#-1: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -2). Beat Harvard and Cornell over the weekend in the "D1 In DC" proof-of-concept showcase in Our Nation's Capitol. Yeah, I don't know what else to say -- except that winning two tilts away from home is good enough (at least for this screening Week) to reach the top spot.
Hosting Bemidji St. Friday and Saturday.
#-2: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -8). Crushed Arkansas-Pine Bluff by 19 Tuesday, but I'm still very sour about their choke Loss to Missouri, so whatever.
They visit San Francisco tonight/Sunday night; they're no pushover, so this might be a tough one. Plus, this is this club's first away Game after starting the Year with five at Williams Arena. Will this be like the Game against Mizzou?
Unfortunately the streak did end at three after Friday's 13-Point defeat at home to Sacramento. This one hurts a tad more because that Loss was an In-Season Tournament Game. That gave the group the Timberwolves are in to Sacramento, which, if I am right, means that there is only spot left in the Western Conference (as comprised for this In-Season Tournament) for a Wild Card, so that drops these Dogs down in this survey.
There is one more Game left in the Group State of the In-Season: Tuesday at Target against The Bastard Seattle SuperSonics. Thank goodness my friend has a free ticket for that one. Not only do I want a picture of the court being used for only this tournament (kind of a shame such a court is being used for only two Games), I want to see if the Timberwolves play as if they want to advance to the Tournament's Knockout Round. If the records are tied, I believe the tie-breaker is Point Difference, and right now, Minnesota is in the red, so that means that they need to blow out Oklahoma City and not let Point Difference get its grubby hands on this process. And as I hear, sadly, the Bastard Sonics are stronger this year than last -- kind of just like the Timberwolves.
This is just the apex of a busy four-Game Week. They also visit Memphis, host Utah, and play at Charlotte (all these are non-In-Season Tournament Games).
#-4: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -3). Was at last Sunday's mammoth tilt vs. Paige Bueckers and UConn. First of all, while it was only nearly a sell-out (there was enough empty space around me in the nosebleeds to feel I wasn't being crowded), there were a hell of a lot of people there (over 10,000, even though that may be tickets scanned and not actual attendance) and a hell of a lot more people than I thought would be at the Gopher men's Game versus Missouri but definitely weren't.
And second of all, believe it or not, there was a path for the Gophers to topple the Huskies. Head Coach Dawn Plitzuweit told her players to shoot the fuck out of the ball from three, and they did. Can't blame the strategy: If those shots would've gone in, Minnesota was going to give Connecticut a game. Hell, for one half they did; they only trailed 26-23 at Halftime. Unfortunately, they couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, even though the Huskies let them fire up shot after shot from deep. In the first half, they hoisted 20 3's ... and made only four of them. It could've been such a different story if they had made more treys early in the Game to set the tone, but unfortunately the big run great teams in women's college basketball have in them happened in the Third Quarter, where UConn outscored the Gophs 21-6 to blow the Game wide open on their way to a 62-44 Win.
The team recovered to rout Cal State-Northridge Wednesday 84-31 (!!!), which means to me that this group has a lot of talent, just nowhere near enough to compete with the elite and maybe even ranked teams. I don't know where Stony Brook, Norfolk St. and Drake fall in that spectrum, but I know that this club is playing all three of them this screening Week to finish up their eight-Match season-opening homestand.
#-5: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: 0). In their last regular season Matches of the Year, both at home, they swept Illinois and lost to top-ranked (and presumptive Queens Of The Hill/overall #1 Seed for the NCAA Tournament) Nebraska in four Sets. People are now saying that the U. not only has been safe for the field for some time, they are now the proverbial "team that no one wants to face." It's great to go in hot, but they probably won't host a regional. In fact, they will not be seeded and so will be sent somewhere to play on the road. Selection show's tonight/Sunday at 5; their season may be over this time next Week.
#-6: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -5). The second Game of their season at home against Michigan St. is this/Sunday afternoon, so there's only Game for the Week, which was a Shootout Loss Black Friday night. Not that big of a deal unless the Spartans win this/Sunday afternoon. They will also visit Penn St. for two Friday and Saturday. Busy screening Week for the male icers.
#-7: Vikings (Last Week: -4). The Josh Dobbs hype was so overblown that the correction was going to be equally absurd. And yet the narrative around him has changed after last Sunday's Loss in Denver from "This guy could be an MVP contender!" to "No wonder this guy has been on three teams over the past year!" I admit that I got suckered into a feel-good story. I think he knows what he's doing. But Dobbs wasn't able to do his part; the Vikes were settling for Field Goals where getting Touchdowns would have put the tilt away. Instead, they let the Broncos hang around, and Russell Wilson, who has lost only once all-time against Minnesota, led them on a late drive that was capped by a Hail Mary-esque cross-field catch in the End Zone by Courtland Sutton. The Broncos repeatedly dialed up Blitzes on Dobbs on the ensuing drive, and the Vikes couldn't advance the ball.
Tomorrow/Monday night they host Chicago. Is the Dobbs bloom permanently off the rose?
#-8: Wild (Last Week: -7). Lost to Toronto in Sweden, then lost at home to The Bastard Quebec Nordiques to extend their losing streak to six. People thought this was a playoff squad -- wouldn't do anything once there, but they would've made it. Now? Heh, perish the thought.
The most fight this team has exhibited, in fact, came during warm-ups before Friday's defeat to Colorado. Marc-Andre Fleury wanted permission to wear a specially-designed Native American mask for warm-ups. The NHL, because they fucking suck (BRING BACK THE NORTH STARS!!!), said no, and they were threatening to fine both Flower and the organization if he did. Well, Fleury fucking wore the facemask anyway -- and it appears as though the league will not fine at least him. Flower and the Wild put up the mask for auction; it's getting bucks now, I hear. Good.
This Week: At Detroit, home to St. Louis, at Nashville.
#-Infinity: Gopher football (Last Week: -6). Possibly the most disappointing season in The P. J. Fleck Era came to in ignominious end -- a doubling-up by Wisconsin whereby they won back Paul Bunyan's Axe, and they did it at Huntington Bank. The Badgers were there for the taking, especially because they reached bowl eligibility last Week. But not only did the U. lose, they didn't seem all that competitive.
So the Goofers end at 5-7. They actually have an outside shot of making a bowl if there aren't enough 6-6 teams to grab up all the bowl spots because the players are so smart. Still, having a below .500 record in Fleck's seventh season here feels like a step back. A few Weeks ago I could believe Fleck would bolt for a lateral job. I think now his aura has dimmed, to the point where he could be on the hot seat if things stay this bad next season. I think most fans are realistic that they're not Michigan or Alabama; that doesn't mean they'll just accept a series of 5-7 seasons. For less than charitable reasons, watch this space.
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