Minnesota

Today's Game Predictions: NIT & Play-In Game

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:47:49 -0700

Mount St. Mary's (18-14) vs Coppin State (16-20)

7:30 PM ESPN

For an amazingly in-depth preview of these two teams.. check out Raphielle Johnson's Opening Round preview. He somehow knows more about these teams than I could ever know. But what I do know is that although Coppin State has won 12 of 13 games, the MEAC is awful (though not nearly as bad as the SWAC), and thus the Mount is the safe pick.

Prediction: Mount St. Mary's

Maryland (18-14) at Minnesota (20-13)

9:30 PM ESPN

Because NIT games are not on neutral courts, the spreads on most of the games are rather large. But this game has a relatively tight 3 point spread thanks to the perception that Maryland and the ACC are better than Minnesota and the Big Ten. Also helping Maryland's cause is that they've had some success away from College Park, beating UNC, BC, Wake Forest amongst others. But I think more important than records, is simply how much these teams want the win. Maryland collapsed late in the season (losing 5 of 6), while Minnesota showed some renewed heart in the Big Ten tournament.

Prediction: Minnesota

Rhode Island (21-11) at Creighton (21-10)

10:00 PM ESPNU

These seem like the most evenly matched teams in the NIT's opening round, but of course home-court makes Creighton a healthy 7 point favorite. The Bluejays played two A10 teams earlier in the year, knocking off St. Joseph's at home and losing in Cincy to Xavier. Those games suggest that Creighton has enough talent to beat a URI team that blew their chance to make the Big Dance, losing 7 of 8 games.. many of which went down to the wire. Against the spread, I actually like URI who has better individual talent, but the Rams struggle to win close games.

Prediction: Creighton

Previous Game of the Night (Predictions, 100-59)

March 15th - Kansas vs Texas (2-1)

March 14th - St. Joseph's vs Temple (1-2)

March 13th - Ohio State vs Michigan State (2-1)

March 12th - Arizona State at USC (2-1)

March 12th - Syracuse vs Villanova (2-1)

March 11th - IUPUI at Oral Roberts (3-0)

March 10th - Gonzaga at San Diego (1-2)

March 9th - Florida at Kentucky (1-2)

March 8th - UNC at Duke (2-1)

March 5th - Tennessee at Florida (2-1)

March 4th - UNLV at New Mexico (3-0)

March 3rd - Texas Tech at Kansas (3-0)

March 2nd - Clemson at Maryland (1-2)

2008 NIT Capsule: Minnesota

Joel Welser — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 22:01:57 -0700

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Big Ten (20-13, 8-10)

Seed: #4

RPI: 102

Big Wins: 11/20 at Iowa State (68-58), 1/12 at Penn State (76-73), 3/1 Ohio State (71-57)

Bad Losses: 11/27 at Florida State (61-75), 2/12 Illinois (60-84), 3/8 at Illinois (58-67)

Coach: Tubby Smith

Probable Starters:

Lawrence McKenzie, Senior, Guard, 12.2 ppg, 2.7 apg

Lawrence Westbrook, Sophomore, Guard, 8.4 ppg, 2.5 apg

Jamal Abu-Shamala, Junior, Guard, 3.2 ppg, 1.7 rpg

Dan Coleman, Senior, Forward, 11.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.2 bpg

Spencer Tollackson, Senior, Center, 9.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg

Key Roleplayers:

Blake Hoffarber, Freshman, Guard, 8.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg

Al Nolen, Freshman, Guard, 4.3 ppg, 3.6 apg

Kevin Payton, Sophomore, Guard, 1.2 ppg, 1.3 apg

Damian Johnson, Sophomore, Forward, 6.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.3 bpg

Jonathan Williams, Junior, Forward, 3.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg

Why They Can Surprise:

Minnesota does not take that many three’s, but when they do it is a good shot by a player who should be taking the shot. Point guard Lawrence McKenzie hits 2.4 long balls per contest. He can use his speed to get to the basket, but once there he usually looks for a teammate instead of taking the shot himself. Generally that shot for his teammate is an easier shot than he would have, so the pass first mentality is certainly not a bad thing.

Lawrence Westbrook will start beside McKenzie. Westbrook is not as prolific of a shooter as McKenzie, but he hits nearly 40 percent of his long balls when he does take them. His quickness is a great asset and the 6-0 sophomore will use that skill to get to the basket or pull-up and hit the mid-range jumper. Freshman Blake Hoffarber is not much more than a three-point shooter at this point in his collegiate career, but he hits 44.3 percent of his attempts from behind the arc and having a shooter off the bench who is that efficient will spark the Gopher offense when it is struggling.

