Lawrence Westbrook +12
If his game winning shot didn’t convince you of his importance, maybe this will. The rap on Westbrook is that everyone knows he can score, but he does just as much to hurt the team as to help the team. Yeah…not so much. Westbrook scored 12 points, and the Gophers outscored Penn State by 12 when he was in the game. He clearly wasn’t a defensive liability, and his six turnovers must not have translated into many points.

Blake Hoffarber +9
Blake Hoffarber got off to a quick start making three three-pointers early in the first half and finishing with 12 points. His shooting ability kept Penn State out of their zone defense which seemed to confuse the Gopher offense. The man to man defense enable the Gophers to get the ball inside to Damian Johnson and Ralph Sampson III for a few easy baskets.

Devoe Joseph +7
And now for an anomaly or two. Joseph was only 1-7 from the floor with four assists and two turnovers. Initially I suspected that his strong plus minus rating would be related to his two offensive rebounds, but Joseph followed each of those rebounds with a turnovers of his own. Devoe doesn’t get much credit for his defense, but Talor Battle struggled while being guarded by the 6′3” guard. That extra size probably helped.

Paul Carter +4
Carter has the good fortune of being the bench player most likely to play with the starting line-up for extended stretches. He helped account for five straight points during a 6-0 run in the first half with a three pointer and an assist to Lawrence Westbrook. He also had a key lay-in off a Damian Johnson assist to give the Gophers a 60-56 lead with just over two minutes left.

Colton Iverson +1
If the Gophers can get more games like this from Iverson, they will be in good shape. The sophomore center didn’t try to do much. He played good physical defense, and made half the shots he attempted, from the floor and the line. At this stage in his career, Iverson simply needs to follow the Hippocratic Oath, first do no harm.

Ralph Sampson III 0
He had one of the best games of his career with 13 points and ten rebounds, and the Gophers only tied Penn State while he was on the floor. Sampson’s lack of offensive rebounds left his plus/minus rating at the mercy of his teammates. If they missed a shot, there weren’t going to be second chances. Each of his four fouls resulted in free throws for Penn State, which cut into Minnesota’s scoring margin while he was on the floor.

Damian Johnson -1

And this one I can’t even pretend to explain. Johnson played very well on both ends of the court with 13 points, 5 rebounds, an assist, 2 steals, and a block. He didn’t leave the court over the final 13 minutes of the game, which just happened to coincide with Penn State’s near come back.

Devron Bostick -1
In his action packed three minutes, Penn State made a free throw and a lay-in, and Bostick assisted on a Colton Iverson basket.

Rodney Williams -7
Talk about a disastrous six minutes. Williams played almost exclusively with the second team, and the Gophers were nearly pecked to death while he was on the court. There weren’t any big runs. Penn State just managed to outscore the Gophers by a least a point during every stretch Williams played.

Justin Cobbs -14
Sometimes this statistic is more about skill than luck. Cobbs’ presence on the court coincided with a barrage of three pointers from David Jackson and Chris Babb, neither of whom Cobbs guarded. He actually played a solid game with decent defense but no points.

Related posts:

1. Gophers at Penn State: Much needed changes for a Must Win Game
2. Game 13 Review: Gophers get on Westbrook’s back, beat Penn State
3. Quick Thoughts: Gophers 75 – Penn State 70

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1. On 3/5/09 Barn Blurbs is Westbrooked

• The seniors finally stepped up today. The team desperately needed someone to right the ship, and Johnson and Westbrook showed toughness and leadership when they needed it most. Westbrook obviously had a ridiculous buzzer beater, and Johnson had 13 points and five rebounds.

• This was Minnesota’s first last minute victory of the year, against something like 6 losses. This has to be a confidence boost.

• Don’t pay attention to Talor Battle’s 20 points. Pay attention to his 19 shots and four turnovers. Cobbs and Joseph played great defense most of the day.

• Are we entering the Ralph Sampson era? He had his third career double-double, and one of the more ridiculous dribble drive baseline dunks by a 7 footer this year. Today was his third straight game in double figures.

• Free throws of all things won the game. The Gophers made 19-25, and five straight to close the game.

We’ll be back later with a full recap. Until then, enjoy the second conference road win of the year!

