From The Barn

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 [...]

Continue Reading

Elliott Eliason: an update

Posted on 10. Feb, 2010 by zipsofakron.

When we last checked in, Elliott Eliason had committed to the Minnesota Gophers for the 2010-11 season, becoming one of two major recruits for the team going into next year.  Con Marshall from the Chadron Record, a local newspaper in Eliason’s hometown, took the time to update From The Barn on how Eliason’s senior season [...]

Continue Reading

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 [...]

Continue Reading

Westbrooked

Posted on 07. Feb, 2010 by JF.

Continue Reading

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 [...]

Continue Reading

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 [...]

Continue Reading

By the Numbers: Nine to Go

Posted on 04. Feb, 2010 by zipsofakron.

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 [...]

Continue Reading

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 [...]

Continue Reading

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 [...]

Continue Reading

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 [...]

Continue Reading

Ugly: Ohio State 85 – Gophers 63

Posted on 01. Feb, 2010 by zipsofakron.

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 [...]

Continue Reading

Liveblog: Gophers at Ohio State

Posted on 31. Jan, 2010 by JF.

Gophers vs, Ohio State

Continue Reading

Game 21 Preview: Gophers at Ohio State

Posted on 30. Jan, 2010 by JF.

 Golden Gophers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes 12:00 pm (CST) at Value City Arena (Columbus, OH) Radio: WCCO 830 AM TV: CBS Any conversation about the 2009-2010 Ohio State basketball team begins and ends with Evan Turner. Therefore, logically, any conversation about an opponent of the Buckeyes should at least begin with defending the national [...]

Continue Reading

Turnaround Time: Gophers 65 – Northwestern 61

Posted on 27. Jan, 2010 by zipsofakron.

The Gophers came into their contest against Northwestern sitting squarely on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament and desperately in need of stopping a three-game slide that had included meltdowns and upsets.  A loss against Northwestern would have meant an almost insurmountable road to the Big Dance and another “should’ve” miss that has plagued the [...]

Continue Reading

Game 20 Preview: Gophers vs. Northwestern Wildcats

Posted on 25. Jan, 2010 by JF.

Golden Gophers vs. Northwestern Wildcats 8:00 pm (CST) at Williams Arena (Minneapolis, Minnesota) Radio: WCCO 830 AM TV: Big Ten Network Tickets: Row 11, baseline, upper deck For Tuesday’s preview, John Templon of Chicago College Basketball answers a few questions about the almost must-win game against Northwestern. FTB: Who is the real NU? The team [...]

Continue Reading

Barn Blurbs 1/25/2010

Posted on 25. Jan, 2010 by zipsofakron.

Royce White was officially charged in the missing laptop incident.  Still unclear if/when he will join the team. It goes without saying, but as Wisconsin found out there are no easy games in Big Ten play. Iowa goes to Bloomington and mauls Indiana by 15.  Really? Michigan State has decided to redesign it’s classic Spartan [...]

Continue Reading

So Close: Minnesota 64 – Michigan State 65

Posted on 24. Jan, 2010 by JF.

A day later and I am still shaking my head. The Gophers had the perfect opportunity to get their season on track with a much needed win over #6 Michigan State, but let a 13 point lead slowly slip away, and eventually lost by one point. The Gophers did just about everything they needed to [...]

Continue Reading

Quick throughts: Gophers 64 – Michigan State 65

Posted on 23. Jan, 2010 by JF.

A familiar feeling huh? This is Minnesota’s sixth singe digit loss, and the third that was decided on the last play of the game or in overtime. I don’t know how things could get more frustrating at this point, but I’m sure we will soon find out. It is hard to say how Al Nolen [...]

Continue Reading

Quick Thoughts

Posted on 23. Jan, 2010 by zipsofakron.

An incredibly tough loss to swallow for several reasons.  Not only did the Gophers control the game for 34.5 minutes, but they actually looked like they understood how to score consistently against a difficult team.  However, their panicked, inexperienced-looking final four minutes just sh0wed how far they are from being a team that can handle [...]

