BIG 10 BB

[Gunner55]

McCaffrey got win #271 last night against Nebraska, that ties him with Dr. Tom for the most wins in Iowa history. Only the 2nd W in the conference for Iowa but it was their best game of the year too. Hawks play the Gophers in The Barn on Monday @ 5, BTN. Should be a good 1.

[Bobberineyes]

I always had a hard time watching knuckle drag, maybe in person would be different.  Although playing along with March madness is always fun.

[Gunner55]

  Kind of the same way with hockey now for me & I played it when I was a kid.

[Dotch]

Watched Maryland come from behind and beat the Hawkeyes last nite. Looks like anyone can beat anyone on any given nite. You gotta admit, watching a game like last nite's Northwestern vs. IL tilt reminds you of why sometimes anyway, college basketball can still be worth watching.  Both teams played their assets off but Boo Buie is the real deal at point guard. Everyone talks about Edey being the bast player in the B1G. Maybe from a scoring perspective but as far as overall player, Buie gets my vote. 

[Gunner55]

 Freeman picking up #5 with 3 minutes left hurt, so did the 14 TOs. Going 3-14 from deep didn't help much either. I've always liked Buie too & your right about how even the league is this year. Road wins will be tough to come by & that will be key in who wins the confernce IMO.

[Gunner55]

The Gophers had Purdue down 10 early in the 2nd half & let it slip away. Once again they were hot from deep early but that faded late. Mitchell & Christie had good games again as did Garcia but it still wasn't enough as Purdue had 4 in double figures. Couldn't watch Caitlin break the record as it was only on Peacock but I heard the avg price of a ticket was $500 & some seats went for as much as $5,000. Pistol Pete's career record is now within her reach.

[Dotch]

Gophers gave 'em a helluva scare & at Mackey, I didn't expect to see them perform as well as they did. They got Edey in foul trouble in the 1st half so that didn't hurt. The Gophers cooled off in the 2nd half but they didn't fold up their tent and go home either, a good sign. Gophers have come together & as long as they can keep Garcia on the floor, they have a chance to win on any given night. Way different than a year ago. Guard play is vastly improved. Gotta love seeing Jack Wilson get a chance to play. Looking at the guy almost makes me laugh. If I were Purdue, I would be concerned. They are beatable on many fronts, especially when anyone not named Edey has a bad nite. I see them going two games into the tournament and cashing it in. I also don't see Edey having the kind of success in the NBA that he's had in college. No outside shot & limited footwork ability thus far. Just a big guy who plays under the basket. The NBA is full of those guys, usually on the bench. 

B1G should have their assets kicked for diddling with Peacock. They have all sorts of alternate BTN channels they could put stuff on but they choose to be greedy. Kudos to Caitlin. Special athlete and hope she remains healthy once she turns pro. Not to take anything away from Caitlin and her accomplishments, but the game was played differently when Pistol Pete set the record. Lots of rule changes, both positive and negative from a scoring perspective.

[Steve-o]

Thanks 4 the bb updates.  I do hope BJ succeeds and can turn this around.

[Gunner55]

Yeah, Pistol Pete had no 3 pt line & he still did all his damage in 3 seasons. I've gotta agree on the Gopher's guards as Mitchell & Christie have been in double figures a lot with Hawkins a good asisst guy. If they get some more consistency from the other young guy, Carrington, they could be a tough out in the B1G tourney. Not much depth down low though so Garcia & Fox both need to have good games. Payne looks capable but he's still pretty rough around the edges.

[Dotch]

No doubt about their lack of depth down low but a lot of teams are plagued thusly. Love to have a tandem like Jordan Murphy and Reggie Lynch back. Payne is a work in progress. Plenty of muscle & raw talent. No outside shot though so he's gotta learn how to stay out foul trouble and above all, make his damn free throws!  The good news is if Ben can keep this group together w/o losing a lot to the transfer portal, Garcia has another year of eligibility. Payne will be a jr. & should be improved. Ola-Joseph has been butthurt about riding the pine but if he gets his head out of his butt & doesn't transfer, he could be a factor as well. Also be a jr. And the Gophers are getting some attention. Might not hurt their chances to draw some thru the transfer portal as well for someone who wants to play on a team that's starting to develop an identity.

https://gophersports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster

[Gunner55]

Freeman had 20 & 12 with 3 more getting 17/18 to get a tough W in OT against the Badgers. A very physical game with 43 personals called. Hawks only made 4 from deep but were 24/30 on FT & won the battle on the boards too. Tough matchup for the Gophers today as Rutgers has won 4 in a row, at least it's at The Barn.

