Gophers Now #19 and #22 in Two National Polls

Your Golden Gophers are now #19 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll (up two spots) and #22 in the AP Poll (down one spot). Both polls have just three BIg Ten teams ranked: Michigan State, Purdue and Minnesota.

The Pitt Panthers are your new #1 team in college basketball.

I had expected Wisconsin to be ranked after going 2-0 to start conference play, but perhaps the poll voters looked at their lackadasical performance against Penn State and kept Bo Ryan and company out.

6 months ago PJS Comment 4 comments 0 recs |

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Seems about right

I think we’ll hover right around #20 all season. We got handled by a top-10 team and beat a team ranked lower than us. No reason for much movement in the polls.

by JRose on Jan 5, 2009 2:52 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

If we can take care of business against Iowa and Penn State this week, we should keep inching up.

Maroon and Gold Headquarters: The Daily Gopher

by PJS on Jan 5, 2009 3:00 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

We'll stay ranked I'm sure

but I’m not convinced that we legitimately have “top 20” talent. Next year we should but this year we are living on out working more talented teams. All along I have felt this is a team good enough to make the tournament but will not make it to the second weekend. We may win our first game, depending on seed and match up, but that is the ceiling.

Next year I am hopeful the infusion of the RWs, the sophomore seasons of this year’s freshmen and the “loss” of JAS and Abu-Shamala we better be thinking Sweet 16 or bust. I’m looking ahead a ~~little~~ lot but you can write it down now.

what you say here can, and will, be used against you

by GopherNation on Jan 5, 2009 4:03 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

rankings don't matter, etc.

JRose is completely correct. Although he referred to Michigan State as a top ten team—which, in terms of reality, doesn’t matter —the Gophers stand little shot against more seasoned and professional teams, much less the elite of the country: North Carolina and Pitt (those are the elite!). Granted, they housed Pitino’s squad, but down the road they might as well put bags over their heads. Michigan State beat us because they are tougher. State boxes-out all the time while the cute Gophers box-out sometimes. The Gophers are a post oriented team that got out-fought on their homecourt by a smaller Michigan State team. The Gophers are a nice team, nothing more. And, I’m sure all you know that nice teams, at least nice MEN basketball teams don’t win in the end.The Gophers need to do more pushups or something. Maybe they should run in the rain sometimes. Or, maybe they should put football helmets on and Box the living god out of eachother like Izzo makes his Spartans do. Prediction: the Gophers will not finish the year in the top 25. Wisconsin, on the other hand, will. That’s right Minnesota Gopher fans: Wisconsin is still better!

by Hussy Hideous Hoffarber on Jan 7, 2009 10:57 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs