From The Barn

March is the month of fairness and redemption

Posted on 11. Mar, 2009 by JF in 2008-2009

Golden Gophers vs. Northwestern Wildcats

11:00 am (CST) at Conseco Field House (Indianapolis, Indiana)

Radio: WCCO 830 AM

TV: BTN

The Bubble, above all else, if a very fair thing. Teams don’t end up there unfairly or because of anything beyond their control. Bubble teams have only one game to determine the success of their season because, in at least one of their thirty or so prior games, they weren’t able to get the job done. The Gophers had several such games, most recently at home against Michigan, but the first one they let get away was on the road against Northwestern, the very team they will play on Thursday in the first round of the Big Ten tournament. The Gophers dominated the early going in that game back in January, but their intensity slipped and the Wildcats won going away in the second half. That win served as something of a spark for Northwestern, and they beat Michigan State their next game and went on to win four of their next five.  The Wildcats then ran into their own problems winning close games, and dropped their next three contests by a total of nine points. Northwestern is a marginal bubble team, needing a deep run into the Big Ten tournament and no surprises in the conference tournaments across the country. By Northwestern standards this season has been a smashing success, but like all bubble teams have always known, March is a month of “What ifs”.

The Bubble is also redemptive.  If the Gophers can beat Northwestern, barring unprecedented upsets sweeping all the major conference tournaments, they will be in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2005. Northwestern’s path will be longer and rockier, but not impossible since they have already beaten the Gophers and Michigan State, whom the winner will play on Friday.

By the time two teams play each other for the third time, especially in the middle of March, there are no surprises. Both teams know their counterpart well by now. It is too late in the season to implement new strategies, and too late to correct any glaring weaknesses. Winning in March comes down to executing at what a team does best. As has been the case in the two previous meetings, the Gophers need to play excellent defense, and Northwestern needs to make three pointers.

If the Gophers want to play in the NCAA tournament, they will need to beat The Wildcats. If they lose, they don’t deserve that opportunity. Everyone deserves a second chance, and this is it for the Gophers. What could be more fair than that?

Related posts:

1. Gophers vs. Wildcats in the Big Ten Tournament
2. Minnesota vs. Northwestern: Now it is serious
3. Gophers vs. Northwestern: Playing for pride, if the Gophers have any left
4. A chance to dance, but it will take two to tango
5. Barn Blurbs 3/10/09

Tags: Big Ten Tournament, Game Preview, Northwestern Wildcats