The 2012-13 version of the Golden Gopher basketball team has
been a frustrating one for fans. The
team lacks a leader, and particularly lacks a guard that wants the ball in his
hands in the clutch. They can go through stretches where they lack any kind of
fire, especially in the offensive zone, and multiple times have been caught
guilty of five guys standing around and not moving. They've turned the ball over way too many
times, and in way too many high pressure situations.
But they're also incredibly talented.
They're beasts on the boards, especially in
the offensive zone where they lead the Big Ten
And they have the weapons, that when they're firing on all cylinders,
can allow them to go toe to toe with the best team in the land and beat
them.
And that is exactly what happened
last night.
The Indiana Hoosiers are
arguably the best team in the nation.
Their depth, scoring, and three point shooting in particular are
awesome, and they've held up very well in a tough Big Ten season. Unfortunately, they happened to arrive at The
Barn on a night when the Maroon and Gold were able to put it all together. Add a rabid crowd to the mix, and Minnesota
was able to beat their first #1 since 1989.
The Gophers greatly helped their post-season prospects, as their season
had begun to free-fall. In fact, in the
last polling, Minnesota received
zero votes despite an 18-9 record with the #1 toughest schedule ranking in the
NCAAs. Now with a strong ESPN national win
against the legit best team in the nation, they'll receive some due attention.
But their job is not over. They'll need to close hard the rest of the
season, and thankfully, their schedule should allow them to run the table:
they'll be facing Penn State , Nebraska
Now, that doesn't mean that the Gophers can't find a way to screw it
up. They've recently lost to Iowa
in terrible fashion, and have lost to a brutal Northwestern team this season as
well. But if they can play like they did
last night, March could be a fun one for Minnesota .
This kind of fun:
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