Related posts:

1. Quick thoughts: Gophers 73 – Ohio State 62
2. Quick thoughts: Gophers 86-74
3. Quick Thoughts: Gophers 75 – Penn State 70

Golden Gophers vs. Penn State Nittany Lions

1:00 pm (CST) at Bryce Jordan Center (University Park, PA)

Radio: WCCO 830 AM

TV: Big Ten Network

For the better part of a month, I’ve been claiming each upcoming game was not a must win. Those games were important, and every conference game ultimately will have some impact on a potential NCAA tournament bid, but a win wasn’t essential. Now it is. If the Gophers lose tomorrow against the Nittany Lions, it’ll be time to start hoping for a big name to come to The Barn in the NIT (the NIT is bad, but UCONN, UCLA, and UNC making a trip to Minneapolis would be nothing short of intriguing).

Every team enters the conference season with some level of optimism. For the Gophers and Penn State, that optimism was misplaced. Penn State hasn’t won at all during the conference season, and their five point loss to the Gophers was the second smallest margin of defeat. After a decent start to the Big Ten season, the Gophers seem to be on the verge of melting down. Both teams are in desperate need of a win, one for respectability, the other for a shred of confidence to build off of.

Tubby Smith seems to understand the importance of tomorrow’s game, or at least knows that a change is needed. After the blow-out loss to the Buckeyes, he said that no one’s starting spot is safe. This comment was directed more towards the lack of effort by certain players, but it should be more directed at the failure of any line-up to play productive defense since Al Nolen was ruled ineligible leading up to the Michigan State game.

In the good old days, about two weeks ago, the style of play was not dictated by the players on the court. The Gophers had a collection of interchangeable parts. Replace Sampson with Iverson, Johnson with Carter, Hoffarber with Williams or Bostick, Westbrook with Joseph, and Cobbs with Nolen.  Nolen’s absence has thrust Joseph into the starting line-up, made Cobbs the only viable point guard, and removing any real back up for Westbrook. The once balanced line-up has become starter heavy as Coach Smith  has continued to try to substitute players of similar size for each other, and frankly it hasn’t been working. If Tubby Smith is serious about shuffling the starting line-up, he needs to really shuffle it.

While the Gophers don’t have a particularly deep line-up, it still remains versatile, and there is the potential to dramatically alter the line-up decisions of opposing coaches by forcing them to match the Gophers or face the consequence.  It is time for the Gophers to go big, and if that means they will later need to go small, even better.

Despite being known as one of the better defense teams in the country, the Gophers are getting torched during the conference season, giving up 1.06 points per possession during the conference season, which ranks 9th in the conference. They have especially struggled to stop two point field goal attempts, as Ohio State so eloquently expressed last Sunday. The only real difference between last year when the Gophers were one of the best teams at stopping two point field goal attempts is the lack of size in the starting line-up. Colton Iverson and Ralph Sampson patrolled the lane with intimidating length, and along with Damian Johnson, gave the Gophers three of the top 40 shot blockers in the country. There were no easy two point shots, because there wasn’t any room inside to take an uncontested shot. The Gophers have essentially traded Iverson for Hoffarber, and poor team defense has been the end result.

I understand why the “Twin Towers” are gone. Iverson and Sampson were a formidable defensive pair, but that didn’t translate to any sort of offensive success. The Gophers also don’t have much size to bring off the bench. Jonathan Williams was brutal to watch, but he was at least big. If the Gophers played Iverson and Sampson, then Paul Carter and Rodney Williams would be forced to play something resembling center, no easy task for two rail-thin 6′8” guys. But just maybe going small isn’t a bad idea either, especially against the Nittany Lions.

As everyone knows by now, Penn State consists of Talor Battle and not much else. No other player scores more than 8.7 points per game. Andrew Ott is their only real post player, and he is a squishy soft 6′10” and plays below the rim, when he plays at all. Andrew Jones  is also 6′10” but is more of a slasher than a threat down low, and not a great shooter. No other player is taller than 6′7”. Ralph Sampson III and Colton Iverson could dominate on the inside, and none of Penn State’s interior players are equipped with the tools to punish the Gophers from going big. The offense might suffer a bit, but offense is not the problem it once was. There is even an opportunity for an effective inside-outside game. Devoe Joseph, Lawrence Westbrook, and Blake Hoffarber are all very capable outside shooters, and Penn State is completely incapable of defending the three point shot. They rank 270th in the country, allowing opponents to make 37% of their three point opportunities.