Why They Can Disappoint:

Minnesota will share the ball well thanks to back-up point guard Al Nolen who dishes out a team high 3.6 assists per game, but they also share the ball with the other team a little too often. No individual commits that many turnovers, but the team as a whole commits nearly 15 per contest. That would not be too bad for a team that plays up-tempo, but Coach Tubby Smith’s team only scores 69.5 points per game. If the turnovers are kept to a minimum, Minnesota can win a game or two, but they have yet to prove that they can beat a great team, especially away from The Barn.

Who To Watch:

Their numbers might be down compared to last year, but the Gophers still work through their big men and it is because of those big men that Coach Smith has reached the postseason during his first year in Minneapolis. The biggest of them all is Spencer Tollackson. At 6-9 and 260 pounds, Tollackson is a load to deal with in the paint on both sides of the floor. He will use his body to get good position on the offensive end and always makes it difficult for the opposition to find space on the defensive side. Yet, it is Dan Coleman and Damian Johnson who will do the shot blocking. Coleman is also the team’s leading scorer and has a decent looking mid-range jumper that will stretch out the defense.

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 69.5 (158^th in nation, 3^rd in conference)

Scoring Defense: 63.5 (62, 7)

Field-Goal Percentage: 44.6 (143, 5)

Field-Goal Defense: 42.6 (116, 7)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.3 (101, 2)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 37.5 (72, 1)

Free-Throw Percentage: 66.7 (249, 7)

Rebound Margin: 0.9 (146, 7)

Assists Per Game: 15.7 (39, 3)

Turnovers Per Game: 14.3 (164, 10)

Joel’s Bracket Says: Second Round loss to Syracuse

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Picture of the Day: Blake Hoffarber's Game Winner

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 07:15:28 -0700

Thanks to our friends over at Icon Sports Media, we now have access to thousands of great college basketball photos to use on the site. Each day, CHN will feature a Picture of the Day, which might include a newsworthy, funny, or simply interesting subject. At the bottom will be a caption or headline that might be informative or amusing. The possibilities are endless!

Blake Hoffarber's Game Winner

Is Minnesota a team of destiny? Fated to ruin some poor at-large team's NCAA Tournament hopes? Who knows.. but for one day, Tubby Smith, Gopher nation, and Blake Hoffarber are on top of the world..

- Check out recent Pictures of the Day!

- Also check out the Cheerleader of the Day!

Friday Night Championship Week & Bracketology Update

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 21:24:10 -0700

A Friday night update on all things Championship Week with an eye on the bracket.. - Miami, the Ohio version, almost caused havoc by knocking Kent State out of the MAC tournament. But the Golden Flashes managed to pull of a 49-47 win, ensuring that at least for another day the MAC is a one bid league. - I've said this many times.. but its too bad Dominic James has never learned how to hit a jump shot. The Golden Eagles made a nice comeback to make a game of it against Pitt, but ultimately Marquette couldn't hit shots. Outside of Jerel McNeal, the rest of the team shot a dismal 25% (12 of 48) - SFA was supposed to be the class of the Southland, but their solid season came to a close tonight. The Demons of Northwestern State came back from a big halftime deficit to advance to the conference finals. SFA came into today with an RPI of 57 and will hope to do some damage in the NIT. - Speaking of damage (never a good segue..), the SEC semifinal matchup between Georgia & Kentucky has been postponed. Unless a team plays twice tomorrow, I'm not sure what's going to happen there. - One guy who wouldn't mind doing some damage to Kentucky is Tubby Smith. His Gophers upset Indiana in the Big Ten quarters and now face fellow surprise Illinois tomorrow afternoon. You have to figure Minnesota is the favorite to advance to the finals.. and there's no reason not to think they'd give Wisconsin or MSU a game. Taking Minnesota to the Big Dance would be an amazing accomplishment for the first-year coach. (It would also be an embarrassment to a league that most likely wont get a team past the Sweet Sixteen). - I'm usually a big ACC proponent, but man has that league's tournament been boring. - Tulsa's good run continued, beating UTEP in OT a day after knocking off UAB in OT as well. In their last 12 games, Tulsa is 10-2, only losing to Memphis and UAB. The Golden Hurricane (seems like a lot of Golden nicknames in action today) face Memphis tomorrow.. and though they won't win, it might be closer than you'd expect. - A day after scoring 0 points, Roy Hibbert came through with his best statistical game of the season.. 25 points and 13 boards against West Virginia. On the flip side, Joe Alexander's tear came to an abrupt end with just 12 points on 5-16 shooting. - Congrats to Saint Joseph's for being a rare bubble team that actually won some games down the stretch. Beating Xavier (rather easily too) should probably lock up a Tournament bid. But then again, if Temple won the title tomorrow.. the committee might shy away from giving the A10 3 bids. - American worked their way into the tournament, beating Colgate in a hard fought game. I thought the Raiders played every bit as well, but home court was the deciding factor here. - If anybody suggests to me that Va Tech should be in the NCAA Tournament, I'll slap them in the face. If they beat UNC tomorrow.. then that's a different story. But as of now, this is still the same team to me that struggled to put away Liberty at home..

