Walking the Beat: Minnesota
The No. 22 Wisconsin Badgers will take on a surging Minnesota team on Sunday at the Kohl Center in their final game of the regular season. There's a lot on the line with the Badgers coming off of five losses in their last six games, so BadgerBlitz.com went behind enemy lines to get an inside look at the Golden Gophers.
E.J. Stevens IV covers Minnesota basketball for The Gopher Report on the Rivals.com network, and our questions and his answers are included below.
It really seems like the Gophers and the Badgers are on opposite paths at the moment, with Minnesota winning eight consecutive Big Ten games to close out the season. What's been the big difference for the Gophers over the last few weeks, and how much of their recent success is sustainable?
EJS: They have just been playing great team ball. Head coach Richard Pitino has stated that this is the most unselfish team he has ever been around and that is evident by the way they share the ball on the court. They have six legitimate scoring options that can take over and make shots consistently. Because they have options both inside and on the perimeter, it makes them a very tough team to guard and there really isn't one guy you can focus all of the attention on. They have a lot more length and athleticism than last year and having Reggie Lynch protecting the rim really helps shore up the back end on defense. In terms of sustainability, the Gophers have just been playing their game and I think they are realizing the potential they have as a team. They will go into next year losing just one rotation player in starting guard Akeem Springs. They will gain talented east coast guards Isaiah Washington and Jamir Harris, plus they add injured 6-foot-8 forward Davonte Fitzgerald back to the mix. The Gophers could have their best team in years next season.
Even with their current winning streak, are there still areas of concern that the Gophers need to shore up before they start tournament season? What's their biggest weakness?
EJS: I would say just keeping their bigs out of foul trouble. Center Reggie Lynch has fouled out in over half of the Big Ten games this year, and when he isn't on the court this team isn't very good at protecting the rim and teams have the ability to get inside and score easy buckets.So in terms their biggest weakness, I would definitely say lack of depth on the interior when Lynch and forward Jordan Murphy get into foul trouble. They are also a team that has a tendency to play through their guards and they just take difficult, contested jump shots. Because of this, they can go through cold stretches where they don't score for several minutes. If a team tries to slow them down and beat them in a half court game, they might run into problems because the guards love to get out in transition to make plays.
It seemed as though Richard Pitino was not quite on the hot seat at the start of the season, but from the outside it seemed like it was getting warmer. Has this recent stretch changed much about how Gopher fans view Pitino and the team's long-term prospects?
EJS: It's almost a complete 180 in the general attitude of the fanbase from last season. Last year was just embarrassing for the program. When you win eight games, have off the court scandals and your three best guards are suspended at the end of the year for an inappropriate social media video being posted on one of their accounts, it's not irrational to be disappointed in that. If Minnesota would have won only five or six Big Ten games this season then it wouldn't be a surprise to see Pitino being on the hotseat, but people around the Twin Cities are extremely happy with how this team has played this season, especially over the past month. If Gopher fans got to structure Pitino's contract, I'm sure they would try to extend his contract immediately. With the new basketball and football practice facilities set to open next January and the in-state recruits that are available in Minnesota, the future could be bright. It seems like Coach Pitino would like to stay in Minnesota for a long time, but we'll see what happens.
How far do you think this Minnesota team can go in the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments? What's a reasonable expectation at this point?
EJS: It depends on the seeding and the matchups, but if they get the right draw I think Minnesota can challenge for the Big Ten tournament title and contend for a spot in the second weekend of the NCAA tournament. It's not ridiculous to think they can win the Big Ten tournament because they have proven they can compete with and beat almost every team in the conference. In the NCAA tournament, I could see them winning a couple games if they continue their strong play as of late and get contributions consistently from all of the eight players in their rotation. A reasonable expectation would be for them to win one game in the NCAA tournament and potentially get to the Sweet 16 if they get the right matchup.
Finally, who wins on Sunday and why?
EJS: I've gone back and forth on this one for awhile. Wisconsin has absolutely dominated Minnesota in the Kohl Center in the past, and Minnesota hasn't won there in almost ten years. The way Wisconsin has been playing in the past three weeks and the way the Gophers have been playing would lead one to believe that the Gophers would be able to leave Madison with a victory. Knowing the history and the fact that it will be senior day for the Badgers and emotions will be running high, I think that the Badgers will scrap and claw their way to a victory over the red hot Gophers. It's going to take a great team defensive effort by Wisconsin to slow down all the offensive weapons on Minnesota, and I think the Badgers attack Lynch and Murphy inside early and often, trying to get them into foul trouble. Happ and Koenig will make one more clutch play than Minnesota on their home court.
Minnesota 62
Wisconsin 64
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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.