From The Barn

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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Gophers return to dominance (and SportsCenter) in win over Penn State

Posted on 03. Mar, 2013 by zipsofakron.

Fresh off a thrilling, court-storm-inducing victory over Indiana, the Gophers kept up the intensity and cemented their status as a tournament team with a 29-point drubbing of Penn State. On a day where Tubby started all seniors on Senior Day, Minnesota dismantled the Nittany Lions in all aspects of the game. With a significant size, [...]

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Gophers end home slate against Penn State on (super) Senior Day.

Posted on 01. Mar, 2013 by JF.

All good things must come to an end, and hopefully on Saturday, that includes the home careers of Trevor Mbakwe, Rodney Williams, Julian Welch, and Andre Ingram. We don’t want to see them go. Rodney Williams soaring through air and Trevor Mbakwe’s chest pounding dunks will be sorely missed. But if we do see them play another game in venerable Williams Arena, it means something has gone horribly wrong over the final three games of the Big Ten season. Thanks to the thrilling, potentially season saving win over the best team in the country on Tuesday night, the Gophers need only one more win to make the NCAA tournament. The three remaining games are against three of the worst teams in the Big Ten, starting with Penn State.

Once the season winds down we’ll take a closer at the careers of the departing seniors. They deserve so much more than a short blurb on a random blog in the middle of a game preview. But until then, thank you, sincerely, for your two to seven and a half (or s0) years with the basketball program. You will be missed.

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Two straight has Gopher Nation buzzing

Posted on 16. Jan, 2012 by zipsofakron.

It’s amazing what four days can do to a Big Ten program. Little more than 96 hours ago the Minnesota Golden Gophers basketball team had been left for dead by much of its fan base as well as the local media. Going 0-4 to begin conference play does little to inspire confidence in a team, [...]

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Gophers go for two on the road at Penn State

Posted on 14. Jan, 2012 by JF.

Momentum, if it even exists, is extremely fleeting. It can be neither created nor destroyed. It just happens, and then leaves as quickly as it appeared. A bad break combined with a bad bounce can turn around a game. A fifteen footer from a bad shooter can save a season. If momentum exists, the Golden Gophers have it after their still stunning win in Indiana, the best road win in the hundred plus year history of Gopher basketball. Now the young Gophers must use it before it is gone.

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Big Ten Tournament Preview: The Bottom Six

Posted on 09. Mar, 2011 by JF.

With Gopher basketball mired in meaningless land with the late season collapse, it will take a miracle, the likes of which has never happened for any team in Minnesota, to make the NCAA tournament. Knowing that the season has spun hopelessly out of control shouldn’t take away from the great basketball that takes place during [...]

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Mission unaccomplished: Loss to Penn State closes out regular season

Posted on 06. Mar, 2011 by zipsofakron.

I guess I’m not sure if I actually expected a loss to cap the final regular season game in a season that has mutated from happy, fun-filled, high-expectation laden experience into an ugly, nightmarish collapse into the bottom of the Big Ten standings, but at the end of the 66-63 finale that left the Gophers [...]

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PSU’s Battle sends Gophers packing

Posted on 18. Feb, 2011 by zipsofakron.

Are we officially in free-fall mode yet?  The Gophers went into Happy Valley in a huge conference matchup to take on Penn State and try to help lock down a win to bolster their NCAA Tournament chances.  Instead, Minnesota dropped yet another winnable game against a beatable team, coughing up a late three-point lead in [...]

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Game 26: Gophers at Penn State Nittany Lions

Posted on 16. Feb, 2011 by JF.

Golden Gophers vs. Penn State Nittany Lions 6:00 pm (CST) at Bryce Jordan Center (University Park, PA) TV: ESPN We have now entered the every game counts portion of the season. With five games left, the Gophers must win three of their remaining games to be reasonably certain that they can make the NCAA tournament. [...]

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Big Ten Roundtable: Players to Watch

Posted on 10. Nov, 2010 by zipsofakron.

Recently, FTB thought it would be fun to preview the season by connecting with our fellow Big Ten bloggers to get their thoughts on various topics, both Big Ten-related and not.  This is the fourth in a series of five preview discussions that include input from 10 of the 11 Big Ten teams.  Northwestern was unavailable for [...]

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Big Ten Roundtable: Must-See Games

Posted on 04. Nov, 2010 by zipsofakron.

Recently, FTB thought it would be fun to preview the season by connecting with our fellow Big Ten bloggers to get their thoughts on various topics, both Big Ten-related and not.  This is the second in a series of five preview discussions that include input from 10 of the 11 Big Ten teams.  Northwestern was unavailable for [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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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