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Interesting tidbit from ESPN’s Jay Bilas yesterday, who listed the Gophers as one of his top 5 underrated teams right now.

Coach Tubby Smith, he said, has dealt with his fair share of health and off-court issues, but with the team healthy, we’re finally seeing their potential (and his, with a squad he build from the ground up).

Here’s an excerpt from the piece: 

Tubby Smith had to listen to the naysayers question him all summer, when he has done a terrific job at Minnesota. Smith had to deal with injuries, a suspension or two and a lack of continuity late last season because of those two things. This season everyone is healthy, and the results are clear. The polls are even starting to catch up (No. 9 in the AP), but the Gophers' place on this list is a reflection of just how good they are and how (relatively) little recognition they're getting.

So here’s the question – are the Gophers UNDERRATED?

After all, they’re currently ranked No. 9 in the nation and for a squad that only has one truly impressive win (against Michigan State, which came after Minnesota was already put at No. 9), that’s not bad. The Gophers have had some solid wins over Memphis and Stanford, at USC and at Florida State, but none of those teams have really turned out like we’ve expected and therefore didn’t challenge the Gophers like we thought they would. Don’t get me wrong, the Gophers are playing really well. But underrated?

Underrated implies the attention a team is getting is beneath what it should be. But it seems to me the Gophers have gotten intriguing press ever since winning two of three in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. They have steadily climbed the rankings, week-after-week. They’ve been lauded for their defense, their balance, their athleticism, their impressive offensive rebounding. Should the Gophers be higher than No. 9 as conference play is starting? Perhaps Bilas thinks Minnesota should be talked about as a contender for the league title. If that’s true, should the Gophers be a contender for the National Championship too? Indiana and Michigan are in that conversation – if the Gophers are underrated, should they be in that conversation too?

I think the Gophers have plenty more to prove before they can be introduced to that level of respect, but right now, they’re doing all the right things. There’s no need to talk about the Gophers being underrated right now. Perhaps they were at the beginning of the year, but now, they’re gaining more respect week after week. To elevate any higher – or even keep their spot – they’ll have to earn it on the Big Ten court.

Monday’s win over Michigan State was a big one for the Gophers and a significant momentum boost going forward. Certainly, it was just one game – one of 18 in the Big Ten that should be mostly challenging the whole way. But with a victory over better competition (excepting Duke) than the Gophers have played all season, there was plenty to garner from their biggest test since challenging the Blue Devils in the Bahamas.

In the next few weeks, a lot can change – but for now, these are three truths we learned about this Minnesota team from the Michigan State win:

This team is tough. As I told Paul Allen today on KFAN, the thing that maybe impressed me the most about the Gophers in this game is that they matched the intensity and physicality of Michigan State – a team renowned for its grit. The Spartans’ came in ranked No. 1 in the conference in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense, and yet the Gophers plowed into the post time and time again, shot 63 percent from the field and out-rebounded a team that has been very good in that regard – holding MSU to 32 boards. Only Kansas and Boise State have held the Spartans to fewer rebounds, and the Spartans had their worst effort of the year on defensive boards (with 16). Just as notable was the mental toughness the Gophers exhibited, coming back from a Michigan State lead late on going on their best run of the game at the very end.

The Gophers have lots of depth, but they don’t always need to use it. The bench helped out Minnesota plenty in the first half when the starters were clearly tired. The second group came in and gave the team a little spark, led by Oto Osenieks, who has looked pretty solid in his last couple games after a really slow start to the season. But that was mostly against MSU’s reserves. When the Spartans starters returned, the Gophers bench struggled, and with the game on the line, coach Tubby Smith barely played the reserves at all in the second half (Julian Welch, Andre Ingram, Elliott Eliason and Maverick Ahanmisi each got a handful of minutes). In years past, Smith has sometimes relied very heavily on the bench, even as it was getting pounded. Perhaps his decision to stick mostly with his first five on Monday was an indication of his trust in the bunch, more than he’s had in his teams in the past. In any case, Dre Hollins and crew lived up to the challenge and shut down the Spartans mostly on their own.

