Monday Notebook: Minnesota might be on to something
Posted on January 5th, 2009 – 12:38 PMBy Myron Medcalf
What’s up?
-I would have written a postgame blog Sunday, but my brand new computer froze. Gotta love technology, right? MVP of the weekend: my wife. When my computer crashed, I was already a half-hour past deadline but somehow, I was able to pull up a version of my story on the screen and my wife read it to me, while I re-typed it on my home computer.
-Minnesota seemed to shake some of the weaknesses it showed against Michigan State when it faced Ohio State Sunday. The Gophers grabbed more rebounds than the Buckeyes and really, outplayed them for about three-quarters of the game.
I’m not trying to downplay Minnesota’s win, but Ohio State is a completely different team without David Lighty. He’s the kind of veteran than can keep a team together in tough situtations, and it was clear that Ohio State fell apart in the second half. The Buckeyes ran their mouths instead of their offense late in the game, while the Gophers played well down the stretch.
Paul Carter, Devoe Joseph and Devron Bostick were pleasant surprises off of the bench. I’ve been saying this since the beginning of the year. If the five newcomers contribute every night, Minnesota will be a very hard team to stop. That was evident Sunday, when the Gophers won, even though Blake Hoffarber had a 1-for-4 shooting night.
Michigan State is better than everybody in the Big Ten. So the “L” against the Spartans was less significant than the way they were dominated inside. They knew they had to correct that, and they did against Ohio State.
If the Gophers defend the Barn, and get one or two quality wins on the road, they’ll make the tournament. It’s that simple.
-Down goes Carolina! Down goes Carolina! Um, remember when I wrote that the Tar Heels would run the table in the ACC. Well, um, I’d like to take that back after watching Boston College dismantle a very disinterested North Carolina team Sunday night.
You could just see the overconfidence in the way North Carolina played. As if expecting a win to just magically appear, the Tar Heels didn’t play with the kind of intensity they’ve shown in the past. But, you have to lose sometime.
-Back to Minnesota. Hoffarber has hit just 5 out of his last 15 three-point attempts. After he missed his last three-point attempt Sunday, Al Nolen told him to keep shooting until he regained his touch. But Tubby Smith pulled him after that, and Hoffarber put his head in his hands, as he sat on the bench.
Hoffarber is the guy that can change an opponent’s game plan. He stretches defenses. And he hits big shots that can change the course of a game. The Gophers need to him to get his groove back. Where’s that guy that makes all of the free throws when you need him?
-In case you missed it, here’s the great finish in the Louisville-Kentucky game Sunday.
-In the past, I’ve questioned whether Robbinsdale Cooper’s Rodney Williams has the body to be a starter in the Big Ten right away, but every time I see a new clip of him, he convinces me otherwise. Check out this one from the weekend’s Gatorade Shootout at the Target Center and tell me why he won’t be the most athletic player in the Big Ten as a freshman.
-Here’s my most recent Associated Press poll. It was hard to rank teams this week because so many top 25 squads lost. I put Minnesota at No. 23. They’re ranked No. 19 in the coaches’ poll:
1. Pitt
2. Duke
3. Wake Forest
4. North Carolina
5. Michigan State
6. Texas
7. Georgetown
8. UConn
9. UCLA
10. Oklahoma
11. Syracuse
12. Baylor
13. Notre Dame
14. Purdue
15. Clemson
16. Boston College
17. Arkansas
18. Marquette
19.West Virginia
20. Villanova
21.Arizona State
22.Tennesee
23.Minnesota
24.Michigan
25.Illinois
11 Responses to "Monday Notebook: Minnesota might be on to something"
I love the way this team plays basketball. No one is selfish, they play amazing defense, and get solid play inside(except against Michigan State). This team’s success is a direct reflection of great coaching. What was Kentucky thinking?
Sorry I missed the fun at Target Center. Rodney certainly has the hops and (as I understand it) is a fine student too. Noticed that Hoffarber was off on his 3’s during warm ups too, was shaking his head a bit. He’ll be back with a vengeance. What impresses me about Blake is how quickly he gets his shot off.
What day was the Gopher game?
Myron, it seems that the rest of the country has a higher opinion of the Gophers than you. What gives?
Myron,
I hate Wisconsin more than most from these parts, but how do you not have them in your top 25?? Didn’t they just destroy Michigan at Michigan this past week?
Myron, in my opinion, I think you were too generous to Boston College, and too critical of the Gophers. Yes, I know, BC beat UNC, but to jump them up that high to me was not accurat. But time will tell, as next week we get to do it all over again, right? I would have put the Gophers at 19 or 20, with BC at 21 or 22, but I don’t get to vote, you do.
testing, puter crashed, trying to get things going. Thanks for your good reports, Myron.
Myron, I told you that I thought you were too generous to Boston College just because they upset UNC… BoCo lost to unranked Harvard tonight. Better luck next week….
Wisconsin beating Michign might show that Michigan shouldn’t be 24 in his list but it doesn’t mean that Wisconsin should be ranked. They are a good team and may be ranked before the month is out based on how things go but not yet. That would be like saying Penn State (a team Wisconsin beat) should be ranked for beating Purdue (14th) and having a 13-3 record…it’s too early to tell how good some of these teams are yet. By the half way point in the Big Ten you’ll start to see who is consistent. Polls are guesswork until at least the end of January when each conference has a number of games under it’s belt.
Jslo,
My point was how do you rank Michigan and not Wisconsin when they have the same record and Wisconsin just blew them out at Crisler. All 3 of Wisconsin losses are to teams in the Myron’s top 18. (UCONN, Marquette, and Texas)… I think you’d have to be nuts to rank Penn St, but I see your point. The only flaw is Purdue was without Kramer AND Hummell last night so it wasn’t as good of a win.
As former Robbinsdale Cooper Hawk Basketball alumni, I am proud to say that RWJ will not let us Gopher fans down. I hear what your saying, last year he seemed timid and at times disappeared during games. But I think his confidence in his game shot up even more over the summer with the success of the HP Panthers and his experience at the top camps. I think he might be more of an impact than Royce next year at the U. Like most thought Blake would start and Nolan would be an after thought when they first came in. Either way, next years Gophers team is sure going to be fun to watch and dangerous in the open court with Rodney Williams Jr…
