Read my full story on 13-seed Minnesota's 85-52 loss to 12-seed Illinois in the first round of the Big Ten tournament here.
Three quick observations before I observe the season's end with a large whiskey:
About what we expected. When the Gophers walked out on the court today, it felt a bit like throwing a handful of house cats into a lion's den. It was going to be ugly. Minnesota didn't have the personnel or game plan to keep up with even a struggling team like Illinois and the best the Gophers could do was prolong the real atrocious deficits, which came midway through the second half. The Gophers had less than 30 percent of their scoring on the floor. They had no scholarship guards. They had no depth. The rotation was scrapped together. There wasn't much mystery in this one.
Next year's promise relies heavily on the fate of the suspended players. Coach Richard Pitino has said he will "reevaluate" whether the season-end suspensions of Kevin Dorsey, Nate Mason and Dupree McBrayer were enough or if those punishments will extend further, and he wasn't willing to make any determinations on Wednesday. It's hard to say what will happen in those decisions, but one thing is clear. The Gophers will not be the team they hoped to be next year without that trio, which was supposed to bolster Minnesota's backcourt for years to come. Guard Amir Coffey is expected to start immediately and make a big impact, but he'll need help. Of course, none of that should affect the team doing what it believes is the right thing in that regard.
Tough decisions ahead. Beyond the fate of Dorsey, Mason and McBrayer, the Gophers have several other things up in the air. Pitino is expected to keep his job in part because his buyout -- over $7 million -- is so elevated. But he'll likely take a hard look at his staff to consider whether he wants to make any changes there. I don't have any indication that any players will think about transferring, but that is always a possibility after a season like this one has been. Charles Buggs, on the other end of the spectrum, will be graduating and have the option to come back or move on.