There are still flaws. The Gophers made just two of six shots from three-point range, made only 13 of 22 free throw attempts and had a disturbing barrage of turnovers, particularly at the start of the second half. Minnesota still looks lost against zone defenses and can be forced out of its game and into silly mistakes (in-bounding the ball, anyone?) when up against it. In other words, there are still plenty of blemishes with this team. Another way of looking at it: the Gophers had a good win, and they weren’t even playing their best. In any case, if Minnesota wants to continue this success, it’s got to clean these things up. The competition will only get stiffer …

aMAILia BAG is a weekly installment on this blog in which you send me questions, and I answer them here. Send your queries for next week to amelia.rayno@startribune.com. Sign your email however you want to be referred to in the post (ie: first name, full name, home town, Twitter handle, etc.). As always, thanks for all your great questions!

Happy New Year’s everyone. I hope everyone had a fun (and safe) night last night after the Gophers win over Michigan State. Your loyal Gophers beat reporter over here has been toiling over your questions on New Year’s Day. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is. Hopefully everyone is awake and in want of some stimulating reading material now.

Let’s jump to the questions (in bold; my responses in normal type):

Injuries are inevitable. Who's the most important piece for our Big10 run?

@akjoshgray47

Hmm, that’s a tough one because this year’s team has so much balance – anyone can take over the game on any given night, so in that way NO ONE is any too important. At the same time, in order for that unselfish dynamic to work, EVERY man is important. The starting rotation has so much parity, and that keeps defenses spread thin and honest. Just look at last night in the win over Michigan State – Dre Hollins notched 22, Rodney Williams 15, Austin Hollins, 12, Trevor Mbakwe 11. Even Joe Coleman, who had eight points, was a big contributor with three assists to one turnover, with two blocks and three steals – but that’s another story.

In any case, if I HAVE to pick one player, I’m going to go with Andre Hollins, for the simple fact that he’s your point guard now. He’s embraced his role and impresses me more and more each game this season with the way he’s starting to “click” in that regard. Last night was especially encouraging, both from a floor general perspective and, of course, as a scoring threat (which he’s harnessed much better this season also).

If something happened to Hollins (knock on wood, Gophers fans) this season, Maverick Ahanmisi would likely be the one to step in and replace him in the starting lineup. And while I really like the improvements Ahanmisi has made this year, he’s perfect for the role he’s currently in – he’s a little too limited, defense-wise, to be THE point guard, and while he can really shoot some 3s, he wouldn’t have the same scoring potential in that spot. Moving him to the starting lineup would also force Julian Welch into the role of main backup point, and I like him better as a shooting guard.


Tubby played 11, but no Ellenson. Do you think he will have a chance to crack the rotation as the year progresses?

@MakiatBSU

I was a little surprised that Ellenson didn’t play at all last night, considering the good work the freshman did in the final minutes of the Gophers’ win over Lafayette. The fact of the matter is, Ellenson is still far behind in terms of knowing the plays and executing on defense. Tubby Smith is quick to state that about the guard, and on Saturday he reiterated that he isn’t sure how many minutes Ellenson will get this season.

It’s only been one game since Ellenson has been officially eligible that he hasn’t played, so of course there’s a chance he can break into the rotation. Smith used a shorter bench than usual Monday anyway, and frankly, he was probably a little more concerned about winning the game than getting Ellenson comfortable. The wing will play if he proves himself. Problem is, the timing to prove yourself at the start of the Big Ten schedule, when every game is going to be a battle, just isn’t good. This was part of why I was surprised Smith took away the redshirt.

Mailbag: why no time for [Oto] after excellent first half especially winemaker MSU making big run?

@GagTjgag1

Winemaker MSU? Is this an auto correct? A New Year's Eve joke? Some term I’m not familiar with? An indictment of the Spartans’ habits?

