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So...yesterday still happened. So quick bball links and then we move on to better things and GIFs. Agreed?
Basketball
- Fuller has a postgame article with these bucket full of sunshine graphs:
The Gophers wanted to come together in the Big Ten tournament. They wanted to prove they were NCAA tournament-worthy and weren't backing into the 68-team field.
They walked away looking like a team in disarray.
The team's best player, senior Trevor Mbakwe, is second-guessing his coach -- or so it seemed. Either way, the coach is second-guessing himself.
Senior co-captain Rodney Williams is calling out the officials. But the coach isn't buying that one.
Smith has decided to all but ignore his bench. And he keeps waiting for somebody, anybody, to step up and help lead this team out of the abyss.
- What second guessing was Fuller talking about with Trevor? Well, there used to be a story on the PiPress about it, but the link seems to point nowhere now. Here's the key quote from it though:
"It's definitely frustrating, especially when you're losing and you think you can help," said Mbakwe, who watched as his team fell behind by 12 points in the first half without him. "Sitting for 15 minutes is never fun. It's tough. It was a tough call (Smith) made. It was kind of questionable, in my opinion. But it doesn't matter because it was made. It's tough that both me and Austin (Hollins) had to sit on the bench."
- FSN starts talking about Mbakwe and the draft.
- Gopher recruit Gavin Schilling will make his decision next week.
Hockey
- In news that will shock you all, Bjugy wants a title.
"I never won a big championship growing up, and I really hope we can do it this year,’’ said Bjugstad, whose 20 goals lead the Gophers and rank sixth in the nation. "The big stage is fun. I really like it. It’s a tough thing to win a championship, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.’’
- Roman has his preview of the weekend.
- The Daily says the Gophers are looking for consistency.
- Sansevere interviews The Don. An excerpt:
BS: What are you seeing from your team lately that excites you?
DL: When we're really on top of our game, we play with good pace. We get involved. We can score some goals. When you get to this time of the year, it's all about goaltending. It's about special team play. Our specialty team play has been strong all year. Our goaltending has been strong all year, and that has to be the foundation at this point. When we take care of the puck, our game usually goes to another level. And when we're sloppy with it or turn it over, we struggle. More than anything else, this time of year, it's making sure we take care of it.
- Not sure if you've seen them, but the U is running a "Pride On Ice" web video series on it's YouTube page. Here are parts 1 and 2:
Women's Hockey
- 3 games. That's all that stands between the Gopher women and immortality as the unquestionable best women's hockey team of all time. Also, in stats that are just insane:
The defending champion Gophers (38-0) have trailed in only four games this season, for a total of 47 minutes, 56 seconds.
- So who leads off those 3 games? UND of course. It's the 6th time the teams have faced off this season.
- To say that Minnesota dominated the WCHA awards would be a slight understatement. Here's the breakdown:
- 5 of the 6 individual awards
- 4 of the 6 First Team slots
- 3 of the 6 Third Team slots
- 3 of the 6 All Rookie slots
- In case you missed the UND fan freakout on Twitter, the Gophers also swept all 3 finalist slots for the Patty Kazmaier Award.
- Highlights from the women's WCHA playoff championship win:
Football
- JOE C PLAYER CAPSULES: Defensive tackle Cameron Botticelli and lineman Zac Epping.
- Shede highlights? Shede highlights. Dude's a beast and I'm excited to watch him again this fall.
Baseball
- It'll be a battle of aces this weekend in the Dome.
Misc Gophers
- An interview with Norwood Teague.
B1G
- Iowa wrestler stays classy while throwing away his 2nd place medal.
WCHA
- The WCHA announced its all conference awards.
- Not a good day to be a Badger hockey fan.
The only game being televised this weekend is Saturday's contest, which will be shown on the Wisconsin Channel with Robb Vogel and Theran Welsh calling the action.
The Wisconsin Channel is carried over-the-air, and on some cable packages around the state. I do not believe it is carried on Dish Network or DirectTV.
Friday, and potentially Sunday's contests will be shown on web stream only on UWBadgers.com for a fee. There will also be a free stream of Saturday's contest running concurrently on wpt.org.
- CHN look at Mankato State's success under Mike Hastings.
College Football
- Stewart Mandel talks to statsy people like KenPom about how the new college football playoff selection committee should use stats and numbers to make their selections.
- The SEC will finally launch the SEC Network this spring.
- Move the college football season to the Spring? You can DIATF.
- Whoa there...a non-commercial decision related to college football? What evil plan is this?
College Basketball
- If you haven't heard about the end of the Charlotte/Richmond game from yesterday you need to stop and read this/watch the video. Proof that there are worse ways to lose than what the Gophers pulled.
With the Spiders leading, 63-60, they fouled Charlotte’s Pierria Henry with 4.7 seconds left to avoid a tying 3-pointer. Smart move, right? Well, that’s until Richmond’s Derrick Williams threw Richmond’s Willie Clayton to the ground after Henry made the first free throw, resulting in a technical foul.
That resulted in two additional free throws for Henry, who made the three remaining to give Charlotte a 64-63 lead. With Charlotte getting the ball back, Richmond was forced to foul. At that point, Spiders’ head coach Chris Mooney picked up two technical fouls for losing his mind over the whole incident.
The game then turned into a free throw shooting contest, as Henry hit four more from the charity stripe for a 68-63 win.
General Hockey
- Hockey Day Minnesota will be in Elk River next year.
- Remember the proposed NHL divisions? They're happening.
- Goon of the Year? Goon of the Year.
NCAA
- Should the NCAA institute a mandatory spending cap for college sports? It's an interesting idea...
But what if there was an NCAA rule which capped the amount of money you could spend each year? Or perhaps a luxury tax imposed on those who spend over the cap?
A policy like this would allow presidents to put athletics spending on a more sustainable path, without the risk that competitors are going to exploit it and surge past their teams on the field. It would help address the concerns faculty and other constituents have about spending at the expense of academics, including the public relations problem of increased athletic spending at a time of shrinking state appropriations and rising tuition for students. Capping spending also means more schools would have the opportunity to compete for championships. This is a big one. Our country’s most popular sport by far, the NFL, has a hard salary cap to help provide all its teams with a realistic shot at taking home the trophy. Even Major League Baseball, which doesn’t have a salary cap, has a luxury tax that teams must pay if they go over the spending threshold.
Media
- It's almost like ESPN enjoys sucking.
The Smorgasbord
- This is why I never tried to lead a fastbreak...
- Just, wow. Now that's a goal!
- Um...yea.
Portland Fan Picks His Nose In Direct View Of TNT's Broadcast, Winks At Camera