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2016-2017 NCAA Basketball thread v. QUACK... QUACK...

Sure... they could beat Kentucky. Less skilled teams win all the time in college basketball. But until Minnesota grows a pair and schedules them in an exhibition or something we will likely never know. Maybe first round of the tournament in March if they are as good as you say?
 
I want to watch a full Minnesota game but I don't get the Big Ten Network. I see the @Penn State game will be on espnU though. That should be a pretty good display, right?
 
Sure... they could beat Kentucky. Less skilled teams win all the time in college basketball. But until Minnesota grows a pair and schedules them in an exhibition or something we will likely never know. Maybe first round of the tournament in March if they are as good as you say?

minnesota would love to play k3ntucky but kentucky needs to want to play them back ya see

3 straight in conf, lead the entire game, OSU drops to 0-3 in conf, purdue beats up wisconsin in indy, that win is looking niiiiccceeee

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god I hate the big 10

what you have aganst the mid west? HEART LAND OF AMERICA MOTHER FUCKER

read this tweet and couldn't help but think of malvio

@Haach1 good win Gophs, we are now ahead of #Kentucky in the RIP at #5 in the country! #Gophers

my current prediction is the gophs go from unranked in AP up to #19.... are a 3 seed in both the big ten tourney and ncaa tourney...they will end up wins over 10 teams in the field (UT-arlington, arkansas, arkasas st, purdue, northwestern, indiana, wisconsin, michigan, maryland and i think they get revenge at MSU on wednesday)

amir coffey will be first team big ten yet will play at least 3 years before NBA...check out this dunk last night:!
 
i've always been aggressive with the gophs but this year is so damn special not just because this is the most likable squad since i've been rooting for them in '97 but they, without a doubt have made the largest turnaround in the power 7 conferences

they won 8 games last year, just two in the big ten...their last two

richard pitino has to be coach of the year right now and i'm not going to lie i thought he should have been fired after this 3rd season (last year) but this 4th is looking like the type of season that gets him a 2nd, 4 year term

coffey was their first top 40 recruit since i've been a fan(i'm not going to count that selfish fuck kris humpries), mr basketballs from MN usually go to wisconsin, luckily amir's dad richard played for the gophers from 86-90

gophs have another top 40 player coming in next year, a PG from harlem :)
he played/really tight with current goph 2 guard soph dupree mcbrayer(teams 2nd leading scorer, but needs to work on his shot/add 20 pounds)

i was so pissed the school fired football HC tracy claeys because of his 9 wins and it was unjust(it's okay he'll get a gig somewhere and be great), but the hiring of PJ Fleck appears to be a really good one, with him at 36 and pitino at 34 years old, it's looking like the kind of youth that can become a more consistent competitor than wisconsin in the long run for a long time, god damn fuck wisconsin
 
new ap poll has Gophs at #24, they'll probably be out next week with two road games @MSU and @PSU this week

little bit bummed at the recognition because I think they are top 20, considering recent history/bleak out look, i'll take any rank, this is first time being ranked since pitino as coach, last time in the polls was '13 when tubby smith was coaching and eventually fired after losing in round of 32 vs FLA...outsiders thought firing was crazy but i was completely on board

they probably won't be ranked in the coaches poll which is a joke, their RPI is 5, only two losses were at a top 10 FSU and a 1 pt overtime loss vs MSU, a game they let a 15 point lead slip by....the win at purdue was so huge, there's a good chance purdue doesn't lose again this year at home/wins regular season big ten title

my friend who i talk sports with the most is a die hard michigan fan and even he agrees that when gophers are a legit contender to win big ten and that when gophs are playing well there's no better venue in conference than the bold and beautiful williams arena. i don't call it the barn any more, i'm a big boy

next game at william's arena is vs hated, yet respected rival wisconsin, that place is going to be a mad house...even if there is 500-1k badger fans in the building

i can't wait until i finally make the move to MPLS and get my season tickets to bball and football..and maybe hockey because live hockey kicks ass, my only experience is scranton/wilkes-barre baby pens play off games like 10 years ago, but big ten hockey environment has to be insane
 
I hope, and think, that Minnesota will make the tournament. Even if they only play .500 ball from here on out theyd still get in I think, so they should be good