My guess is the first. Anyway. As I said above, Smith didn’t play a long bench at all yesterday, particularly in the second half when only four players – Elliott Eliason (1), Julian Welch (5), Maverick Ahanmisi (2) and Andre Ingram (2) – got any minutes at all. I really liked that move, with the starters cruising and the second group, while providing a spark against MSU’s reserves in the first, not doing a good job of hanging with the Spartans’ starting lineup. As for why Osenieks didn’t get more second half minutes in place of, say, Welch, I couldn’t tell you other than I think Smith really believes in Welch and wants to get him going. Osenieks – and the rest of the crew – played their part in the first half. The starting five was clearly exhausted (Williams actually appeared to signal that he wanted a reserve at one point) and the second group was great in relief. They simply weren’t needed as much in the second. In the past, it’s been frustrating to watch Smith make a line change at seemingly unnecessary times, so I had no complaints over his use of the bench in the second.

Who is your Big Ten player of the year prediction? Not now, but by the end of the year!

@ALuvsTwins

One thing about this mail bag that I didn’t anticipate – I’m finding that I get on the hook for many more official predictions … maybe you guys will forget when I’m wrong? Anyway, I suppose I can always count on you guys to make me think on the day after New Year’s Eve (yes, that is also known as New Year’s Day).

If your hopes are up that I’m going to name a Minnesota player, I should squash that now. With the Gophers, it’s such a team thing, so I don’t think that any one of them will win it, unless Minnesota wins the conference. In general, I like to look at the POY as the one who meant the most to his team; the one that would hurt a team the most if he was gone.

Therefore, if Ohio State were to have a great Big Ten season, it would have to be Deshaun Thomas, who is the thing keeping the Buckeyes afloat right now. If Illinois continued its success, I’d name Brandon Paul. But I’m not sure those two are going to be the top exciting teams going forward, so I digress.

If I had to pick a POY to this point, I’d name Trey Burke, who has just been stellar, as has Michigan. And considering I don’t see Burke (or Michigan) flopping anytime soon, that’s probably a safe pick for POY too – but it’s also kind of a boring pick, and no one likes a boring pick.

So I’m going to go out on a limb here, and name Iowa’s Aaron White as my prediction for end-of-the-year POY. The Hawkeyes are one of the teams I think will finish much better than they were expected to this season, and if that happens, White will be a big part of that. The sophomore has improved in nearly every category from a year ago, and I think he’s only getting started. He can impact the game on both ends of the court and has shown he can be a dominant scorer. In big games so far, he’s produced big. Yesterday, the forward was key in keeping the Hawkeyes in the game with Indiana and while he didn’t score in the game’s final 13 minutes, he did get some critical rebounds (but Iowa couldn’t pull it out). So there it is, folks.

Perhaps I missed it, but I'd love to see your prediction for our BT record... Official, and on the record! Ha.

@JordanGrote

Again with this way-ahead stuff? Well, I’ve actually put this out there already, and it doesn’t feel so tough repeating it after last night’s win. I predict the Gophers to reverse last year’s totals and go 12-6 in the league.

Does the Gophers' high ranking have anything to do with the B1G's national reputation, or are voters really that high on them?

@TheSambard

I think it’s a combination of both, but yes, I think voters really like what they’ve seen from the Gophers early on. They’ve played really solid basketball, even when not playing against top competition – anchored by tough defense and a balanced offense.

What is the Gophers biggest weakness? 3-point shooting?

@djjlav

Three point shooting is one. But after yesterday afternoon, I might go back to turnovers. What an egregious show that was for a little while there, particularly at the start of the second half. Turnovers (the Gophers almost had one miscue a minute for the first eight minutes, which the Spartans returned for seven points) were the bulk of the reason Minnesota let Michigan State take its first lead. It was ugly basketball for a little while there. Ultimately, the Gophers defense (and converting when they did hold onto the ball long enough to get to the basket) kept them in the game during that period, and they didn’t have any turnovers in the final 11:55 of the second. But whoa, 16 turnovers again? This cannot continue if the Gophers are going to keep up this success in the Big Ten.