[Dotch]

Freeman had a great game from what I could watch of it. Was pulling for the Hawks yesterday. Gard is a terd & seeing them get beat is almost always a plus. Be interesting to see if the Gophers that played 40 minutes shows up again today. 

[Gunner55]

  Yeah, he had 6 assists & 4 blocks too.

[roony]

They made me nervous but they did it

[Gunner55]

  I'm not sure what Johnson said to 'em at 1/2 time but maybe he should bottle it. A great game by Payne with 21 pts to go with 11 rebounds & all 5 starters had double figures for the Gophers too. They started the 2nd 7/10 & held them to 4/22. That was pretty much the game except for all those TOs with ~ 3:30 left  that gave Rutgers some life.

[Dotch]

That was a nice win for the Gophers. Payne as mentioned was a beast. Have seen glimpses of this before. If he can stay out of foul trouble and somehow hit his free throws, there will be more nights he will carry this team. The free throws are something to work on for next year. His stroke actually looks pretty good. Ben is learning. The timeout to settle them down & stay focused when they puked the ball up in the final minutes was crucial. 16 wins is about 8 more than I would've given them credit for earlier in the season. Ohio St. Thursday nite. Be nice to avenge their earlier season loss at Columbus. Gophers are 14-3 at The Barn. Hopefully the place is rockin'.

[KEN W]

Looked like they were going to blow a big second half lead again.....up by 17 and 2 min later by 6. Free throws down the stretch won it. 

[Gunner55]

I couldn't agree more on the timeout he called late after they started kickin the ball around, it was huge. In the post game interview he said he just wanted them to settle down & remind them that they already had enough points to win the game. So, all they really had to do was play good defense. Hawkins & Mitchell sealed it by going 8-8 from the line down the stretch.

[Dotch]

And your point on free throws is spot on. Fran must harp on that. If there's one thing about the Hawkeyes, they usually shoot their free throws pretty well. So easy to lose a game shooting poorly from the charity stripe as even as some of these teams are in the B1G.

[Gunner55]

Hawkeyes get road win #3 last night at East Lansing. Freeman got in foul trouble but Krikke had a double double, both Sandfort(22) & McCaffery(14) in double figures too. Hawkeyes had 40 points in the paint & were 18/23 to outscore 'em by 11 on FTs.

[Dotch]

What time was that game on? I missed it somehow. Wife had the remote. After Wheel of Boredom, she was watching some SW Bumfuk St. vs. West Overshoe Cathedral game that didn't matter. Watched the 2nd half of the Gopher women losing to Wisconsin. Horrid officiating. 41 foul calls, mostly ticky tack stuff. Makes the game nearly impossible to watch with everyone playing tentatively & all the stoppages of play. 

[Gunner55]

  Forgot to mention it was another game on Peacock. It started at 6 our time & I was still at HH when it came on.

[Dotch]

Another satisfying game avenging the Gopher's earlier season loss to Ohio St. Gophers led the entire game allowing it to be tied once. Always good to see Ohio St. get beat by the Gophers. They struggled, again, trying to get the ball in at the end of the game. Ben used his timeouts wisely tho, again, and they won, again. Hawkins has a personal best scoring evening with 24 pts. & 7 assists, Garcia was the glue holding it together with 22 pts. & 9 boards, while Payne has 15, making 5 out of 7 from the line. Some are talking about them getting an NCAA tournament bid. They'll have to stay healthy & pick off some folks starting with Nebraska on Sun. Some wins in the B1G tournament might not hurt either. This team has become fun to watch gel the past several weeks.

[roony]

It was a fun game to watch!

[Gunner55]

Ssssshhhh, don't tell glenn, he might start watching. 

[Gunner55]

Hawkeyes led by 7 with ~ 8 left in the 2nd, then went in the freezer & had 3 late TOs to let Illinois off the hook yday. The Illini were hot from deep early, especially Hawkins who ended up with 30. But they couldn't hit the barn door early in the 2nd. Iowa had 4 in double figures but they got 33 off their bench. Big game for the Gophers today, tough place to play & Hoiberg has 'em playing well.

[glenn57]

Ssssshhhh, don't tell glenn, he might start watching. 

basketball.meh......hockey yep!!!! if they were ever on a channel we get!!!!!!

[Gunner55]

  Need some Pepperjack & Ritz?           

[Dotch]

Missed the Hawkeyes game yesterday. Wife had me performing more slave labor. Oughta be a law...

No doubt, playing the Fuskers at their place definitely decreases the Gopher's odds of winning. The one graphic had home teams winning at just over 70% in the B1G this season. The Fuskers are 16-1 at home this year. If Nebraska's Tominaga has a good day, that helps them immensely. The Gophers will have to do their best to see that it doesn't happen.

[KEN W]

Gophers are stinking up the floor right now.