Obviously some time has passed since the Gophers won on Tuesday against the Virginia Cavaliers. Just as obvious is the fact that I haven’t yet written anything until now. My apologies. The game ended very late, and I decided to be selfish and sleep before writing anything. I was planning to write last night, but it became painfully obvious that a freezer that was quickly freezing itself out of existence had reached a critical point, and if drastic action was not taken, it wouldn’t be able to freeze, or for that matter fit an ice cube inside of it. With the freezer looking mighty glorious if I don’t say so myself, and the crisis averted, I can finally review the game. And if you were wondering, pots of boiling water work much better than a hair dryer, a screw driver, and a hammer. I’d tell you how those three seemingly disparate items can defrost a freezer, but then you might be tempted to try to replicate my defrosting technique, and that would be problem.

I also have a confession to make. I am about as good at remembering details from big home games as I am at defrosting freezers. I will never be one of those level headed writers that can maintain a distance from what they are covering. The closer the game, and the wilder the crowd, the worse I am. I’d like to think I can remain objective, but if you ask me at the end of a time out who knocked the ball out of bounds to force the time out, I’ll have a good guess but not much else. So if you are looking for extremely detailed blow by blow analysis of Minnesota’s big win, google will help you find something out. Now that the confession, the apology, and the better homes and gardens advice column is out of way, there was a basketball game the other night.

In beating Virginia on Tuesday night, Minnesota secured their biggest home win since 2006. The Cavaliers are not world beaters, but they are the type of team that gave Minnesota fits all of last year. Most of Minnesota loss, especially the blow out came against tall, long, quick athletic teams such as Maryland, Illinois, Florida State and UNLV. If last night is any indication, Minnesota should be able to holds it own against every team on their schedule. They will lose some of course. At least this year though, the outcome won’t be determined solely by size and athleticism.

As has become their trade mark, the Gophers won with a tough and at time frenetic defense and an offense that did just enough on its own, and did wonders with the help of defense to win rather comfortably by a score of 66-56 to improve to their best start since 1976.

Suddenly Minneapolis is a college basketball town again. People watched the game on national TV, saw what they liked, and are having a hard time keeping it to themselves. We learned a lot Tuesday night. It was the Gophers first meaningful game (sorry Colorado State, your great, really, go Rams!) in front a crazy crowd on National TV, and they passed the test. The question is no longer if the Gophers are good. They are, and are definitely better than last year, but how good are they?

On Tuesday we learned the Gophers have a way to go in the rebounding department. Virginia was able to grab 40% of their offensive rebound opportunities and were able to keep Minnesota from hitting the glass. In past years, especially against athletic teams, this has been the Gophers death knell. Against Colorado State, where they barely escaped, the Rams pulled in 44% of their offensive rebounding opportunities. Last year Maryland came away with 46%, Indiana 42%, Illinois with 57%, Michigan State 47%, and Florida State 40%. The only win among these, was against Indiana, and anyone who watched that game can tell you about the importance of keeping the opponent limited to once chance. A great defense can only get you so far if the other teams keeps on shooting. On Tuesday night, Virginia was able to get the ball and get second chances with 14 offensive rebounds. Fortunately, Minnesota’s defense was able to erase the mistakes.

And how about that defense. It was solid in the half court, it was great in the press, and it was best inside. Remember those 14 offensive rebounds? A lot of teams easily could have turned those in 20 points. Had the Cavaliers done that it would be Minnesota with a disappointing loss. Despite those many second chances, Virginia came away with only 5 second chance points. With either of the twin towers in, there are no easy baskets. Think about what Sylvan Landesberg faced Tuesday. He came into the game as one of the most impressive freshman in the ACC if not the country. He left The Barn a mere mortal Freshman. Blake Hoffarber, who has sure learned to slide laterally, gave him fits most of the night, and knew when to switch. Landesberg then had to deal with Lawrence Westbrook, who is shameless about his in your face defense, or Damian Johnson, who is as long and lanky as ever. Damian Johnson had three blocks and three steals. Landesberg had one made field goal. If that is not enough, Mike Scott, who averaged a double double, only pulled in 6 rebounds to go along with his 0 points and three turnovers. Colton Iverson and Ralph Sampson completely clogged the lane, leaving Virginia with little else to do but shoot low percentage floater or even lower percentage mid-range and longer jump shots. Then again, a pair of nearly 7 foot tall player, each who already have a reputation for blocking shot can do that. Even more impressive than the half court defense was Minnesota’s press, which tore away several of the Gophers 10 steals, but also wreaked havoc with Virginia’s ability to get the ball in bounds, or if successful with that, getting across half court. Which game the offense just enough chances to succeed.

