From The Barn

Barn Blurbs 3.16.10

Posted on 16. Mar, 2010 by Face.

Even in the face of difficult personnel issues this season, SI.com reminds us that Tubby Smith still did a great job at overcoming this year’s adversity.
Take the Vegas odds for what they are, but Minnesota is a one point favorite heading into Friday’s contest.
Out of the dog house and playing the best ball of his [...]

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Xavier Preview Part 1: The Non-conference Schedule

Posted on 16. Mar, 2010 by JF.

As was the case last year, we’ll go right up to game time slicing and dicing Minnesota’s NCAA tournament first round match-up. Today, we look back at Xavier’s non-conference schedule, over the next few days we’ll also look at their players and strengths and weakness, culminating Thursday with the final preview and a few predictions. [...]

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What a weekend!

Posted on 14. Mar, 2010 by JF.

The reaction:
“We all jumped together,” point guard Devoe Joseph said. “I think we might have damaged the couch in there.”
Damaged would be putting it mildly.
“We did break the couch,” shooting guard Lawrence Westbrook confirmed. “We were excited to see our name.”
“I honestly had no clue,” said Joseph, who made the All-Tournament team. “I didn’t [...]

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The Gophers are dancing…in Milwaukee!!!

Posted on 14. Mar, 2010 by JF.

Interstate 94 should be pretty crowded on Thursday night. The Gophers, the 11th seed,  will take on #6 Xavier. More later on the match-up and the crazy weekend that made it all possible.

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Are you kidding me? Gophers win!

Posted on 12. Mar, 2010 by JF.

Let me try this, but don’t expect much in the way of complete sentences or proper punctuation. We are officially in uncharted territory and I am as close to being at a loss for words as possible. It is a very good thing this is in writing, the facial cramp resulting from a giant smile [...]

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A chance to dance, but it will take two to tango

Posted on 10. Mar, 2010 by JF.

Last year I wrote that March is the season of redemption. This year, the Gophers need some redemption and then some. Even though they finished with the same Big Ten record and higher in the conference standings, they find themselves in a much worse position in terms of reaching the NCAA tournament.
Coming into this week, [...]

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Postseason Inventory

Posted on 09. Mar, 2010 by Face.

First off, a belated congratulations to the entire Gopher men’s basketball team for showing up to play against the seething, tenacious 2009-2010 Iowa Hawkeyes.  Honestly, it probably wouldn’t have surprised even the most skeptical of Gopher fans had Minnesota dropped the season finale on Senior Night against arguably the worst team in the conference.  Such [...]

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The Worst: Michigan 83 – Gophers 55

Posted on 03. Mar, 2010 by Face.

Pathetic.  Embarrassing.  Unbelievable.  What ever negative word someone wants to use to describe the Gophers effortless, aloof performance against the Michigan Wolverines would probably be deserved.  At a time when Minnesota needed to come out firing against a team with nothing to play for, a time that called for nothing more than a solid performance [...]

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Simple changes, simply stunning results

Posted on 01. Mar, 2010 by JF.

Three weeks ago I was cursing Michigan for ruining the Gophers’ season. Now I should be thanking them, profusely. Minnesota’s embarrassing home loss to the Wolverines may be the final nails in the NCAA tournament coffin, but it also awoke a struggling Gopher team that was threatening to sleep walk its way through the rest [...]

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Streaks this long don’t end easily

Posted on 28. Feb, 2010 by JF.

A ten point half time lead was surprising. A seemingly insurmountable 19 point lead with just over seven minutes left was shocking. The final score, a 62-60 victory for the Gophers was only unexpected because the Gophers won.
Assembly Hall has been a house of horrors for the Gophers for decades. The last win at Illinois [...]

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Gophers win at Illinois for the first time since 1996!

Posted on 27. Feb, 2010 by JF.

More later, but now, belt it out with me!

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Next Year’s Nucleus

Posted on 26. Feb, 2010 by JF.

I hope you’ll excuse me for not delving into the finer details of Minnesota’s latest blown lead and missed buzzer beater. If you saw last season’s Michigan game, or this year’s games against Michigan State or at Indiana and Northwestern you know how the story goes. This team is as formulaic as any of the [...]

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A little perspective has taken the Gophers a long way

Posted on 22. Feb, 2010 by JF.

On his first field goal attempt of his college basketball career, punt returner/point guard rolled in a three pointer. Moments later he hit Justin Cobbs on a three-quarter court bounce pass that led to a thunderous dunk. A second later it was Rodney Williams streaking to the basket, too contested to dunk but not for [...]