BONUS BIGFOOT QUESTION:

What’s the difference between a Sasquatch and a Yeti? Not a Gophers hoops question, but important nonetheless!

@juliecmiller

You’re right, Julie – very important. The differences between Sasquatch and Yeti are basically the name -- each given by the original natives who saw them -- and the region. Sasquatch is the North American version and Yeti is the name for the similar creatures in mountainous Asia (mostly throughout the Himalayan range). Some say Yeti have mostly white fur (which would make sense given their surroundings) while American sasquatch are typically black or cinnamon-colored.
 

What a start to the Big Ten season.

As I’ve said, I thought Michigan State was a good matchup for the first game of the conference schedule because I believed the Gophers were capable of beating them, yet doing so would give them a wave of hype and confidence to take forward because of the reputation that the Spartans have.

Michigan State showed that strength on Monday, refusing to be put in the rearview and making a big comeback from the end of the first half through the start of the second, but Minnesota showed a sort of poise that mostly absent a year ago.

Down by five with 9:22 to go, the Gophers started a steady comeback. They led by 1 with three minutes remaining when Andre Hollins took over. The sophomore guard instigated a 12-0 finishing run that featured six points from him as well as an impressive play from Austin Hollins and Mbakwe, who snatched a steal, then started a three-pass back-and-forth break with Hollins, who slammed it home to put Minnesota up by seven.

“We just didn’t panic,” Andre Hollins said. “We knew it was going to be a close game … we knew we just had to keep our composure and focus on the little things and start executing.”

Wow. There were plenty of things to be impressed with in this game, not the least being the crowd of 14,625, which was probably the loudest I’ve ever heard there.

Some other notes on the 76-63 win over Michigan State:

• It’s hard to criticize the starting five at all, but Trevor Mbakwe and Andre Hollins were particularly impressive today. I thought Hollins showed real leadership down the stretch and made some really nice passes– we’re watching him become a point guard in front of our eyes. Mbakwe, on the other hand, played without his knee brace for the first time and looked convincing in one of his most explosive outings of the year. He was just playing tough all game, not taking off a single play. Very encouraging performances from those two.

• RE the brace, Mbakwe said: “I don’t want people thinking about my knee anymore. I’m glad that’s over with. I’ll probably throw it away. (kidding) I don’t think our trainer would be too happy about that. Those things cost a lot of money.”

• A stunning percentage of the offense (for the Gophers) came from the starters. Andre Hollins (22), Rodney Williams (15), Austin Hollins (12), Mbakwe (11) and Joe Coleman (8) combined for 68 of the Gophers’ 76 points, good for 89 percent of Minnesota’s scoring. Only Julian Welch (4) and Oto Osenieks (4) scored off the bench, all of their efforts in the first half.

• Smith played a much shorter bench than usual in the second half, playing only Maverick Ahanmisi, Julian Welch, Andre Ingram and Elliott Eliason for one quick stretch in that period. The bench didn’t score at all in the second.

• The Gophers had some excruciating struggles with botched in-bounds passes in the second, goofing up six times in a row in one stretch. Coach Tubby Smith blamed the lapses on Michigan State’s 2-3 zone they used some in the final half. “They take a lot of those angles and gaps away from you, so were having a lot of trouble, and then they’re so long and athletic,” Smith said. “We laid some very weak cuts at the time because they had no one really on the ball, pressuring the ball, but now five guys are guarding four guys.”

• In general, turnovers continued to be a big problem for the Gophers, who turned the ball over eight times in the first 8:05 of second half play, which Michigan State cashed in for 7 points (they had 14 points off turnovers overall). Minnesota stopped turning over the ball completely from there, but 16 miscues is just too many for the Gophers to be consistently successful in this league.

• On today’s crowd at Williams arena, Andre Hollins said: “That was the loudest I’ve ever heard the Barn. That was great. Got my blood flowing.”

• Smith was asked where he sees the Gophers going after watching today’s win. “I’m not a prognosticator,” he said. "We’ve got to be better. If we can get better off today’s game then the sky’s the limit.”
   