The offense still needs some work. Other than Colton Iverson and Blake Hoffarber, who excelled in the half court, the offense struggled. The Gophers shot only 40% from the field and a much worse 25% from behind the three point line, even though they played one of the worst defending team against the three point shot. Take away Hoffarber, and the percentage drops to an even worse 12.5%. This isn’t too alarming though, and many of the shots were taken within the context of the offense, but just didn’t fall. Let’s just hope it does not become a trend.

Whether Minnesota is for real is still up in the air until the Louisville game. The offense is good enough to get by, and with more practice and more time together, passes will get crisper, the players will know where each other are, and the pieces will fall into place. The defense is already more than enough to erase mistakes and create offense. At this point of the season, the Gophers are ahead of schedule and the bandwagon is open.

Who did what?

• Jamal Abu- Shamala just looked bad. He can have big games against slower or smaller team, but Virginia is neither. His Paytonesque number include 2 points, a rebound, an assist, a foul, and a turnover.
• Damian Johnson decided he could shoot three pointers. Not so much. Then he decided that he could block shots, do rebounds, and be the most valuable player in the Big Ten who has no hope to win any post-season awards. His 6 points weren’t great, but scoring isn’t why is he is great. He led all players with three blocks, setting distance record on at least one, had three steals, including a tear or way or two that made Virginia just look silly, and added 3 assists. Not a bad night for the best player no one has heard of.
• Colton Iverson scored 14 points on 6 shots, and we get him for almost 4 more years. Its hard to believe that this kid is only 18 years old and was living in Tom Brokaw’s home town a year ago. He scored 14 points on 5-6 shooting, led all players with 7 rebounds, made clutch free throws, and committed only 2 fouls.
• Al Nolen had 5 steals, one which led to a thunderous dunk (well, as thunderous as Al Nolen can manage, and had 9 points and 5 assists. Even though the Gophers offense struggled, it looked much better when he was in the game, and incredibly imperfect when he left. In short, he is the Gopher offense.
• Blake Hoffarber figured to have a big game with poor perimeter defense by the Cavaliers, and he did with 4 three pointers. He also had a block. Who knows when that happened?
• Travis Busch continue to get his minutes, and somehow avoid disaster. Down with Goldy may disagree with the disaster part.
• Devoe Joseph was great when he wasn’t shooting, so we’ll just ignore that for now. With Al Nolen in foul trouble and out of the game Devoe Joseph was a stabilizing force, and save the Gophers with a driving lay up late in the game. He is still more of a shooting guard than anything else, but he showed last night, that at least for a few minutes, he can hold his own.
• Lawrence Westbrook symbolized Minnesota’s shooting woes, but was steady every where else. He made 6-8 free throws, and iced the game at the free throw line.
• Devron Bostick scored two points, but looked silly trying to defend Virginia’s pick and pop.  He played a team low 7 minutes (sorry Kevin Payton, you’ll get in next time!)
• Ralph Sampson’s biggest number in the box score was 2, as in 2 blocks. If there was an intimidation index, it would be off the charts. Virginia didn’t want anything to with him, and he is the main reason they only made 16 field goals.
• The Barn was alive like nothing since the Indiana game, and that was a much hyped nationally ranked opponent. There was as much energy in the building as I’ve seen in a while. It was especially encouraging that the occasionally non-vocal crowd was especially appreciative about the little things, the good hustle, the strong defense, all the things that all too often get overlooked. Good work!

University of Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Virginia Cavaliers

8:30 pm (CST) at Williams Arena

Radio: WCCO 830 AM

Tv: ESPN 2

Tickets: Row 11, center court in the upper deck

Liveblog: A live chat will be open about 3 hours before the game

The fact that the Ralph Sampson III’s father played for Virginia is not the most intriguing story line of Tuesday’s game against Virginia. I’ll actually name a few others. How will Minnesota’s young interior fare against major college competition. Will the Gophers miss Paul Carter, their most ACC-type player? Will this game reveal anything about either the Big Ten or ACC? Which is the reveal Virginia, the team that lost to Liberty or the team that almost beat Syracuse? If one delved deep enough into the minutia, there are probably 100 story lines more intriguing that where Ralph Sampson III got his Y chromosome, and I only mention it to serve as an example. Yes, ESPN family of networks, it is possible to mention something once and move on. Of course they will mention it a million times, which may give them less opportunities to mention that Williams Arena is old, it is cold outside (which really affects indoor sports) and there are more than a few seats at The Barn that don’t have stellar views, but please do us all a favor and spare us the DNA analysis and tell us more about Thomas Jefferson.

