The Gopher men had plenty of chances to make life a little easier for themselves but didn't do it Wednesday night in Lincoln, NE. Leading 19-8 early, they gave up a 14-2 run and a 31-13 run before they got back in gear, trailing 39-32 early in the 2nd half. So they pulled ahead 61-59 on a Jordan Murphy putback at 0:59. From there? Well, Daniel Oturu, who had a great game with 16 points, 4 boards, 2 blocks and 2 steals, got one of those blocks at :01. Game over, right? But that was the only good play the Gophers made in the final 0:59 and it was not enough. Oturu's block went out of bounds, Nebraska ball, and Amir Coffey fouled the Nebraska catcher at the buzzer. Or, did he? Richard Pitino was pissed about that call. And what about the offensive foul against Murph 17 seconds earlier. Either one of those calls is the ball game, but no dice. You already know all of this, of course.
What you don't know is where this leaves the Gophers. Well, I mean, besides 6-8 now with 6 games to go. You expected better, didn't you, after that 10-1 start and the win at Madison. But, this is the deal. With 5 of 6 so you don't have to play Michigan or Michigan State in the Big 10 quarter-finals. Anything less and the NCAA tournament is probably out of reach.
Try the math. Win 4, the Gophers are 10-10, 20-11 and probably 1-1 in the tournament for a total of 21-12 and probably the 7th in the pecking order of the Big 10 to advance. Maybe. Or maybe that's not even bubble material.
Win 5 and you're 11-9, 21-10, maybe 6th tournament seed, and maybe you beat Purdue in the quarters. Now you're 23-11 and maybe even 4th in the pecking order. So, best case, yeah, the Gophers advance easily.
But, how do you win 5? You beat Indiana at home, you win at Rutgers and Northwestern, and you beat Purdue at home. Then, do you beat Michigan at home or Maryland on the road? Cuz you gotta do one or the other. OK, so, no. Best case the Gophers are probably 10-10, 20-11, then 21-12 and 7th in the Big 10.
Player of the Day--I'll pick Oturu just because Murphy has been the pick so many times before.
Team of the Day--St. John's 94 St. Thomas 75, and now the Tommies lead in the MIAC is just one game, 17-2 to the Johnnies 16-3 and the Johnnies will have a lot of confidence going into a possible MIAC final against their arch-rival. And, get this. The Tommies shot 50 percent. But the Johnnies? 64 percent. 8-of-12 3s. 5 Johnnies were in double figures--Zach Hanson 22, David Stokman 16, Lucas Walford 14, Jubie Alade 12 and Colton Codute off the bench for 11.
Coach of the Day--Pat McKenzie, St. John's.
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