Iverson and Sampson will inevitably get tired and need to come out of the game, and will be replaced by Carter and Williams. Because of the lack of Nittany Lion size, the Gophers won’t be punished by going small either. Carter can handle David Jackson or Jeff Brooks, two Penn State players of similar build. The aforementioned Andrew Ott should be held in check by just about anyone the Gophers put on him. He really is that bad. The smaller line-up also gives the Gophers length and quickness to press, which should help in slowing down and tiring out Talor Battle who averages nearly 37 minutes of playing time per game.

With the right line-up, the Gophers can dictate the style of play and keep Penn State off balance. We’ve seen the various “moderate” line-ups over the last three games, and they just aren’t getting the job done. If Tubby wants a change, he really needs to change things up.

Of course, none of this matters if the Gophers don’t show up. No line-up, no matter how talented would have challenged the Buckeyes last weekend with Minnesota’s attitude. It was lazy and embarrassing, and completely inexcusable. The Gophers have faced off court drama over a longer period of time this season than any other team in the country. Despite all that, the season is far from over, and there is no better opportunity to pick up a much needed road win over the worst team in the Big Ten on a neutral court. Yes, the game is at Penn State, but they only have a thousand or so fans in attendance on a good day. With the death storm bearing down, they’ll be lucky to have a few hundred non-employees at the game. It is up to the Gophers to get themselves back on track.

Related posts:

1. Game 13 Review: Gophers get on Westbrook’s back, beat Penn State
2. Livechat: Gophers vs. Penn State
3. Big Ten/Game 13 Preview: Gophers vs. Penn State

It’s hard not to be discouraged after a season in which such high hopes have disintegrated into an abysmal pool of mediocrity.  Results have fallen miles short of expectations, players have walked away from the team, easy games have been dropped, leads have been given away.  The team is a living, breathing version of Murphy’s Law.  Whatever could have gone wrong, has.  The Big Dance seems to be, at this point, a pipe dream.  Soon all of our conference counterparts will seem to be partying away their spring in the field of 65.  But guess what?

It’s not a pipe dream.

With nine games to go in the season the Gophers still find themselves squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble.  And the road to the Dance is not as absurdly difficult as it might seem at first glance.  Over the final nine games Minnesota hosts five and goes on the road to places like Penn State, Michigan, Illinois and Northwestern.  Tough games, for sure, but were not talking death traps like walking into the Kohl Center in late February.  These games are winnable.  Here is the schedule for the stretch run:

• 2/6 @ Penn State
• 2/11 vs. Michigan
• 2/14 @ Northwestern
• 2/18 vs. Wisconsin
• 2/20 vs. Indiana
• 2/24 vs. Purdue
• 2/27 @ Illinois
• 3/2 @ Michigan
• 3/7 vs. Iowa

The Gophers also have great resume-building games to strengthen their case for consideration as they host both Wisconsin and Purdue at Williams Arena, where the team has dropped only one game all season: a nail-biter to Michigan State.  We know they can show up to play at home, and a win over wither the Badgers or Boilermakers is not too much to ask.

There are a couple things that need to happen for Minnesota to get serious consideration for the tournament:

• Unless they beat Illinois, Purdue and Wisconsin through the home stretch, the team has to win at least six of its final nine games.  They basically need to finish 19-11 with two wins over two of the aforementioned three or 20-10 with a win over one.  Going 20-11 without a win over either of those teams leaves the Gopher resume frighteningly thin, with only two good wins over Butler and Ohio State.
• Unless they sweep Illinois, Purdue and Wisconsin, the team can NOT drop a game to either Penn State (RPI: 227), Indiana (RPI: 225) or Iowa (RPI: 118).  Either of those would be considered a bad loss in the eyes of the committee, which would effectively destroy the Gopher season.  The Indiana loss earlier still stings.

The Gophers have the 26th hardest schedule in the nation, which should become even harder when they face the Badgers and Boilers.  Playing that tough of a schedule in a conference like the Big Ten means that 19 or 20 wins is a sort of magic number.  The team doesn’t have to fork over 5 or 6 quality wins if it wants consideration.  They just need to show that they take care of business over the teams they should beat, and slay a top team every once in a while.