I really havent gotten a chance to watch them play but, IIRC, having athletic players who can put up highlight reel dunks was never really Minnesota's issue in years past

what Im still curious about is, who is bringing the ball up the floor for them? who is their go-to guy when they need to score a basket? who can create their own shot?

hopefully I can catch one of their games at some point to decide if whatever you respond to that with is accurate or blatant homerism

and yeah, beat someone better than Purdue before you start booking final four tickets
 
I hope, and think, that Minnesota will make the tournament. Even if they only play .500 ball from here on out theyd still get in I think, so they should be good

I really havent gotten a chance to watch them play but, IIRC, having athletic players who can put up highlight reel dunks was never really Minnesota's issue in years past

what Im still curious about is, who is bringing the ball up the floor for them? who is their go-to guy when they need to score a basket? who can create their own shot?

hopefully I can catch one of their games at some point to decide if whatever you respond to that with is accurate or blatant homerism

and yeah, beat someone better than Purdue before you start booking final four tickets
junior PG nate mason is a 3rd year starter, leads team in scoring, has not played well last two games but was automatic at the FT line to seal the last two Ws..... vs purdue he earned himself B1G player of week after putting up 31pts 11assists - on the team he's most likely to be 1st team big ten. he can take it to the rack, he can hit floaters, he can create his own shot and is a reputable 3 pt shooter

freshman 6'7 SF amir coffey was named big ten freshman of week for 2nd time this year after scoring 17 in win @NW and 19 in win vs OSU...he needs to add at least 25 pounds and he will be an NBA baller, bball is in his blood his father was a hell of a PF for the gophers and his sister is a SR at northwestern and scored 2000k pts and 1000 boards. he was mr. basketball in state of Minnesota last year...he's second on the team in scoring but this kid is more than just scoring(although he does it all ways possible) he is the best passer i've even seen in maroon in gold and his length makes him a great defender, forcing opposition into lots of turnovers and general mistakes

a huge part of their sucess are two transfers, akeem springs, a graduate assistant transfer from UW-milwakee is a hustla baby, also the team's best 3 pt shooter. last night he went 5-8 from 3, i knew he would be a catalst behind gophs winning a B1G game and ;ast night was it, he is the 6th man

the other guy intragal to their sucess is transfer from illinois st C reggie lynch who is looking like the B1G defensive player of the year, he averages over 3 blocks per game despite only averaging lie 25 mins a game because he gets himself in foul trouble

gophs go on the road this week at MSU and PSU, if they win both of them there's nothing flukish about this team, expect not just a tourney birth, but a 3-5 seed, i'm not going to promise they make it to round of 32 because of experience, but next year i guarantee a sweet 16 considering everyone returns/improves

if it's not scott drew, richard pitino is coach of the year so far

SKI-U-MAH
 
i like both pac 12 football and basketball(specially those bottom feeders like the cougs, huskies,sun devils and beavs(i don't remember a world with WSU or OSU in the dance) and middle of the pac teams like the buffs, usc, and utes...only team i really dislike is UCLA....and i love that bill walton usually covers them on ESPN, the best in the business

after looking at pac 12 standings after what i just posted...not a good year for the conference, which gravitates me closer to them
say what you want about big ten but they'll get at least 8 teams in the tourney and 4 in the sweet 16
pac 12 will get 5, 6 tops(oregon, ucla, usc, arizona, utah will probably dance, WSU, Cal and colorado have work to do...c'mon cougs
sec's only locks are KU and FLA,probably south carolina(frank martin still there? love 'em), maybe bama, arkansas, UGA, and vandy, MSU, miss are all a stretch

in bball i don't like the ACC or big east
in football i don't like the SEC, don't respect the ACC
 
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SEC teams are almost always scrappy and play tough. The hard part for most of them is playing good enough non-conference teams to get into the tournament. If they do though, watch out. They make really good upset picks when filling out your bracket (first round anyway, usually goes down fast after that).
 
Atlantic 10 is my favorite conference but I also like the American and Pac-12

I liked the old big east until it broke up and pretty much all the schools I didn't like stayed with that name
 
Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology puts UK and Minnesota in the South with a potential Elite Eight showdown!

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By the way, Wake Forest almost beat UNC last night so I wouldn't be too concerned about them.
 
