With strep throat. Developing…

University of Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Colorado State Rams

9:00 pm (CST) at Moby Arena (Fort Collins, Colorado)

Radio: WCCO 830 AM

Tv: The MTN (looks bleak for folks in Minnesota)

Liveblog: Yes, a very special radio only version (I’ll be complaining about “two-timing”)

Not particularly challenging non-conference schedules aren’t all bad. They give lesser-known programs a chance at the more established programs, and give those smaller programs something to get excited about, and in Fort Collins, they are excited.

That is right. Free T-shirts, free tickets, and hopefully free admission to the Damian Johnson show. After missing the entire season so far with a knee injury and that a broken hand, Damian Johnson, Minnesota’s mister versatility is scheduled to make his season debut, and not a moment too soon.

Although the Gophers are so far undefeated, they have done nothing so far to soothe the existential dread that any Minnesota fan of any sports deals with almost daily. Yes we beat Georgia State and Bowling Green, but we did not do so convincingly. Despite building early leads in seemingly easily in both games, the Gophers were outscored in the second halves. The fast-paced tempo that was the standard of last year’s non-conference season has only made brief cameos, and Minnesota’s half-court offense  fluctuated between mediocre and stagnant. We know that Lawrence Westbrook and Al Nolen can drive to the basket with five seconds on the shot clock when they absolutely need to, but we also know Minnesota will need to do a lot better, especially against better competition and especially on the road.

Saturday marks Minnesota’s first road game, and it should also be their first test of the season. Colorado State is in the running for one of the most improved teams of the early season. Of course, after last season, there was only room for improvement. Minnesota easily beat the Rams at Williams Arena by a score of 91-74 as Blake Hoffarber enjoyed something of a coming out party as he scored 21 points. That Rams team only returned one starter and five total players. Two of those players left after an incident involving a hand gun and a players head. This year, there was no such drama and Tim Miles has the team heading in the right direction.

Last season, the Rams were thoroughly embarrassed by Montana, losing 75-39. This season, the Rams beat the Grizzlies 85-55. The Grizzlies probably are worse this year, but a 66 point turn around in one year? I don’t care how much worse Montana is this season, the Rams are much, much better. Even with all of Indiana’s problems this season, I don’t expect we will be talking about a 50 point Gopher win.

The Rams come into Saturday’s game, 2-0 with their other win over Northern Colorado 85-74. The rams play a slightly slightly faster pace than the Gophers, averaging 71 possessions per game compared to the Gophers 65 possessions per game. However, while the Gophers have been anything but efficient on offense, Colorado State has turned themselves into something of offensive juggernaut. The Rams score 119 points per 100 possessions. The Gophers come in only at 98. The Rams have also cut down on their turnovers, averaging only 11 per game. The Gophers have been lucky to not turn the ball over that often per half.

Keys for the Gophers

1. Commit less than 13 turnovers. This might as well be the key for the season, especially with such an inexperience team. Thirteen turnovers marked their lowest turnover total of the season, and was the main reason why they were able to hold off Georgia State, despite shooting only 42% from the floor. With a low turnover total, they’ll be able to survive even if the offense isn’t there.
2. Boards before blocks The Rams have four players 6′9” tall or taller. The block won’t come easy, and if the Gophers try for them, they’ll miss the block and the eventual rebound. With Johnson playing, the Gophers have no reason to get out rebounded.
3. Run with the Rams. Even though the Gophers are used to a slower paced game, they have the athleticism to run. And really, anything to keep the Gophers out of a half court offense is a plus.

Keys for the Rams

1. Make Minnesota work on offense. The slower the game, the better chance the Rams have.
2. Dump it down low. Colton Iverson and Ralph Sampson III have both been susceptible, like many freshman, to stupid fouls. Limiting their minutes would be big.
3. Get the crowd into the game, or at least get a crowd to the game. Five Gophers will be playing their first college road game. The CSU athletic department is trying to generate some hype. If the crowd is big and rocking, the Gophers could get rattled. Caveat: the Rams best attendance came against in state rival Northern Colorado when only 3,136 people showed up. Moby Arena seats almost 9,000.