The only “must-win” games that the Gophers will be in will be games against Penn State, Indiana and Iowa.  Other games don’t have quite the weight that those against the conference scrubs do.  That being said, the Gophers would do well to take a home game against Purdue or Wisconsin, but no single game is yet considered a  must-win.

Consideration for the Tournament is not unattainable.  In fact, the amount of home games and the relatively weak teams the Gophers have to face on the road allows them a great opportunity to get back on track.  They are still in position to find themselves dancing in a month and a half, all they really need to do is take care of business at home and beat Penn State on the road.  19 wins with a Wisconsin/Purdue/Illinois win or 20 wins regardless gets them in.  It’s really that simple.  The path to redemption starts on Saturday.

Related posts:

1. Gophers Big Ten schedule released, and the Gophers are Big Time
2. Two Big Ten pieces added to schedule puzzle
3. The Blogosphere Previews the Big Ten

Each a nomad, they finally found a home after years of traveling, though the destination may not have been what they were looking for. Desmond sailed around the world only to find himself on an abandoned island forced to push a button to keep the world from ending. Paul Carter traveled from southern California to New Orleans to Arkansas to junior college to the Gophers, only to find a team in the midst of a soap opera.

Ralph Sampson as Richard Alpert

Semi-ageless, soft spoken, and emotionless. Sampson and Alpert seem unshakable, but sure don’t have much fun.

Devron Bostick as Paulo

Both joined in the middle, and neither had an impact. Bostick was the much hyped junior college player of the year who became a bench warmer. Paulo came on as a new character with the potential to show us a new side of the island, and was killed by a spider.

Devoe Joseph as Daniel Faraday

It isn’t easy being thrown into an impossible situation and expected to save the day, especially with dire consequences if mistakes are made. Faraday was shot by his mother before he was born while trying to stop time from skipping. Joseph faced the Spartans in his first start at point guard.

Related posts:

1. Part II: The Lost Season
2. Part 1: The Lost Season
3. A Season in Review: Devron Bostick

Bryant Allen as Dogen

Lost introduced Dogen last night during the season premiere of the final season. Apparently the Lost writers fail to recognize how preposterous it is that a giant temple and its caretakers would be hidden for so long on an island roughly the size of Stadium Village. Tubby Smith likes random late additions too, like punt returner/point guard Bryant Allen. It remains to be seen what role each will play in the future.

Rodney Williams as Matthew Abaddon

Talk about potential! When Cedric Daniels joined the cast a of lost, I was excited. Who wouldn’t be. Unfortunately, his new character, Matthew Abaddon, was unceremoniously assassinated. Rodney Williams played like a super star early in the season, but as the level of competition picked up, he disappeared. Luckily his future is much brighter than any of the Lost characters.

Colton Iverson as Hurley

Neither seems to quite fit in. Iverson is the gangly kid from South Dakota, thrust into the big city. Hurley is the schizophrenic lottery winner with a family that makes everyone feel like their family is normal.

Justin Cobbs as Aaron

One is a freshman point guard. The other is the first child born on the island. Both have the future in their hands.

Related posts:

1. Part III: The Lost Season
2. Part 1: The Lost Season
3. Quick Thoughts: Gophers 89 – Northern Illinois

The 2009-2010 Gopher basketball season hasn’t gone the way any expected or wanted. The string of close losses, catching Portland at absolutely the wrong time, a near epic comeback at Indiana, the epic anti-comeback against Michigan State, and the most lackluster defensive performance at Ohio State have been equal parts frustrating, confusing, and infuriating, and those are just on the court! Add in the suspensions of Royce White, Trevor Mbakwe, Devron Bostick, and Al Nolen, and the film room altercation between Lawrence Westbrook and Nolen, and it is hard to imagine what else could go wrong.

Well, we could all be victims of an airplane crash on a smoke monster infested island that moves in time and is inhabited by hostile quasi-people who have super natural powers. The only thing worse than that would be getting roped into watching a show with no real plot or direction and endless cliff hangers that have no real bearing on the eventual outcome that will inevitably disappointing and not live up to expectation.

That sounds an awful lot like Gopher basketball.

In honor of the Lost season premier and this lost season, I present to you, in all its oversimplified and loosely associated glory, the Gopher basketball team as the cast of Lost!

