sports
This is Amelia Rayno's second season on the Gophers' basketball beat. She learned college basketball in North Carolina (Go Tar Heels!), where fanhood is not an option. In 2010, she joined the Star Tribune after graduating from Boston's Emerson College, which sadly had no exciting D-I college hoops to latch onto. Amelia has also worked on the sports desk at the Boston Globe and interned at the Detroit News.
 Follow Rayno on Twitter @AmeliaRayno
Pregame: Gophers playing without expectations in the Big Ten tournament opening round
Posted by: Amelia Rayno under College basketball, Gophers players Updated: March 8, 2012 - 3:50 PM
Eliason will get a shot at the starting lineup tonight.
Notes on Thursday's first-round game against Northwestern (4:30 p.m. Central on ESPN2):
- Ralph Sampson III will be out today and likely beyond -- if the Gophers advance -- with an knee injury sustained in practice Monday.
- Starting in Sampson's spot will be Elliott Eliason, who has started four games in place of the senior this season.
- Andre Hollins is expected to start at point guard again despite the fact that Julian Welch (hip pointer) is available.
If the Gophers' lose today, there won't be any tomorrow -- not in a meaningful way. Lose today and the best the Gophers' can hope for is the NIT -- and that would hardly be a given. Lose today and there is no significant difference between this year's collapse and last year's, and the bridge to brighter days is looking thin as ever.
Ever since the words "crunch time" were first uttered by coach Tubby Smith or any Gophers player this season, Minnesota has struggled to rise to the occasion in pressure games and in pressure situations.
Today, the pressure is all but gone. No one really expects them to make a run. How will the Gophers react now that they're playing without expectation?
We shall see.
"Our goal is definitely to get to the NCAA tournament," Rodney Williams said. "We’re going in there with the mindset that we’re going to beat it until Sunday. Nobody wants to not make the NCAA tournament, so we’re going to go in there and fight and do everything in our power to make it to Sunday."
Three things the Gophers need to do against Northwestern:
- Attack the 1-3-1 zone early. It's still the Gophers' weakness, and Northwestern should know it by now after waiting far too long to go into it in the first matchup between the teams this season. If the Gophers allow themselves to be stifled by it while Northwestern goes on a run, it could be trouble.
- Get good post play by whoever is down there. Northwestern doesn't really have a strength inside, so it makes the Gophers' weaknesses less glaring. Last game, the Gophers out-rebounded Northwestern by 20, despite the loss. They need to be strong on the boards again.
- Limit John Shurna. Remember what happened in the second half of the last game? That was not helpful for the Gophers' outlook -- a barrage of threes can turn things around in a hurry, even if everyone else on the team is stalling. The Gophers need to get aggressive.
ADVERTISEMENT
recent posts
- Rayno: Does Coleman's transfer pressure Pitino to get more locals?
- Buzz about former Gophers' Mbakwe and Williams
- Rayno: Is next year a rebuilding year for the Gophers?
- Rayno: Q&A with new Gopher Malik Smith
- Foster to follow Tubby Smith to Texas Tech
- Guard Malik Smith commits to Gophers men's basketball team
- Guard Joe Coleman released from scholarship by Gophers
- Rayno blog: Could Joey King or Josh Davis be forward options for the Gophers?
- aMAIlia BAG: What will Gophers lineup look like? How can Mathieu help? Where are the post players?
- Gophers to play Florida State at home in Big Ten-ACC Challenge
- Recruit Dre Mathieu officially signs with the Gophers
- Former UCLA recruit and Gophers target commits to Baylor
- Rayno: Pitino gets junior college point guard for Gophers
- Rayno: A glance at Pitino's assistants' salaries
- Dan McHale officially hired as final Richard Pitino assistant coach
- Rayno: Checking in with Gophers target Jarvis Johnson
- Gophers round out staff with two additions
- Catching up with Gophers recruiting target Dre Mathieu
Post By Category
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
inside the StarTribune
-
425 Portland Av. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55488
(612) 673-4000
- Company
- Subscriber Services
- Website
- Buy Ads
- Store
- Connect with Us
© 2013 StarTribune. All rights reserved.
StarTribune.com is powered by Limelight Networks
Newspaper Subscriptions
eEdition
RSS
Newsletters