Key Players for the Gophers

1. Damian Johnson makes his season debut. If he plays his normal minutes, he should get his usual 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 10 others (blocks, steals, assists). More importantly, he should provide a big boost to the Gophers energy level, and create some scary situations for Ram ball handlers.
2. Blake Hoffarber couldn’t miss last year. If he gets hot, Minnesota’s interior players should have a lot of room to work.
3. Devoe Joseph is slowly heading into Kevin Payton territory. Watch to see if he finds his shot.

Key Players for the Huskies

1. Andy Ogide, a 6′9” transfer from Ole Miss is averaging 16 points and 11 rebounds per game while shooting over 70% from the floor.
2. Marcus Walker is the Rams’ Lawrence Westbrook. He’s small but can put up big numbers. He leads the Rams in scoring, and scored an eye-popping 43 last year against Tennessee State
3. Jesse Carr is a floppy haired freshman point guard, who will have his hands full facing Al Nolen.

Prediction: 65- 61 Gopher win

Your Prediction:

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What are your thoughts on Saturday’s game?

A few people have asked what the deal is with those small clickable boxes below each article. It would definitely have been to my benefit to explain what they were sooner, but as they say, better late than never.

Ball Hype and Yardbarker are sites similar to Digg. These sites are an excellent resource if you are interested in finding out about the goings on in the blogosphere (ie, what other people who think they know everything but are pretty darn clueless, us included, are writing about). The premise, and it is simple and subsequently pretty ingenious, is that the best articles will rise to the top, while the articles that aren’t the best won’t get in your way. Articles get to the top because readers recommend them, and that is where you come in.

If you like something you see here, or any other article for the matter at Ball Hype or Yardbarker, click on the corresponding button, and the article will be bumped up a notch. When you are at the websites of either Ball Hype or Yardbarker and see an article you like, bump it a notch as well. You will have to be registerd at either Ball Hype or Yardbarker, but there is just so much great content there, you’ll want to be anyway.

If you have questions, which I’m expecting since what I just wrote probably didn’t make that much sense, let me know and I will be happy to try to answer them. Oh to be web2.0

A few of you may remember what can only be described, in the words of the kids these days, my “Epic Fail” of a Big Ten Preview last year. Not only did I begin my preview half way through the season, but I started with the worst teams first, and didn’t bother finishing it. While I was proud of what could only be described as the most in-depth preview of Northwestern and Penn State by a completely uninformed and disinterested (sorry fans of bad basketball teams named after large felines) blogger, it was not going to get the job done this year. So instead of an “Epic Fail,” I’m going for moderate success. I have scoured the Blogosphere to find as many team and conference previews as I could. They are organized by team, and the links go to various sites. As you’ll see, the vast majority of team previews are from bloggers who actually are knowledgeable about the teams of which they write. The internet is a big place, and I am sure there are other previews out there. Let me know in the comments what I missed and I will be happy to add them to the list.

Big Ten

College Hoops Net

Big Ten Geeks

College Fast Break

Storming the Floor

Rush the Court

Northwestern Wins

Illinois

Big Ten Geeks

Indiana

Inside the Hall via The Dagger

The Hoosier Report

Big Ten Geeks

Iowa

Black Hearts Gold Pants

Big Ten Geeks

Michigan

Maize ‘n’ Brew

MGOBLOG

Michigan Sports Center

UM hoops, really, just look at the whole site. He has been previewing the season for months.

Big Ten Geeks

Michigan State

Ballin is a Habit

Spartans Weblog

SpartyMSU

Big Ten Geeks

Minnesota

From the Barn via UM Hoops

The Daily Gopher’s Multi-part Preview

Down with Goldy

Hoopraker

Big Ten Geeks

Northwestern

Big Ten Geeks

Ohio State

Buckeye Banter

Eleven Warriors

Big Ten Geeks

Penn State

Black Shoe Diaries

Crispen and Cream

Happy Hour Valley Parts 1 and 2

Big Ten Geeks

Purdue

Ballin is a Habit

Boiled Sports

Off the Tracks Parts 1 and 2

Hoopraker

Big Ten Geeks

Fan House

Wisconsin

Ballin is a Habit

Hoops Marinara via UM Hoops

Big Ten Geeks

The folks at Big Ten Geeks, god love ‘em, have broken down the non-conference schedules of all the Big Ten teams, complete with odds of winning. Things look bleak against Louisville, but we have the same chance of beating the Cardinals as Northwestern does beating the truely depleted Stanford Cardinal.

You can read the entire Gopher preview here.