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This is all worthless speculation without any cyberbmetrics. I would encourage the mods to delete the thread and ban the OP.

How do you start a kid that has 0 DI experience, with 536 games played by the five that start? My guess is you don't. http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=25&DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=209852905 Not if you won't work hard, condition, and play defense.

Jimmy, aren't we on a 1-game losing streak right now? Ergo, if we lose the next 6, we'd be on a 7-game skid by the time Wiscy rolls around again, no? Mathematically, there would be no way we could enter the home re-match against Wiscy on a 6-game skid. Amiright?

If Ed can come in and provide as many minutes as Tarin has as a freshman, I'd be very, very pleased.

The rules were slightly changed last year (with most emphasis on block/charge and a little emphasis on hand-checking). However, the new rules were somewhat enforced early in the season and then basically were disregarded during conf. play. Do you remember last year in non-conf when NU was fouling at a ridiculous rate? And scores were much higher during many of their non-conf games. However, coaches and fans bitched and moaned and ultimately won the day and by the time conf play rolled around, the officiating went back to its regular ways (at least regular as of the past 5-10 years, the period of the decline of scoring and pleasing basketball). This year, the new block/charge rule was eliminated and we are now playing under the old rule again. So that experiment only last one year (and really only 1/2 a year b/c it wasn't properly implemented in conf play last year). This issue was addressed on College Gameday this past Saturday morning. Jay Bilas was absolutely adamant that the current state of college basketball, with slow play and low scoring games, is because of the officiating in college basketball. He said that the officials this year are right back to where they were before last season began and the game is more physical than ever. He challenged anyone to go back and watch games from the mid 80s, even the title games involving so-called physical teams like Georgetown, and he said they look like "ballet" compared to today's games. He said that the game has changed in many ways over the years and various rules have been changed (ie, 3 point shot, shot clock, etc.) and scoring has changed over the years, but the one thing that has remained the same year after year after year is the average number of fouls called per season. He said that number has remained flat (on average) for the past 30+ years. Knowing this, coaches are not dumb. If refs are only going to call X number of fouls each game, what is the obvious way to get an advantage for my team? Easy! Foul the crap out of the opponent knowing the refs will not call close to every foul. In the end, the the number of foul called will average out the same even though the teams are fouling at a much higher clip. Bilas talked at length about "freedom of movement". You wonder why teams can't run Motion offense. Well, if the player off the ball is getting hand check and body checked every other step, then it is hard to get to the next spot. Motion is about crisp and hard cuts and getting to the next point. If the defender hand-checks. grabs, pulls, tugs, bumps, elbows, pushes, etc. that player on his way to the next spot, everything is going to get mucked up. It is no different than a receiver in FB who gets crabbed, pushed, pulled, etc. Ironically, the NBA has cleaned up much of this issue by simply enforcing the rules as they should be called. Even in college, they don't really need to "change the rules". The refs simply need to call all fouls when they see them rather than "letting it go" b/c they don't want to slow down the game. We talked about this issue at length early on last season and this was all discussed at length. The problem is that as soon as refs start calling a lot of fouls, coaches whine, bitch and moan along with most fans. I remember many people on this board complaining early last year about the fouls and how it ruined the game, etc. Of course having a bunch of fouls called makes the game less appealing. But the alternative is to simply let the play continue to get more and more and more physical until it really isn't basketball. There is no freedom of movement, no incentive to try and implement a true "motion" offense b/c players will just get held and grabbed, etc and it just won't work. If we truly want the game cleaned up, then refs need to be told to call ALL fouls and continue to call them until players and coaches adjust. That could take 2 or 3 seasons. And yes, that would be a brutal 2-3 seasons, but after we got thru it, and coaches and players finally realized refs are going to continue to call it correctly, then they would adjust, players would quit fouling so much, and college basketball would come out as a much better sport and have much more entertainment value.

