Here's a true statement: it seems as though every time we make a conscious effort to watch the Gophers men's basketball team, they lose in agonizing fashion. Wisconsin victory this year? Missed it. Michigan State win in the Big Ten tournament? Missed almost all of it, with the exception of pieces of overtime. Purdue win in the Big Ten tournament? Missed the first half, which saw Minnesota go up 37-11. One-point losses to Michigan State and Purdue during the regular season? Saw every minute. Home loss to Michigan? Every second. It probably has something to do with the inconsistency of the team. They lose, we give up on them, they win, we come back, they lose again.
So today, of course, we are back. And we would like to offer a quick look at some of our keys to this 11:25 a.m. game vs. Xavier.
*Three-point shooting. Minnesota shoots 40.4 percent from long-distance, best in the Big Ten. Xavier shoots 37.2 percent, which would have been good for third in the Big Ten. Both teams can light it up. If one has the hot hand while the other is cold, look out.
*The number of times we scream "WESTBROOK" at the top of our lungs for something ridiculously awful done by senior guard Lawrence Westbrook must not exceed two in any half of play or three for the entire game. That is what it has come to for us and Mr. Westbrook. That's our tentative truce. We can put up with a few crazy shots, bad passes and/or defensive lapses, but they cannot be constant.
*Coaching. This is why we got Tubby, right?
*Sampson and Iverson. Iverson and Sampson. At least one of them has to man up and play big inside. Preferably both.
*Some numbers: 16, 43, 12, 135. What do they mean? We don't know. But they could be important today. We'll circle back on this later in the afternoon.
*Wisconsin mojo. Continuing the theme of Wiscsonsin actually giving Minnesota positive things (Brett Favre, Ryan Longwell, Spotted Cow), we are holding out hope that the Milwaukee location will be a very good thing for the Gophers and their fans.