Continue Reading

Game 19 Preview: Gophers vs. Michigan State

Posted on 22. Jan, 2010 by JF.

Golden Gophers vs. Michigan State Spartans 11:00 am (CST) at Williams Arena (Minneapolis, Minnesota) Radio: WCCO 830 AM TV: CBS Tickets: Gone “As the Barn Turns,” “The Young and the Barnless,” “General Barnspital” (sorry, one too many)… whatever you want to call this season, it has seen more surprises and plot twists than the average [...]

Continue Reading

Wanted: New Starting PG

Posted on 21. Jan, 2010 by zipsofakron.

As if the hits wouldn’t stop coming for Minnesota, it’s starting to look like a distinct possibility that Al Nolen could be lost for the rest of the season due to academic ineligibility.  The full story is still coming together, and it’s possible that he might find himself off the hook due to an NCAA [...]

Continue Reading

Liveblog: Gophers at Indiana

Posted on 17. Jan, 2010 by JF.

Gophers at Indiana

Continue Reading

Game 18 Preview: Gophers at Indiana

Posted on 16. Jan, 2010 by JF.

 Golden Gophers vs. Indiana Hoosiers 3:30 pm (CST) at Assembly Hall (Bloomington, IN) Radio: WCCO 830 AM TV: Big Ten Network Welcome to the wacky world of Big Ten basketball, where with injuries, suspensions, and unbalanced schedules everything appears and is possible. At the beginning of the day, Illinois was tied for Michigan State [...]

Continue Reading

Respectable at least: Gophers 53 – Michigan State 60

Posted on 13. Jan, 2010 by JF.

Well, that wasn’t too bad. Any Gopher fan with any sort of memory dreads heading to the Breslin Center, which has been a house of horrors in recent years for the Gophers including last season’s disaster. The Gophers were run out of they gym that night. Tonight, they probably should have run some more. Superficially, [...]

Continue Reading

Liveblog: Gophers at Michigan State

Posted on 13. Jan, 2010 by JF.

Share your thoughts as you watch the game! Gophers at Michigan State

Continue Reading

Game 17 Preview: Gophers at Michigan State

Posted on 12. Jan, 2010 by JF.

Golden Gophers vs. Michigan State Spartans 5:30 pm (CST) at Breslin Center (East Lansing, Michigan) Radio: WCCO 830 AM TV: Big Ten Network Could this be the year that Spartan speed doesn’t kill the Gophers? Michigan State’s speed during the Tubby Smith Era has been the deciding factor in Minnesota’s five straight losses against the [...]

Continue Reading

Quick thoughts: Gophers 73 – Ohio State 62

Posted on 09. Jan, 2010 by JF.

The Gophers move to 3-1 in the Big Ten with an excellent performance against Ohio State who was finally at full strength. There will be a more in-depth review after I re-watch the game and overcome my post exciting game amnesia. Blake Hoffarber has finally, definitively, shut up his critics. After every great game he [...]

Continue Reading

Game 16 Preview: Gophers vs. Ohio State

Posted on 09. Jan, 2010 by JF.

Golden Gophers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes 2:30 pm (CST) at Williams Arena (Minneapolis, Minnesota) Radio: WCCO 830 AM TV: Big Ten Network Tickets: Best available- Row 11, upper deck, baseline (obstructed) Evan Turner has had this game circled for a while. As early as December 19th, 2009, only two weeks after an ugly and scary [...]

Continue Reading

Game 15 Review: Not too embarassing

Posted on 06. Jan, 2010 by JF.

Minnesota’s goal going into last night’s game at #4 Purdue was of course to win, and if not win, at least be competitive. That secondary goal was achieved, though the scoreboard may indicate otherwise. The scoreboard is not always a reliable narrator. The 12 point Gopher victory in Iowa City was more of a blow [...]

Continue Reading

Live Blog: Gophers at #4 Purdue

Posted on 05. Jan, 2010 by JF.

Gophers vs. Purdue

Continue Reading