Lawrence Westbrook as Benjamin Linas

Is he good or is he evil. Whose side is he on anyway. Is he on anyone’s side or just his own? It is probably preferable to have Westbrook and Linas for you and not against you, but they are both capable of doing more harm than good.

Blake Hoffarber as Sawyer

Both are wrongly accused of being two trick ponies, Hoffarber being only dreamy and a three point shooter, Sawyer being dreamy and speaking with southern accent. But both bring more to the table. Hoffarber  is actually a pretty good rebounder for a guard and Sawyer is really good at pretending to be other supposedly dreamy guys with southern accents.

Al Nolen as Jack

Each is a desperately needed leader, and each has major lapses in their leadership skills. Nolen fails to make wise decisions in the lane and in the class room. Jack has a nasty habit of engaging in torture and violating the Hippocratic oath.

Damian Johnson as  Smokey

Johnson and the smoke monster have unparalleled defensive skills, but both are strangely limited in other ways. An ethereal and visious entity should be able to do a lot more than occasionally destroy everything in sight. Johnson should be a better all around player with this athleticism and instincts.

Royce White as Christian Shephard

Is he on the team or off the team? Has he ever been on the team? Is he alive or dead? On the island or off the island? Are they both just a figment of our collective imagination?

More characters, more players, more mostly faulty comparisons later. Until then, there is this addictive TV show that I almost wish I could just stop watching.

Related posts:

1. Part III: The Lost Season
2. Part II: The Lost Season
3. Game 19 Preview: Gophers vs. Michigan State

After an encouraging victory at home over a legitimate Northwestern team, the Gophers went on the road to Ohio State in hopes of building on their glimmer of success.  What we saw, though, was perhaps the worst performance of the year from Minnesota at a point in the season where you’d like to see quite the opposite.

Losing to Ohio State in Columbus is nothing to be ashamed about.  The Buckeyes are 13-0 at home this season and are incredibly tough to go against when their fans get into the game.  That being said, getting blown out by a team you’ve beaten already this year without appearing to give any defensive effort IS something to be ashamed of.

The distressing part of the game overall was the disappearance of the stingy, effective Gopher defense.  Their calling card all season has been the ability to force teams into mistakes and take them out of their offensive comfort zone, holding opponents to 38% from the field this season.   Ohio State shredded the Minnesota defense to the tune of 73% in the first half and shot 63% for the game.  For an often offensively-illiterate team like the Gophers, shooting percentages like that cannot happen.  Minnesota only grabbed four steals, forced 12 turnovers, swatted zero blocks and let Evan Turner have his way the entire game.  For the first time all season, the Gophers looked like the inferior team.  Things even got so bad that Bryant Allen saw his first minute of the season.

For all of the awfulness of the game, it’s important to put it in perspective.  This was a road game against maybe the hottest team in the conference with a Player of the Year candidate at full strength and was far from a must- or should-win situation.  Minnesota was expected to lose,  just not necessarily expected to get murdered.  Honestly, they are no worse off now than they were before the game in terms of postseason chances.

The team starts a crucial five-game stretch of winnable games that will make or break their postseason chances and will need rediscover their defensive cohesion in order to make a splash as the regular season winds down.  The Gophers have too much else to worry about without having to wonder if their defense will show up.

Game Notes:

• The Gophers shot uncharacteristically well (51%), but turned the ball over 17 times leading to 24 points for the Buckeyes.  Turnovers don’t necessarily lose games, points given up off of turnovers do.
• Rodney Williams had 13 of Minnesota’s 20 bench points.  Only Justin Cobbs (5) and Paul Carter (2) were able to register a point off the bench.
• Blake Hoffarber hit two more three-pointers, racked up 10 points and pulled in six rebounds.
• There was no clear-cut run that the Buckeyes put together to take a big lead; they simply dominated from start to finish.
• Minnesota is now only 1-5 away from Williams Arena, with the lone win at Iowa.  After losing 9 of their last 10 conference road games, it’s becoming scary how awful the team is away from home.

Related posts:

1. Liveblog: Gophers at Ohio State
2. Game 21 Preview: Gophers at Ohio State
3. Quick thoughts: Gophers 73 – Ohio State 62

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1. Ugly: Ohio State 85 – Gophers 63
2. Game 21 Preview: Gophers at Ohio State
3. Quick thoughts: Gophers 73 – Ohio State 62