gopher Nation, keep that in mind while you're out shoveling the driveway this winter. There is always the misery of our fellow man to console us as we slog toward the next smeared sunrise.

*****************

That was an ugly game with Central Michigan, and this guy just humorously states what I've been saying all along. It's sad they were a bubble team WITH Mbakwe, it's going to be a tough B1G conference season.

[Scott M]

Gophers win 63-59, Ugly game after a long layoff. Sampson with 15, Ahanmisi with 13, and Rodney with 14. Elliason with 6 and Armelin with 7. Poor showing from Austin and Andre Hollins.

Not a lot of assists or crisp passing, but at least they didn't turn it over like crazy (12). Rodney's 3-8 free throw shooting kept the door open for the Bison.