Daily Dribble: Monday Rewind in 10

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 11:11:20 -0800

A little bit delayed with the Rewind today.. had a little engagement in beautiful Trenton, NJ. I was sworn into the New Jersey Bar this morning (yes, they let me in somehow..), but I'm back at the trusty keyboard this afternoon. Nothing too exciting last night.. as the real action is today.. UNC, Memphis, USC, Kansas State all in action and all on national cable. Nonetheless, here is a shortened review of last night in 10:

1. Eric Gordon, newly christened as the top rookie in the Freshman 10, injured his back last night in Indiana's victory over Tennessee State. DJ White shined in his absence, scoring 29 points.. the first time he's broken the 20 point mark since February last year.

2. I thought Missouri State at Arkansas would be a good game on Monday.. but the Razorbacks spanked the Bears by 19. This was a disappointing result for MSU, and pretty much relegates them to the NIT at best. Oddly enough, Arkansas won without any of its starters scoring in double-digits.

3. Life post-Stuckey for EWU should be pretty uneventful, but the Eagles did pick up their 3rd win of the season at UMKC. Things get a bit stickier on Wednesday, as they take a road trip to Kansas.. inevitably to be smacked around.

4. Remember Tubby Smith? The guy who used to coach at Kentucky? His Gophers are 5-1, and will continue to play cupcackes for the next few weeks. They could easily be 10-1 heading into UNLV on December 30th, and they could easily be quite bad at that point still.

5. The Gophers got that 5th win against North Dakota State last night. The Bison got some national pub when they upset Marquette last year. Things aren't going as well in 07-08, just 2-4 against D1 competition.

6. I mentioned this on the message board, but how in the world was Wofford at Wisconsin televised on ESPN2? The Badgers won by 27, in a game that had no business even being on ESPNU6. There's thousands of great college basketball games.. its not hard to do better than this.

7. You may remember when Mercer upset USC to open the season? The Bears proceeded to lose their next five games before finally beating Charleston Southern last night.

8. Relating to Mercer.. Mike Mercer, formerly of the Georgia Bulldogs, is transferring to South Florida.

9. And relating to Georgia, the Bulldogs avoided disaster last night.. almost losing to DII Augusta State. In fact, the Jaguars were up by 4 with just 4 minutes to go. Don't be fooled by Georgia's 5-1 record.. they're not good.

10. I keep pulling for 0-9 NJIT to get a win, but they got blown out 81-56 by Lafayette last night. I hate to bring it up again, but the Highlanders have lost by at least 20 in 8 of 9 games. They host Army on Thursday, perhaps a chance for their elusive first win..

2007-08 Minnesota Basketball Preview

Joel Welser — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 07:01:16 -0700

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Overall Rank: #98

Conference Rank: #8 Big Ten

2006-07: 9-22, 3-13, 9^th

2006-07 postseason: none

How high can Coach Tubby Smith vault Minnesota in preseason rankings? Probably a little higher than the team deserves, but the Gophers return practically their entire team and should be the best of the worst in the Big Ten. The often underappreciated frontcourt has plenty of talent led by Dan Coleman and Spencer Tollackson. Coleman’s ability to play with his back to the basket or on the perimeter brings a much needed dynamic to the Gopher offense. Spencer Tollackson is a big bruiser under the basket and has developed into a quality scorer. Jonathan Williams, Damian Johnson and Bryce Webster all started a handful of games last year and will provide some quality depth up front.

Who’s Out:

Limar Wilson is the only significant departure to the Golden Gopher program. The guard was not a big scorer, but did a decent job on the defensive end and could find open looks for his teammates. Engen Nurumbi saw action in just eight games before heading out of Minneapolis.

