STUCK IN DETROIT – What's up, Gophers fans?
I come to you from a baggage claim carousel at the Detroit airport. You're probably wondering why I'm not in State College, Pa. Well, Snowgate has canceled every flight to Pennsylvania. Can't get to Philly. Can't get to State College. Can't get to Pittsburgh. Anybody know Superman? He could fly though this stuff. I've been here since 3 a.m., attempting to get closer to State College, where the Gophers will face the Nittany Lions at 1 p.m. And I'm starting to feel like a Buffalo Bills fan from the early '90s. "Maybe, maybe, maybe … no! … That flight's been delayed until next week … which means it's canceled." But thanks to Al Gore, we have the Internet, so I can wax poetically from afar. Back to basketball. The Gophers should treat themselves to a lopsided victory against Penn State. But they haven't done one thing on the road this season to generate positive predictions about their experiences away from Williams Arena. The Gophers should beat the Nittany Lions, who haven't won a game in Big Ten play this season. Their only weapon is a very talented Talor Battle who, fortunately for the Gophers, plays just one position. Not sure how you feel about cloning, but I guarantee Ed DeChellis has considered it. But Minnesota needed a career effort from Lawrence Westbrook to climb out of a hole against Penn State in the Big Ten opener for both teams. Like Evan Turner and Kalin Lucas before him, Battle should benefit from Al Nolen's absence. Minnesota's struggled to limit the mobility of opposing point guards since Nolen was ruled academically ineligible at the start of the second semester. Nolen, the Big Ten's leader in steals before that ruling, is as tough as they come on defense. It's hard to get by him. But both Lawrence Westbrook and Devoe Joseph have struggled when matched up against opposing point guards, who have taken advantage of Minnesota's void. They'll have to limit Battle to get the win. The Gophers, however, have proven that they can play well for long stretches. If they find a way to finish, they can beat any remaining opponent. The Big Ten's parity is already obvious. If the Gophers get hot, they can get back to the top of this league. That task will be hard, however, because of their lack of depth, scoring droughts and waning defense. Because those problems have plagued them all season, I'm not convinced they'll correct them in time to make a serious run at an NCAA tourney berth. But, they should beat Penn State. Prediction: Minnesota 71, Penn State 69