Yes, there is a basketball game tomorrow and not just a family reunion of sorts. The Gophers come into Tuesday’s game confident and undefeated, having strung together three consecutive best games of the still young season. Riddled by injuries, Minnesota figures to be as healthy as they have been all season with Lawrence Westbrook at full strength and Jonathan Williams available if needed. Paul Carter is still out, but the Gophers are loaded at the small forward position, and if they had to choose where to have an injury, it would be on the wing.

Virginia on the other hand is having a head-scratcher of the season. That they are struggling is no surprise. Sean Singletary, their best player last year, is living the life in the NBA, barely cracking double digit minutes each night. Mamada Diane, their second best player last season, has not adjusted to what should be his starring role, and has lost his starting spot. Not surprising, the Cavaliers look like a team still trying to find themselves. While they have more wins than losses, their wins might as well be losses. They beat VMI, which is more than certain teams from states where the grass is oddly colored can say, and they also knocked off Radford and South Florida, each by two points. For those who are curious, Radford has not beaten a Division I team and has lost to both Navy and William and Mary. Just when Virginia looked to achieve some sort of self-awareness they gave up an 11 point half time lead in less than 10 minutes to lose to Syracuse.

Other than Louisville, Virginia will probably be the fastest team Minnesota plays this year. Virginia ranks 21st in the country in possessions per game, and loves to put points on the board. They average 10 possessions more than the Gophers each game, and as you might expect, score 80 points per game, four more than the Gophers. Those extra 10 possession only equate to four extra points because they don’t always make the best use of their opportunities, especially from the three point line where they make only 29%, which ranks 279th in the country. Minnesota on the other hand makes about 38% percent. Other than their three-point woes, Virginia is actually on solid offensive team that excels on the offensive glass and turns the ball over much less often than a team that is struggling should.

This is not the case on defense, where Virginia plays exactly like a team that barely beat Radford. They rank 246th in forcing turnovers, and if they do not force a turnover, the other team is more than likely going to score. Their opponents are shooting better than 36 from behind the three point line and making more than 52% of their two-point shots. At least they can rebound.

Virginia will be Gophers biggest test so far this season, and will be very different than anything they have seen. Like most ACC teams, the Cavaliers should have an athleticism advantage, and they are the first team the Gophers have faced so far that isn’t afraid to run. But thanks to Minnesota’s recruiting class, they should be able to keep up.

Keys for the Gophers

1. Hit the glass, and hit it hard. Minnesota should have the advantage on both ends of the court when either team has the ball. But this game will be decided once the ball is in the air and off the rim. The Gopher guards will need to be especially ready to track down long rebounds off of three point shots.
2. Establish some inside scoring. With Virginia’s poor perimeter defense, it will be tempting to launch three pointers early and often, (which Minnesota has done…early and often) but the outside shots will be that much easier if the Gophers can suck some defenders inside.
3. All we are saying, is give press a chance, but don’t press it. Virginia committed only 11 turnovers against a very athletic Syracuse team. Minnesota will need to see how the Cavaliers handle the press, and be OK abandoning it and settling into some half court defense if it doesn’t work out.

Keys for the Cavaliers

1. Get an outside game. Their perimeter shooting is woeful, but the Gophers rank 10th in the country in blocking shots. The Cavaliers will need to keep Minnesota honest the outside.
2. Keep the crowd out of it. It may be wishful thinking, but Minnesota’s home crowd should be lively despite the late start.
3. Force mistakes. Worse teams have made the Gophers look silly at times.

Key Players for the Gophers

1. Al Nolen’s scoring has disappeared. He will need to do more than just pass and defend.
2. Damian Johnson will need to focus on rebounding, especially on the defensive ends. One of his strengths has all but disappeared.
3. Blake Hoffarber- open shots + national TV= big night

Key Players for the Cavaliers

1. Sylvan Landesberg is a 6′6” freshman guard who can do it all. He leads the Cavaliers in scoring, is second in rebounding, third in assists, and second in steals.
2. Sammy Zeglinski has improved his three point shooting from 19% last year to almost 48% this year.
3. Mike Scott averages a double-double, and should give the Gophers fits.

Prediction: 85-80 Gophers win

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