Who’s In:

Coach Smith will need a little more time to make big strides in the recruiting game. This small group of newcomers were all signed by the previous regime and will add some depth to the perimeter, but Travis Busch, Al Nolen and Blake Hoffarber have some potential to make an impact sooner or later. Busch, a transfer from Cal Poly, was Minnesota’s Mr. Basketball in 2005. During the 2005-2006 season, the 6-4 wing only saw action in four games with the Mustangs before injuring his foot. Nolen is a decent point guard who will fight his way towards the basket and find his open teammates. He is the true point guard that Minnesota really needs. However, it is Hoffarber who is the highly touted recruit that is expected to make the bigger impact as a freshman. The 6-4 lefty is a great shooter and could become the long range shooting threat off the bench that the team lacked last season.

Who to Watch:

Lawrence McKenzie showed up on campus and became the team leader. Now a senior, the former Sooner averaged 14.9 points and 2.8 assists his first year in the Big Ten. He is a great shooter and effective at either guard spot. If Minnesota was a premier team in the conference, Jamal Abu-Shamala would be the sharpshooter off the bench. Instead, the former walk-on keeps cracking the starting lineup. While he has earned that job and has done a decent job on the glass and from behind the arc, he is not your typical athletic starting wing at this level. Brandon Smith, Kevin Payton and Lawrence Westbrook each earned starts last season and will battle for starting jobs this year. Payton and Westbrook are both sophomores and are expected to develop into more than just roleplayers.

Final Projection:

The talent level is not there for an NCAA Tournament berth. With most of the players returning, Minnesota will definitely be better than 9-22 and ninth in the Big Ten, but not that good. The replacement of Coach Dan Monson with Coach Smith has the state of Minnesota excited for basketball again…or maybe it is reflected glory from getting rid of the Metro Dome that has Gopher athletics reaching new heights. In any event, the buzz is back up north. How long those good feelings last is another story. The Gopher faithful have to endure at least one more sub par season on the hardwood before the postseason dreams return.

Projected Post-season Tournament: none

Projected Starting Five:

Lawrence McKenzie, Senior, Guard, 14.9 points per game

Jamal Abu-Shamala, Junior, Guard, 6.5 points per game

Brandon Smith, Junior, Guard, 3.8 points per game

Dan Coleman, Senior, Forward, 14.2 points per game

Spencer Tollackson, Senior, Center, 12.0 points per game

Complete Top 144 Ranking | 2007-08 Preview | Discuss the Preview

2007 Coaching Changes List

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 22:03:36 -0700

Filled Jobs

SCHOOL - OLD COACH - NEW COACH (Former School)

Air Force - Jeff Bzdelik - Jeff Reynolds
Arkansas - Stan Heath - John Pelphrey (South Alabama)
Binghamton - Al Walker - Kevin Broadus
Bowling Green - Dan Dakich - Louis Orr (Seton Hall)
Butler - Todd Lickliter - Brad Stevens
Chicago State - Kevin Jones - Benjy Taylor
Colorado - Ricardo Patton - Jeff Bzdelik (Air Force)
Colorado State - Dale Layer - Tim Miles (ND State)
Denver - Terry Carroll - Joe Scott (Princeton)
Drake - Tom Davis - Keno Davis
Evansville - Steve Merfeld - Marty Simmons
Georgia State - Michael Perry - Rod Barnes
Harvard - Frank Sullivan - Tommy Amaker (Michigan)
Hawaii - Riley Wallace - Bobby Nash
Illinois State - Porter Moser - Tim Jankovich
Indiana State - Royce Waltman - Kevin McKenna
Iona - Jeff Ruland - Kevin Willard
Iowa - Steve Alford - Todd Lickliter (Butler)
Kansas State - Bob Huggins - Frank Martin
Kentucky - Tubby Smith - Billy Gillispie
Liberty - Randy Dunton - Ritchie McKay (New Mexico)
Long Beach State - Larry Reynolds - Don Monson (Minnesota)
Louisiana Tech - Keith Richard - Kerry Rupp
Marshall - Ron Jirsa - Donnie Jones
MD-Eastern Shore - Larry Lessett - Meredith Smith
Michigan - Tommy Amaker - John Beilein (WVU)
Minnesota - Dan Monson - Tubby Smith (Kentucky)
New Mexico - Ritchie McKay - Steve Alford (Iowa)
Norfolk State - Dwight Freeman - Anthony Evans
North Dakota State - Tim Miles - Saul Phillips
Northern Illinois - Rob Judson - Ricardo Patton (Colorado)
Princeton - Joe Scott - Sydney Johnson
Quinnipiac - Joe DeSantis - Tom Moore
Radford - Byron Samuels - Brad Greenberg
Robert Morris - Mark Schmidt - Mike Rice
St. Bonaventure - Anthony Solomon - Mark Schmidt (Robert Morris)
St. Louis - Brad Soderberg - Rick Majerus
San Diego - Brad Holland - Bill Grier
Santa Clara - Dick Davey - Kerry Keating
South Alabama - John Pelphrey - Ronnie Arrow (Texas A&M-CC)
South Florida - Robert McCullum - Stan Heath (Arkansas)
Southern Utah - Bill Evans - Roger Reid
Texas A&M - Billy Gillispie - Mark Turgeon (Wichita State)
UC-Riverside - David Spencer - Jim Woolridge)
UMKC - Rich Zvosec - Matt Brown
Utah - Ray Giacoletti - Jim Boylen
West Virginia - John Beilein - Bob Huggins (Kansas State)
Wichita State - Mark Turgeon - Gregg Marshall (Winthrop)
Winthrop - Gregg Marshall - Randy Peele
Wyoming - Steve McClain - Heath Schroyer