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^ i dig that i'm not completely making you repulsive of the gophers and you're actually showing interest, i appreciate it my man....i'm fully aware i can be insufferable as fan, leading to people hating my squads as a result

i'm here to take a ribbing over gophs getting ass handed to them by a MSU squad who was playing on god mode on their home court on wednesday and blowing a 14 point lead at a PSU team that will probably just miss making NCAA tourney

this PSU loss erases the win @NW, will more than likely be their worst loss, the only other opportunity for a bad loss is @rutgers and potentially @OSU but I think when the season is over OSU will be top 10 in B1G and not in the 0 win column dead like they currently area

if you want to keep up with my NCAA talk i do it all mostly on twitter (@billygopher) these days, my two go to people for support are vincent grier who is reasonable after defeat and talks honestly with me(you guys probably don't know vincent but he was former first team big ten and huge part of only dan monson coached goph squad that made NCAA tourney in '05) and my other support buddy is a mother of a freshman on the team. she's you're stereotypical black single mother and she's emotionally charged ball of energy and i admire her passion

this team is young and once they learn how to finish games and some of the younger players get more comfortable will be a nationally known as a quality basketball team and not a streaky fluky team that get's lucky once in awhile.....they need to win 4/7 of their remaining home games vs PSU, IU, Wisc, Iowa, Mich, Neb and Maryland and need to win at least 3 road games @IU, maryland, illinois, wisconsin, rutgers and OSU...that would leave them 10-9 in conference and pretty much lock a birth to NCAAs...my idea seeding is 4,5,6,11 or 12....they're probably going to end up an 8/9 seed and have to play nova or kentucky if they happen to get past a team like TCU or clemson
 
Yeah that msu game just got out of control. It would have been really difficult for any team to get a W in that environment. When UK played them it was on a neutral court and really early in the season.

Its hard to rebound after a game like that especially when you're going on the road again. Hopefully they can shake it off and start piling up some wins. And then there's always the conference tournament. It could happen.
 
Not gonna lie I laughed when I saw the Minnesota / PSU score.

52-50, what a game...

LaSalle has won 3 in a row, playing George Washington today at 430.

They will most likely have to win the A10 tourney to get into the NCAA tournament. They already lost to their high profile out of conference opponents.

But Jordan Price on LaSalle has been my favorite player to watch this year

I know right? Forget about Lonzo Ball, Markelle Fultz, Josh Jackson, anyone on Oregon

Jordan Price has been my favorite player to watch. And he's not even an NBA prospect or anything, he's just a really good college player

Kind of undersized for (today's) shooting guards, but he is built solidly. He seems like one of those guys who isn't really that athletically gifted compared to other D1 athletes, isn't on a high profile team, or even very good at making his teammates better. He's really not

He just reminds me of a guy who is of above average height, highly
coordinated, and who knows exactly what he is doing with the basketball.

Obviously, these things only get you so close to the next level, but for a college team? I'll take Jordan Price on my squad
 
LaSalle is on a 5 game win streak after winning tonight against Davidson

Jordan Price shot 64% from the floor, 66% from 3 (4-6)

if I could insert a noise into a post this is where I'd put one of those rick ross grunting noises

god I hope they make the tournament. The last time LaSalle got in they made the Sweet 16 and I bitched out on picking them to advance because they had to play the basketball juggernaut known as Boise St in the first four or w/e the fuck they call it

nvr again.

They play VCU on Sunday at 2pm ET on NBCSN (this channel airs a lot of A10 games for some reason). Should be a good game, check it out if you get the chance.

VCU and Dayton have the luxury of a more appealing at-large bid in the eyes of the selection committee because their programs have a history of doing well in the tournament. They could make the tourney as an at-large bid, but I highly doubt if LaSalle would unless they won the rest of their regular season games. Fuck Shaka Smart and fuck Archie miller with their deep march runs. Ruining it for the rest of the conference.

anywhooo...Oregon has won 15 games in a row, nbdjs. Dillon Brooks might have tweaked his ankle but some ice on the vagina should clear that up pretty quickly. Good to see the UCLA bandwagon derailed a bit though, fuck UCLA too while I'm talking shit to all of these far more successful entities on the barely read sports forum of a drug website.

Kansas is playing Kentucky on Jan 28th. I'm sure that will be on national TV.

