Gophers vs. the Portland Pilots - OFFICIAL GAME THREAD
Minnesota Golden Gophers at Portland Pilots, Nov 27, 2009 8:30 PM CST
Stats
| Portland | Minnesota | |
| Pts / Poss | 1.254 | 1.045 |
| Def Pts / Poss | 1.014 | 0.755 |
| eFG% | 61.7% | 57.4% |
| Def eFG% | 46.0% | 38.8% |
| Off Reb % | 40.1% | 31.3% |
| Def Reb % | 64.7% | 74.1% |
| TO % | 22.2% | 18.0% |
Keys to the game
- Defend the Three - Portland shoots the three a lot and on the season they are shooting 53.7% from long range on the season. To drive this home they are leading the nation in effective FG% at 61.7% (tempo-free stat weighted more heavily for threes made). The Gopher defense is very good but this will test the discipline of the perimeter defense. They need to contain penetration without over-helping and they cannot get sucked too far into the paint so the kick-out is wide open.
- BOX OUT - We have done a nice job rebounding this year on both ends, but that has to continue. Portland rebounds just over 40% of their offensive misses, which ranks as 40th in the country. We need assert dominance in this area. The Pilots will jack up threes and obviously they'll miss their share. We cannot give them possessions where they get more opportunities to hit a three.
- Play OUR game - I fear that we'll get caught up in a game of chucking up threes. We need to play our game and run our offense. If they got on a run or two by nailing consecutive threes, we don't need to "answer." We need to run our offense, use our bigs and take what their defense will give us.
Likely Starters
Minnesota
PG - Al Nolen
SG - Lawrence Westbrook
SF - Rodney Williams
F - Damian Johnson
C - Ralph Sampson
Portland
G - Nick Raivio
G - T.J. Campbell
F - Ethan Neidermeyer
F - Robin Smeulders
C - Kramer Knudson
0 recs |
87 comments
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Comments
THE problem is...
Portland is controlling the tempo, we are playing at their pace
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
it is a long game
and I’m anticipating a different team in the second half. Maybe a press.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
Rough first half..
and I can’t say I’m optimistic, but our offense finally looked like it had a rhythm toward the end of the first. We’ve been a better second half team for most of this year, hopefully we can continue that tonight.
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
my wife just said
I could be Andy Katz
I just explained his mid-major thing and I’m better looking too :)
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
we are taking HORRIBLE shots
RSIII should not be taking a shot from a step inside the line
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
Nice play by Westbrook
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
their big men are animals on the boards
we just are not boxing out and they are really being more aggressive to the ball
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
We look completely lost against the zone
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
we are playing really bad
but still only down 7
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
Stick a fork in us
This one is over. We cannot match up with them tonight.
Here is the positive thing we can take from this game:
Hopefully, this means we won’t be surprised by a mid major team come March.
8 minutes is a long time
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
This must be your first college game
Either that or you didn’t watch the Badger game in Wisconsin last year.
Anything can happen, there’s no reason to write off a game that’s relatively close with 8 minutes to go.
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
We were hanging around that game
I see no signs of us coming back here. They are just plain playing better.
I say that and we just cut the lead to six. But we still need some things to bounce our way the last few minutes. Like hit the free throw when you get fouled on a made shot.
Like UCLA last night, Portland is outshooting us from inside, outside, and free throw line. Hard to win when that happens on top of getting out rebounded.
We were trailing by 12 with 5:30 to go
That’s a bigger deficit than we were facing tonight with 8 to go.
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
I like the two post line-up
pound the ball inside, but Nolen doesn’t need to double down on post now
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
What..An Upset Brewing?..This announcer is stupid
Hello..Portland Kicked the Shit out of UCLA Last night.
but UCLA is terrible this year
beating a ranked team who just beat a #10 team, is an upset
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
by GopherNation on Nov 27, 2009 10:20 PM CST up reply actions
I know there is a lot of time left
but I’m with those who think this one is over.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
barring a rash or turnovers and a couple threes
we just aren’t doing enough to win this one
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
I don't think we have a good chance to win this..
but it’s not over yet.
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
Missed free throws are so frustrating
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
9-18 from the line
make a few FTs and this game feels pretty different
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
2 point game
Nolen is really picking his game up.
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
The announcer said it all
“Are you kidding me, Rodney?”
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
Missed free throws and horrible shot selection lost this game.
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
REBOUNDING
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
by GopherNation on Nov 27, 2009 10:35 PM CST up reply actions
We were (and still are) in this late despite the rebounding
But yeah, that’s been a huge problem tonight too.
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
shoot
hats off to Portland, nice win for their resume. Now we cheer for Portland and Butler to make our resume look better
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
I have so little faith in Hoffarber
A 3 from him now would go a long way to getting some faith in him back.
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
Scratch that
Same old Hoffarber.
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
SHOOT
the rebound fell to Nolen who would have had an easy two
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
Congrats to Portland
They deserved it.
Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Kill, maim, pillage, burn! Eat babies! Badger babies!
Hard to beat a team like that
When on top of out shooting you, they out rebound you.
The difference was really our free throw shooting and getting out rebounded.
we forced 19 turnovers
but we got killed on the boards and shot horribly
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
The important thing to remember
Is that this was really just another game. We still get to play against Texas A&M—who is looking like they could be a decent team. So the game on Sunday is still worth a whole lot.
It sure would have been nice to get a shot at West Virginia.
Wow, if Portland wins that game plus at least one win against Gonzaga, they have a legitimate case for making the tournament as an at-large. I think they solidify that possibility with a win at Washington next month (if they knock of WVA).
Go Pilots!

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