Unfilled Jobs

SCHOOL - OLD COACH - NEW COACH

South Carolina State - Jamal Brown - ?
Texas A&M - CC - Ronnie Arrow - ?

Daily Dribble: 3/28

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:03:32 -0700

- NIT semifinals last night.. a pair of close 1-point games. Clemson will face West Virginia in the finals and hope to get one back for the ACC after Georgetown upset UNC. KC Rivers had 19 points for the Tigers..coming off a season-best 29 in the quarterfinals win over Syracuse. Rivers should emerge as a national star next season. - Thinking of UNC-Georgetown again.. man was that an epic collapse or what? Unbelievable. My arch-nemesis Billy Packer rightfully brought up how the Tar Heels looked demoralized late in the first half (even when they still had the lead).. and that carried to the end of overtime. - Most Georgetown fans expect Roy Hibbert to return next season.. but 5 double-doubles extended from the conference championship into the Final Four aren't helping the cause. Neither are the 6 blocks against North Carolina. - What's with teams contacting Bruce Pearl? Why would he leave a program building so much positive momentum? - Who ever steps into the Arkansas job lucks into an automatic NCAA Tournament bid. Say what you want about Stan Heath (and a lot of Arkansas fans wanted him gone), but he left the Razorbacks in a good spot. There's not one senior on the team.. and the point guard position is owned by one of the most underrated freshmen in the country, Patrick Beverley. The negative is that the incoming class for next year is pretty much empty. - A lot of eyes will be looking at Minnesota, looking how long it will take Tubby to turn around the program. The Gophers haven't recruited a 4-star recruit since Kris Humphries back in 2003.. though that should change. Ont guy to look out for, even though he's not even a Rivals Top 150 guy.. is shooting guard Blake Hoffarber. The 6-4 shooting guard can light it up, and could emerge as a key in cog in Smith's turnaround machine. - This happened a few days ago, but tough blow for North Dakota State losing Tim Miles to Colorado State. His success the past two years with the Bison is pretty darn impressive. Moving up to D1 as an independent and winning 16 games last year (including the win at Wisconsin that got national press).. and then going 20-8 this year (beating Marquette along the way). The success is even more impressive when you realize that there was only one upperclassmen on the squad (scoring leader Andre Smith). NDSU is moving to the Mid-Con.. and with Miles they could have already been a major contender. - I find it hard to believe Billy Donovan has any interest in Kentucky.. beyond simply using that opening to boost his current contract with the Gators. Its obvious he can win at Florida, and this shouldn't change any time soon with two Top 25 prospects coming in (Nick Calathes and Chandler Parsons) along with two other 4-star guys in Alex Tyus and Adam Allen. Tyus by the way, who might not be quite as big a name as the big two, is an absolute monster on the inside. - If you're looking for the next big non-BCS star.. Herb Pope will be your guy. The 6-8 New Mexico State recruit is an NBA talent. - Not sold on Josh McRoberts as an NBA Lottery pick. McRoberts final numbers, 13 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 3.5 apg, and 2.5 bpg look pretty good, especially the passing and block numbers. Compare those to potential Top 5 pick Joakim Noah: 12.2 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.3 apg, and 1.8 bpg. McRoberts basically has Noah across the board.. but that's until minutes played comes into play. McRoberts played a whopping 35.3 minutes per game, while Noah only played 25.8. Multiply McRoberts numbers times .73 (the % minutes Noah played) and you get a more comparable 9.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.5 apg and 1.8 bpg.

2006-07 Preview: Team's #101-110

Joel Welser — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 13:44:48 -0700

Capsules of Teams #101 to 110 in CHN's 144 Teams in 144 Days Preseason Preview.