BTW, deleted troll poster

This is probably required reading on the subject as well. Vance Walberg introduced a pretty darn good offense. But, few teams have the horses to run it. And, when you don't have the players to run it, well, you are easy to guard. http://www.si.com/more-sports/2008/02/12/memphis0218

I think we already got our Michael Hurt a few weeks ago. Except his name is Jack McVeigh. And he's in the 2015 class. And he's taller. And more Australian.

...and I am not as geeked as I have been. But I am working on it Perhaps Norm should change his name to his alter ego, Cliff.

Haha!!! Mamma always told me I'd make a good lawyer because I loved to argue (with her, apparently.) Although I rather suspect there's more to the job than just arguing. Picking of nits sounds more like the role of a government bean counter, though. And I think the holes into which Minnesota's Gophers' heads are generally ensconced, in order to return to that posture, would require more pushing than pulling.

The actuary sounds like an actuary, cwg sounds like someone who is not presently geeked, Norm sounds like a nitpicking lawyer, 49er sounds like he should join SOSH, and Silverback sounds like, well...silverback. Nevertheless, everyone must agree that any streak must begin with the outcome of tomorrow's contest. Let us just hope that the Gophers continue to pull their heads back into their holes when they are on the road.

The setup was just too perfect for someone not to take that softball and go yard. Surprised it took you so long. Did you sleep in today?

Welcome to big boy basketball, friends. If someone on the internet puts together "season highlights" could thy set them to Soul Asylum's Runaway Train?

I have watched the gophers play three games so far this year. They appear to be very talented, yet somewhat undercoached...if that makes sense. When I humbly say that, these were a few of my observations: - They would defend one or two passes and then their defense would break down. Our recent style of play could prove positive. - Offensively they would look very team oriented "on occasion," but oftentimes they relied on whoever gets the first touch, shoots. They would go on binge scoring where they would score six to ten points quickly, but then stall out. - They have good inside and outside talent, yet their bigs would go minutes at a time without a touch. Overall, a game we can and should win at home.

Teamrankings.com gives us a 0.4% chance of winning the next six games. I'd say it's actually near impossible instead of far from impossible. And I would also say it's more likely that we lose the next 6 instead of win the next 6, although the probability of either is very, very unlikely.

Agreed - need to get a bunch of wins the next few weeks. We can't make the NCAA tournament the next few weeks, but we'll either put ourselves in contention for the stretch run or we'll play ourselves out of it. As long as we put ourselves in contention in the next 6, then we can earn the bid with a few big wins in the last 7. Just hope we have enough energy in the tank for all of those road trips coming up. I'm thinking 5-1 over the next 6 is a minimum we need to get on the NCAA at-large radar. That'd include 2 road wins and a perfect home record in that stretch. Not easy. Then probably 4-3 over the last 7 - that would give us at least one road win down the stretch, as well as probably a really big win or two with 3 games vs Wisky & Maryland in that stretch. Again not easy. But neither was what NU did down the stretch last season. That'd get us to 11-7 in the B1G, but this year we may also need that 1st-round B1G win to get on the right side of the bubble to make up for the non-con hiccups and a slightly weaker/more muddled B1G versus last season. We certainly have made things tough on ourselves with a few of the results in December, but there's still time to make up for it. We just need a lot of things to go right, starting now. Anything less than 5-1 in the next 6 and it's going to require a few improbable upsets in the final 7 games and/or in the B1G tourney. It's fun to look ahead & project, but hopefully the team is fully honed in on Tuesday and the Gophers - all we have to do is fall back on our superior intelligence and superior firepower to defeat the Varmint Cong!

My personal belief is that playing time is earned no matter how many stars you have.

http://bball.notnothing.net/big10.php?sport=mbb

T. Smith T. Petteway S. Shields W. Pritchford M. Abraham Get your best 5 on the floor.

First of all, not salty. Second of all, this reminds me of the girl in highschool who would date the BIGGEST douches and then complain that no guy treats her right. I wish him the best, but I don't see how GU will give him a better opportunity.