San Juan, Puerto Rico - Before the Gophers' 72-67 upset over No. 8 North Carolina in the semifinals of the Puerto Rico Tipoff Friday, I picked them to win. When they were down late in the first half, I knew they were going to win.

I was sitting on press row, working on my story, when I heard someone yelling on the Gophers bench during a timeout.

It was Ralph Sampson III?

The guy didn't talk for two years because he's not built that way. A typically quiet guy by all accounts.

But there he was on the sidelines, screaming at his teammates, frowning, shaking his arm for emphasis, commanding their attention. Players looked a little stunned.

In that emotional moment, it was easy to see the difference in this year's Gophers. There's an edginess to this squad. A swagger that says, "We didn't travel this far to go sightseeing. We're here for the crown." A subtle cockiness.

All of the elite teams have it, although they express it in different ways.

But you need that mojo to pull off an upset over an eighth-ranked North Carolina team with all of its former All-America prep players.

These Gophers (4-0) aren't content to "make a game of it." Nope. They believe they're Big Ten title contenders capable of an NCAA tournament run.

After the win, the Gophers didn't bring balloons and pom-poms to the postgame press conference.

There weren't any mosh pits, a la the program's 2007 win over Indiana in the Big Ten tournament. They didn't break any furniture (Selection Sunday, 2010). No Thomas Hill moments.

They just acted like they expected to win, a sign of their growth. When up-and-coming squads get big wins, an over-the-top celebration often follows. And that's cool. You should be pumped after a big victory, especially when you're clearly the underdog.

But you rarely see those reactions from Michigan State, Duke, North Carolina, etc., during the regular season because they expect to compete for a national title. Winning is natural to them.

For more than three years, Tubby Smith has been trying to get his guys to aim higher. He's never been content with making the NCAA tournament.

And they're catching on.

The Gophers believe they deserve more. More hype. More calls. More big wins. More respect.

They fought for it Friday.

After Trevor Mbakwe was whistled for a charge in the first half, Smith stalked the sidelines and held up six fingers.

"That's six fouls, Steve! Six!" he said as he looked toward referee Steve Skiles.

After a Rodney Williams charge call, the sophomore demanded an explanation from an official before throwing his hands in the air. A call for respect.

Did you see the evolution of Blake Hoffarber in that 40-minute span? He got hounded in the first half. North Carolina kept a hand in a face. The Tar Heels tried to bully him.

But Hoffarber never stopped firing.

In the past, athletic teams swarmed Hoffarber. He struggled, lost some of his confidence and limited his three-point attempts. Not Friday. He kept shooting because that's what shooters have to do to regain a rhythm. His 5-for-14 effort from beyond the arc wasn't his best, but it was one of his most important performances.

You could see this team's new attitude in the second half as they held off the Tar Heels, a squad that made strong runs to keep the game close.

But the Gophers stayed the course.

And as a result, they've proven that they're one of the best teams in America at this early juncture.

If they beat West Virginia Sunday, there won't be any doubt about it.

But this year, they want more than that.

I mean, this year they expect more than that.

Roy Williams blames ESPN for Harrison Barnes' struggles?

Harrison Barnes was the top recruit in the 2010 class. The Gophers were among the dozens of programs that went after the Iowa native.

North Carolina got him. And before he played a game, he landed on the Associated Press All-America preseason first team (I voted for him).

In his team's first three games, he's look very good in stretches and struggled in others.

With 20-plus NBA scouts watching, the Gophers held Barnes to six points. He didn't hit one field goal (0-for-12). All of his points came from free throws.

How a squad allows Siena's Clarence Jackson to score 29 points but keeps next summer's potential No. 1 NBA draft pick from recording a field goal baffles me.

But the Gophers challenged Barnes and put him in a spot where he had to prove himself. Barnes, however, didn't take over.

Why not?

Roy Williams believes the true freshman is under too much pressure. He cited a Thursday night TV segment on ESPN's "SportsCenter" as evidence.

"It is ridiculous. He scores 19 points in the first half [Thursday] night [against Hofstra], zero in the second half and they did a whole feature on him on SportsCenter," Williams said after his team's loss Friday. "That's just too much pressure on the youngster. He's a basketball player, he's a human being. … I was dumbfounded by that, but I can't control my own team, how can I control SportsCenter." Can I have a few moments on my soapbox? As sports reporters, we're easy targets. Things go wrong and we're blamed. Write about bad times. "You're too negative." Write about the good times. "You're too negative." Coaches point fingers at us, too. We're too "harsh" at times. We put too much "pressure" on collegiate athletes, they say. My problem with Williams' suggestion is that I don't think he would've cared had Barnes scored 30 points against the Gophers. Guy has a bad night and it's ESPN's fault? Huh? So when Williams recruited Barnes, he had no idea that this guy would be under a huge spotlight from the time he signed? Baloney. It's convenient to cast media as scapegoats when things don't go well. But Williams might want to watch Barnes' spring press conference, when he announced that he was taking his talents to North Carolina. "Without the media that shed light on my skills, I would not be here and I am grateful for that," he said.

I think Barnes knew what he was getting himself into. And even if he didn't, the attention is not going away anytime soon.