From The Barn

The 5 best wins and worst losses under Tubby Smith

Posted on 29. Mar, 2013 by zipsofakron.

We’re in the middle of perhaps the most exciting time in recent Gopher hoops memory, and nothing gets the blood pumping like a good, ol’ fashioned coaching search. And while rumors will swirl, flights will be tracked, and TMZ will seem tame, I think it’s important to take a minute to revisit the highs and [...]

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Day one of the Golden Gopher coaching search: Pastner is out, Collins isn’t in, and the latest on Shaka Smart

Posted on 26. Mar, 2013 by JF.

There are plenty of tea leaves to read on the first day the Golden Gopher basketball coaching search. There isn’t much hard news, but the news that does exist is good.

We’ll start with what we know, and that is the Josh Pastner will not be coaching the Golden Gophers or anyone other than Memphis. He confirmed that he is restructuring his contract and has no intention of leaving Memphis. Pastner was never a legitimate candidate to come to a university still recovering from another slick talker and over-rated recruited, right Tim Brewster? Andre Hollins and Austin Hollins would not have been happy either, considering they chose not to play for Memphis. If the coaching search went south though, Pastner’s name might have popped up, if solely to make a splash with the next hire.

Now, for some speculation…

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Day one Big Ten Tournament preview.

Posted on 13. Mar, 2013 by JF.

The best conference tournament of the season, and perhaps the most anticipated Big Ten tournament tips off bright and early on Thursday morning when the Gophers take on Illinois at 11 am. How competitive will the tournament be? Consider that the Gophers and the Illini, the eight and nine seeds respectively, are each playing for a chance to beat number one seed Indiana for the second time. Anything can happen, and probably will. Here is what you need to know.

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Oh crap, a 1-3-1 zone. WHAT DO WE DO?!

Posted on 23. Jan, 2013 by zipsofakron.

Here comes a rant. It’s become a disgusting, overplayed annoying record. It’s like being trapped in the middle of nowhere with one radio station and no iPod. And the radio is playing crap you don’t want to hear, but you can’t turn it off. And your gas tank is running low and you don’t have [...]

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Gophers hit the road to Northwestern to get back on track

Posted on 22. Jan, 2013 by JF.

It may be a bit early for such grand pronouncements, but the Golden Gophers Big Ten season has reached a crossroads. We know they can not beat teams ranked #5 on home, road, or neutral floors. We also don’t know where the Gophers sit in the Big Ten pecking order. Losing to highly ranked teams is fine if there is consistent effort and the game is close throughout. Unfortunately, the losses to Indiana and Michigan featured minutes long lapses along with insurmountable deficits that could not be overcome. Now after two straight losses, Minnesota hits the road for two games in historically unfriendly venues.

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Barn Blurbs is rounding up the tale of two halves

Posted on 07. Jan, 2013 by JF.

Austin Hollins scorches Northwestern for five 3-pointers in three minutes Hollins was so scalding hot for one three-minute second-half stretch there might as well have been singed nets and flames shooting out of the basketball. Let’s go to the tape Men’s Basketball: Northwestern runs out of steam against Minnesota The defining stretch Carmody describes came [...]

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1890s basketball and NBA Jam moments in jNW win

Posted on 06. Jan, 2013 by zipsofakron.

If the first half of Minnesota’s beheading of Northwestern (or jNW for “just Northwestern”) didn’t put you to sleep or force you to do something else for 20 minutes then a handshake and a token of congratulations in order because you really, really love basketball. Indeed, before Austin Hollins and the Gophers opened up and [...]

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Gophers hope to maintain momentum against Northwestern.

Posted on 05. Jan, 2013 by JF.

After starting the Big Ten season in grand style with a reality claiming victory over the Michigan State Spartans, the Golden Gophers end the first week of the conference season against the injury riddled Northwestern Wildcats. After a couple surprising losses by some of the Big Ten’s best, a win would go a long way towards establishing the Gophers as one best teams in the conference. First, they need to take care of business against the always annoying, sometimes effective 1-3-1 zone.

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Gophers prove they are merely the 2nd-most cursed team in the Big Ten

Posted on 08. Mar, 2012 by zipsofakron.

There’s something mildly comforting watching the Gophers play against a team that we all know is trying desperately to throw away the final chance it has to lock down its first NCAA Tournament bid in school history. Tonight it wasn’t Minnesota on the verge of throwing away its season, disappointing its fans and offering false [...]

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No America, we will not apologize!

Posted on 08. Mar, 2012 by JF.

Now you know our pain. Thank you @shipesmash even if you have too much time on your hands.

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Northwestern on the precipice

Posted on 07. Mar, 2012 by JF.

With the Gophers on the NIT bubble and Northwestern precariously perched on the important bubble, Thursday’s Big Ten Tournament game between Minnesota and the Wildcats matters a lot more to the folks down in Evanston than it should to you. So what better time to check in with the good folks at Lake The Posts, who cover the Wildcats when they aren’t collecting flag pictures.

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Loss to Northwestern puts Gophers in must-win mode

Posted on 20. Feb, 2012 by zipsofakron.

Cue the broken record. With an easier route to a postseason berth hanging in the balance and a chance to give themselves some much-needed breathing room in the at-large conversation, the Gophers promptly went into Welsh-Ryan arena laid an egg against bubble-rival Northwestern. Leaving them at 5-9 in conference play and gasping for air like [...]

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The Battle in Bubbleville

Posted on 18. Feb, 2012 by JF.

Welcome to Bubbleville, USA, more commonly known as Evanston, Illinois where the Minnesota Golden Gophers will play the Northwestern Wildcats in what should amount to a bubble elimination game. Both teams find themselves with 5-8 conference records and are precariously perched on the bubble, running out of chances to return to the dance in Minnesota’s case or finally get there in Northwestern’s.

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Third straight has Gophers in thick of conference

Posted on 22. Jan, 2012 by zipsofakron.

So this is what a winning streak feels like. The Gophers decimated the Northwestern Wildcats 75-52 on Sunday for their third straight conference win, putting them at 3-4 in the Big Ten and square in the middle of the conference race – marking the first time since about when Al Nolen went down with a [...]

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Pre-game chatter: Northwestern Wildcats

Posted on 21. Jan, 2012 by zipsofakron.

The Gophers face Northwestern this weekend in another critical matchup as the team tries to continue its current turnaround. After two straight wins on the road against conference opponents, the Gophers come back to Williams Arena for a quick homestand and a chance to go for three straight wins and further establish themselves in the [...]

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