As we all know, Sunday was the one-year ACL surgery anniversary for two Minnesota sports icons: Adrian Peterson and Trevor Mbakwe.

For his part, Peterson was nothing short of dazzling, running for 199 yards – and falling just nine yards short of the all-time rushing record for a single season -- in the Vikings’ victory over the Packers that earned them a spot in the playoffs.

Heading into today’s matchup with No. 19 Michigan State, Mbakwe hasn’t had nearly the jaw-gaping season that Peterson has, but the situations have been quite different. As Mbakwe has pointed out, his team simply hasn’t needed him as much as the Vikings have needed Peterson. That’s not to say that Mbakwe isn’t important – of course he is. Even so, while Peterson was the Vikings’ lifeblood, Mbakwe has so far been just another contributor on a highly improved and balanced team.

The forward’s role, however, continues to grow. Without the necessity of another scorer in the lineup (because the Gophers were cruising along pretty good, status quo), coach Tubby Smith had the luxury of easing Mbakwe back slowly.

“It went by fast -- I forgot it was a year,” Mbakwe said. “A lot has changed. It made me appreciate my situation that much more. Basketball can be taken away from you at any day. I’m glad to be here, with my six year, playing with these guys against a top 20 opponent. It’s pretty exciting.”

Now, with the Big Ten season kicking off, it looks like Smith will start Mbakwe again (for the second time this year), despite a lackluster performance from the starters as a group in Minnesota’s last game against Lafayette.

With imposing big men Adreian Payne and Derrick Nix in Michigan State’s starting five, Mbakwe will have a good test of where he is.

“The level of intensity is going to pick up, and we’re excited for the challenge,” Mbakwe said.

Other notes on today’s matchup:

• Mbakwe has gone through several practices without his chunky knee brace that he’s been wearing all season, he said. The forward is hopeful that he will be able to play without it either today or Sunday vs. Northwestern (a game, by the way, that has been set for 6 p.m. It had been a TBA time starting time until being announced on Monday It will be shown on the Big Ten Network).

• Austin Hollins is still dealing with a mild groin strain, which he sustained on Dec. 8 against USC and Mo Walker, who was hit on the shoulder in a practice has received some treatment for his injury. Both are expected to play.

• In the Gophers last game, vs. Lafayette, Smith played his regular starters, with Mbakwe replacing Elliott Eliason, who had started every game until that point. Smith could opt to go with the same lineup again, or potentially decide to go bigger, with Eliason at center, Mbakwe at power forward and Williams scooted over to the 3-spot. My guess is he’ll stick with his previous lineup, however, given that Branden Dawson – Michigan State’s version of Williams (a wing playing at the 4-spot) – has been playing at power forward.

• Eliason didn’t play at all against Lafayette, but that move is probably not lasting. I expect to see the center today, either starting or off the bench.

• Freshman Wally Ellenson played 15 minutes against Lafayette and did some good things, finishing with five points and four rebounds. Still, Smith is hesitant to guarantee his spot in the rotation. “He’s way behind. He hasn’t played, hasn’t practiced. You miss 11 games, and all the sudden it’s the Big Ten. He has a long way to go,” he said. “Wally has done as well as anybody in his situation, with the broken hand. He’s competitive, he’s a hard worker and he’s willing to stay after. He’ll see time. I don’t know how much.

• For all the talk of Michigan State not being as strong as a year ago, the Spartans are doing a lot of things well. MSU is leading the league in scoring defense (allowing an average of 56.1 points a game) and field goal perentage defense (they are holding opponents to 35.3 percent of their shots). They are shooting third best in the Big Ten both from the field (47.8) and from the line (72.5).

Extra points: 

*Watch today's game on ESPN2

*Listen to today's game live on 1500-a.m.

*In today's Star Tribune: Rodney Williams' confidence has made his season successful.

*From Sunday's paper: The Big Ten schedule will tell the story of the Gophers season.

*From the blog yesterday: Are the Gophers ready for the Big Ten?