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It’s a Blowout!: Gophers 81 – Indiana 58

Posted on 21. Feb, 2010 by Face.

Two days after ripping Wisconsin with the season on the line at Williams Arena, the Gophers once again came back ready to play and dumped the Indiana Hoosiers by 23 points.  The Gophers held Indiana to 32% shooting from the field and, perhaps more important, didn’t allow them to get anything going from beyond the [...]

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Gophers vs. Indiana: Out for revenge

Posted on 20. Feb, 2010 by JF.

With one tongue wagging push off and an obvious travel, Minnesota’s season fell apart. Verdell Jones, on track to become one of the least likeable player in the Big Ten was giddy, not because his fall away jumper knocked off the Gophers, but because he knew he got away with another one on a day [...]

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Buzzed! Gophers 68 – Wisconsin 52

Posted on 19. Feb, 2010 by Face.

Well I’ll be….where in the name of Clem Haskins has this team been all season.  Intensity, concentration, EXECUTION.  If all it takes is a shaved head to win in this business, than maybe Joel Maturi should consider bringing Andre Agassi on board as a consultant.
Not that it even comes close to making up for the [...]

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As long as they beat the Badgers

Posted on 17. Feb, 2010 by JF.

In the darker days of Gopher basketball, and for the last 40 years or so in Gopher football, there was always a saving grace to even the most atrocious season. Beating the Badgers has a way of making up for countless losses and blown opportunities, and can make even the darkest off season tolerable.
This season [...]

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Gophers vs. Northwestern: Playing for pride, if the Gophers have any left

Posted on 13. Feb, 2010 by JF.

A week ago this looked like it could be quite a game. The Gopher would have been looking for a big road win to build momentum for an end of the season run that would include 3 wins over probably NCAA tournament teams, two easy home wins, and  a winnable game at Northwestern. That first [...]

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Bubble burst(ing) Michigan 71 – Gophers 63

Posted on 12. Feb, 2010 by Face.

I came into yesterday’s game with above-average expectations for a team that, for the most part, has underachieved all season.  They’d been up and down for the better part of the last month but were coming off a stretch where they had won two of three and seemed to have been gaining some momentum after [...]

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Gophers vs. Michigan Preview with an assist from UMHoops.com

Posted on 10. Feb, 2010 by JF.

Dylan from UMHoops.com generously agreed to answer a few questions about tomorrow night’s must win match-up between two of the more disappointing teams in the country. I also answered some questions of his. Fair warning, go elsewhere for boundless optimism.
FTB: I hate to start with the obvious question, but what the heck happened? Where [...]

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The Penn State Game: Plus/Minus

Posted on 08. Feb, 2010 by JF.

The Big Ten Geeks have once again generously calculated plus/minus statistics for a Gopher basketball game, this time for that epic (note the semi-sarcasm) win over Penn State. In blow-outs, plus/minus statistics can be pretty meaningless. The plus/minus statistics also often become just a function of playing time. If a player plays every second of [...]

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Westbrooked

Posted on 07. Feb, 2010 by JF.

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Quick Thoughts: Its not over!

Posted on 06. Feb, 2010 by JF.

What’s that? Something good finally happened to the Gopher basketball team. I don’t care who you are playing, the circumstances, or the pre-game predictions, a road win in the Big Ten is huge. Minnesota needed to win to keep the season alive, and they got the job done!

The seniors finally stepped up today. The team [...]

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Gophers at Penn State: Much needed changes for a Must Win Game

Posted on 05. Feb, 2010 by JF.

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 [...]

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By the Numbers: Nine to Go

Posted on 04. Feb, 2010 by Face.

Gophers: 13-8, 4-5 in the Big Ten.  Nine games to go.  Lost four of their last five.  Can things look bleaker?
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 [...]

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Part III: The Lost Season

Posted on 04. Feb, 2010 by JF.

Paul Carter as Desmond
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 [...]

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Part II: The Lost Season

Posted on 03. Feb, 2010 by JF.

When laughter and self-mockery are all that is left!
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 [...]

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Part 1: The Lost Season

Posted on 02. Feb, 2010 by JF.

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 [...]

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Ugly: Ohio State 85 – Gophers 63

Posted on 01. Feb, 2010 by Face.

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 [...]

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Liveblog: Gophers at Ohio State

Posted on 31. Jan, 2010 by JF.

Gophers vs, Ohio State

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