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2012-2013 Minnesota Golden Gophers Hoops Preview

maize_in_spartyland — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 16:00:27 -0000

2012-2013 Minnesota Golden Gophers Basketball Preview

2011 Record: 23-15 (6-12 Big Ten)

Head Coach: Tubby Smith, sixth season (103-64 at Minnesota) (491-209 overall)

Projected Returning Starters: 4

Notes: Believe it or not, Coach Tubby Smith has never had a losing overall record over his college coaching career. Smith was known for him numerous years in the SEC (2 years at Georgia and 10 years at Kentucky), but he also coached at Tulsa. Expectations were high at Kentucky, and Smith and developed the moniker of "Ten Loss Tubby". Maybe Kentucky fans didn’t appreciate the work Coach Smith did, but Minnesota fans certainly have. In eight seasons under then-Coach Dan Monson, the Gophers made the NCAA Tournament only once, while the Gophers have been to the Big Dance twice in five seasons. The past two seasons have been rough, though, as the Gophers have failed to make the NCAA Tournament – they did end up as NIT runners up in the 2011-2012 season.

BVTSB Take: Minnesota lost F Trevor Mbakwe early in the season last year. The loss created a void in the lineup, one that the Gophers were never really able to overcome. The one time Marquette transfer will be back with a sixth year of eligibility and should provide a much needed scoring boost. He averaged 13.9 points a game in the 2010-2011 season, also averaging 10.5 rebounds per game. F Rodney Williams also returns, who averaged 12.2 points per game and 5.6 rebounds last season. Fellow starters G Joe Coleman (5.8 points per game), C Elliott Eliason, G Austin Hollins (9.2 points per game and 81.5% free throw shooting), and G Andre Hollins (8.7 points per game, 37.9% three point shooting, and 90.4% free throw shooting) are also projected to return. Minnesota largely had underclassmen starting last season. The experience of a tough season combined with the leadership and health of Mbakwe should certainly boost the win total, especially in Big Ten play. Expect the Gophers to start three forwards, with Coleman likely coming off the bench. The Gophers do lose Ralph Sampson III to graduation, but his production largely dropped last year (7.9 points per game, down from 10.2 in 2010-2011). Smith adds PF Charles Buggs and SG Wally Ellenson. Minnesota will participate in the Battle 4 Atlantis, playing three games against the likes of Duke, Louisville, Memphis, Missouri, Northern Iowa, Stanford, and VCU. They will travel to Tallahassee to face Florida State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, which certainly will be tough. They also have winnable games against American, Richmond, South Dakota State, at USC, and North Dakota State. Minnesota was 12-1 in non-conference last year, but the schedule was pretty weak. Don’t expect the Gophers to match that in 2012-2013, but they won’t need to with the tougher slate. 8-9 wins isn’t out of the question though. Do expect an improvement in conference though, .500 or better is very manageable.

2012-2013 Early Projection: 18 regular season wins

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Minnesota defeats Middle Tennessee to reach NIT semis

Aaron Yorke — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 19:14:27 -0000

Ohio State, Michigan State, Indiana and Wisconsin aren't the only Big Ten teams still alive in the college basketball postseason. Last night, Minnesota beat Middle Tennessee 78-72 to book a trip to New York for the NIT semifinals. "Getting to New York to play in the Garden is special for anybody," said junior forward Rodney Williams

Williams must have been especially excited to play at Madison Square Garden, as he scored 8 points, including 2 three-pointers, in the game's first four minutes to get the Gophers off to a hot start. Williams continued to score throughout the game to post a career high 24 points on 8 of 11 shooting.

Despite only averaging 12.1 points per game on the season, Williams now has at least 21 points in every NIT game. Just before that, he scored 20 in the regular season finale at Michigan. This surge by Williams may be evidence that his basketball skills are finally catching up to his boundless athleticism. That's a scary thought for other Big Ten teams.

Williams' driving layup with 2:21 left in the game gave Minnesota a 67-58 lead that it would not relinquish.That's not to say the game wasn't close at the end, though.

After MTSU's Raymond Cintron hit a three-pointer with just over seven seconds remaining, the score stood at 74-72 with Minnesota having to inbound the ball in order to hold onto the lead. However, LaRon Dendy let the Gophers off the hook when he slapped the ball out of Williams' hands as he was trying to throw the ball in.

"I had the ball in front of me and I pulled it back," said Williams, who was the inbound man on the play. "He just reached over and slapped the ball out of my hands. Luckily, the ref saw it because it took me a minute to realize what happened."

That's a technical foul that gave Minnesota two free throws and the ball. Once Andre Hollins hit a pair from the line, the game was effectively over.

A couple of strong freshman performances showed that Minnesota could be an even tougher team to deal with next season. Tennessee native Andre Hollins was not shy about showing off his skills to his homestate homies. Hollins shot 7 of 18 from the field and scored 24 points with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. He showed a ton of confidence by not waiting to get open before firing three-pointers, on which Hollins hit 2 of 5.

"It felt homey for me," said Hollins of playing in the Murphy Center, "It was great to come back to Tennessee and play MTSU. It was a great game."

Big man Eliott Eliason also had a solid game with 12 points and 7 boards on 6 of 8 field goals. Combined with the imminent return of Gopher MVP Trevor Mbakwe and the strong play of Williams at the end of the season, youngsters Hollins and Eliason could make Minnesota a very tough out next season.

Of course, we have the whole off-season to project on next season. For now, Minnesota has at least one game left. The Gophers take on Washington this Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Northwestern Wildcats Preview

Rodger Sherman — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 15:14:06 -0000

!!!!! !!!!! !!!!! !!!!

The biggest game in Northwestern basketball history happens for the fourth consecutive game today. I have nothing to write besides let's do this.

Ralph Sampson III could be out for the game with a knee injury, which, although you obviously hate to root for people to be injured, could be huge. Minnesota's only suitable backup center is, well, nobody. Freshman Elliot Eliason would sub in, and that's not great for Minnesota. When going up against NU, Minnesota's strength was presumably its interior play, thanks to Sampson, without him, it's a completely different ballgame.

Since we last met: Minnesota crashed and burned down the stretch, ending its season with a five game losing streak tempered by a victory over Nebraska.

What did NU do right last time?: 1-3-1. Northwestern got crushed by Minnesota at Minnesota, but then came back and led most of the way in a never-really-close 11 point win at home in a game where Northwestern didn't shot particularly well. The culprit was a zone that forced 18 turnovers. With either no Sampson or a hampered Sampson, the zone won't have to worry as much about the soft spots at the bottom, so long as Northwestern defends the perimeter tightly. If Northwestern prevents the Gophers from going off from deep, this could be their game.

Can NU win? Yes. Kenpom has this as a "barely" victory, a one-pointer with 52 percent chance of victory, but with Sampson hurt and Minnesota struggling of late, I like Northwestern's chances. Still should be a close one Northwestern could easily lose, but, well, let's go.

Poll

Who ya got?

Minnesota Golden Gophers

30 votes

Northwestern Wildcats

106 votes

136 votes | Poll has closed