What a brutal 3 game stretch for the Jayhawks: @West Virginia, @Kentucky, and just for being a good soldier you get to play Baylor at home.

LETS
FUCKING
GOOOOOOOOOOOO
 
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People always want UCLA to be championship contenders and I get why, but it never seems to work out that way. I give them credit for beating UK, but one close win in a game where neither team played defense doesn't amount to much in the end.

I hope Dillion Brooks recovers quickly. I never like to see big time players like that get injured, even when they're the competition.

You're right, UK v KU is always a blockbuster game.
But you won't have to wait that long for a tough match up for Kentucky. They play South Carolina who just knocked off Florida and is undefeated in conference play tomorrow.
 
Yeah that msu game just got out of control. It would have been really difficult for any team to get a W in that environment. When UK played them it was on a neutral court and really early in the season.

Its hard to rebound after a game like that especially when you're going on the road again. Hopefully they can shake it off and start piling up some wins. And then there's always the conference tournament. It could happen.
countered that PSU trainwreck with first sold out home game in 2 years(hey it's a large building) in OT loss vs wisconsin
whatever most recent bracket nerds still have them in as an 8 seed

well MN/WI was most intense game i've ever seen, 90% of the game was a one possession game. largest lead was 5 and that lasted about 1-2 possessions

gophs down 3 with 12 seconds left, and holy shit gophs actually nail a CLUTCH shot, they might actually win one of these close games

took 2 pt lead with 58 seconds left in OT, next possession wisconsin's white sharp shooter swished fade away semi contested 3 as shot clock expired with like 40 seconds left. not another point was scored. 77-74 final

i'm not bummed, minnesota played nearly flawless other than a few kids not showing up and late 2nd half scoring drought.....if they can play wisconsin neck to neck vs Wisconsin's at their best than the future is very bright,,,,ethan happ and nigel hayes on WU imposed their will BIG TIME(first half all hayes, second half happ had over 20 pts) on young gopher front court

it was awesome seeing william's arena sold out(thanks to a solid 1k-2k badger fans who made trip) and maybe i'm biased but that place gets louder when opponent misses a shot than some middle of pack SEC school's gym gets after hitting a tying 3 with less than 2 mins to go...it's probably cause goph fans are so desperate to finally get over ghost of '99 academic fraud sanctions that fucked with recruiting for like 5 years stemming from 1997 squad that lost to kentucky in final four and hired a lady to do their homework, fucking rat whore, hope she's homeless

i've been watching games outside B1G though,and confirmed, big ten without doubt most consistent atmosphere(only PSU is weak), just ask arci what gophs arena is like...fucking love design/architecture of that place, seats are TIGHT, it's dim, raised floors, very little advertising, and it's just so damn tight in there when people show up....when i was in MPLS for goph/mich football '15
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i begged my ass off to lady in lobby to please let me look at court for 10 seconds, i flew 900 miles....NOPE

as far as big 12 and pac 12 only TEAM i take seriously is WVU(huggins!). unless some of these top 10 teams actually have more than 4 players older than sophs in starting 5...experience is huge in NCAA...my pick to play in final as of now is FSU and i think gonzaga finally gets there

gophers drop to 15-5(3-4), faces @ OSU today(wednesday) won by 10 2 weeks ago, but thad motta can coach a team up

SOS is 7 and RPI is best in big ten at 15ish, that PSU loss isn;t good(it really sucked gophs led entire game up until 9 seconds left)but that's gonna be their worst loss and they'll end up with over 7 wins over NCAA teams including road wins at purdue and NW who is looking like they might dance FOR FIRST TIME EVER(lets go arkansas, vandy, UT arlington, ark st, NJIT)....recruiting is at a level unheard of since mid 90s. new practice/hangout facilities ready for next year go along way? or pitino uses dad's hoes? whatever, the team is set up to peak 2 years from now but people in press will be picking them to win big ten next year...big ten network won't stop blowing them as current as tuesday despite 3 game skid,,,but proof is in pudding GOPHS CAN PLAY and thank god cause winter usually sucks but this is awesome entertainment

go la salle my aunt graduated there and kept score book for baseball team, tim legler was hot shot on campus at the time

see ya'll around 8(
hopefully after gophs end week 2-0 after saturday's blow out over very over rated maryland, in HERE
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