#0: Gopher wrestling (Last Week: 0). Wisconsin and Northwestern aren't anything to fear, but the Gopher grapplers beat both teams on the road in dominating fashion (39-3 at Wisconsin Friday, 29-12 at Northwestern Sunday), so they get the top spot this Week. They have a formidable opponent coming into Maturi Sunday: 12th-ranked Rutgers.
#-1: Timberwolves (Last Week: -5). So kudos to the Wolves for running table on a screening Week for the first time, I'm guessing, all season. They nipped the Mavericks in Dallas by a Point Wednesday, blew away Denver by 29 at home Saturday, then defeated a depleted Atlanta Hawks club by eight on Monday. They are seventh in the West, only a Game behind The Bastard Buffalo Braves/San Diego Clippers for that coveted non-Play-In slot.
So, why are they still in negative numbers? Well, that they're still in seventh plays into my decision. But I was at Monday's contest, and with Trae Young and at least one contributor gone, I'm still shocked and dismayed at how difficult it was for the Woofie Dogs to just put away Atlanta. The Hawks have a lot of size, and their Head Coach, Quin Snyder (who, I have to note, wore dark-rimmed glasses and a tight sweater that made him look like an English professor who really just wants to groom and fuck his grad student TAs), kept trying to find ways to get his bigs to dominate down low in order to loosen the wings to shoot from three. That team was able to do that, but they didn't do it enough to take advantage of a Timberwolves squad that looked out-of-sync offensively and still is nowhere near the defensive juggernaut they were last Year. The Game was still in the balance until the Hawks' last possession, where a Steal finally led to the ball being thrown to Rudy Gobert who, after taking a beat as if to wonder why in the hell was his teammate throwing it to him, softly dunked it for the final eight-Point margin. I also saw recent draftee Josh Minott finally get some run with the senior team. Sadly, he turned in a bad performance. He had, I think, one Rebound and was frequently out of position for loose balls. And he blew an easy bunny when he was under the basket.
All in all, that Win was as demoralizing a Win as I've ever seen. And Head Coach Chris Finch had the same thought, berating his troops after the victory for not waxing a foe that was overmatched on paper. Even with the very recent good vibes, there remains a nagging feeling there is no jelling with this team.
This Week is busy for the T-Wolves: At Phoenix and at Utah on a back-to-back tonight/Wednesday night and tomorrow/Thursday night, then home to Washington Saturday and Sacramento Monday.
#-2: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -1). Beat Bemidji St. (4-1 in Bemidji, 3-1 in Shakopee as part of Hockey Day Minnesota), but who cares? A truly powerful club, Ohio St., comes to Ridder this weekend. Beat the Buckeyes, then I'll be impressed.
#-3: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: Positive Numbers). Glad I was able to spit out that blurb of encomium for last Week's shortened WMNSS. They ran into a buzzsaw last/Tuesday night in East Lansing and was shot out of the arena floor by #7-ranked and undefeated (in the Big Ten Conference) Michigan St., 73-51. But there is no shame in that because on Saturday afternoon, they won their third consecutive Game (and their second straight over a ranked opponent), downing then-15th-ranked Oregon at The Barn, 77-69. They appear to remain well out of any NCAA Tournament talk, but once again, Ben Johnson might be showing the fan base (and Athletic Director Mark Coyle) signs that he has the program going in a not-bad direction.
Hosting Washington early Saturday afternoon (which is going to kick off a very busy day around campus that day when five Gopher-hosted sporting events will take place), then at Penn St. Tuesday. Based on their recent form, that could be two Wins there.
#-4: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -2). See, Wednesday's home tilt vs. Michigan, like Minnesota a just-ranked team, is a litmus test between two even teams that the Gophers should have won because they were at home. But the Wolverines played Freshmen who got home from deep, and they survived to beat the U., 70-65. They came back Sunday afternoon to trash by 21 a Wisconsin program that is currently mired in controversy, but it's those 50/50 Games against the likes of Michigan that you need to win in order to be taken seriously. Not as if to say Minnesota is a joke, but dammit, what a blown opportunity.
And this Week may be the most grueling Week this program has seen in a long, long time. It's a road trip to Los Angeles to face two Top 5 schools: My alma mater Thursday, #1 ranked UCLA Sunday. Charlie Creme currently has the Gophers in the real tournament, but two Losses this screening Week means these women are back in Play-In City.
#-5: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -3). Tough weekend -- they went to second-ranked Michigan St. and lost five-of-six Points, getting tripled 9-3 (!!!) Friday, then losing in a Shootout Saturday. No shame in that, although it brings into question the possibility of whether these Gophs have a chance against the Spartans if they play them again, either in the B1G or NCAA Tournament.
And yet, when you look at the PairWise, Minnesota is still third. They are behind Michigan St., which is second (Boston College is first), but I feel like their PairWise metrics actually improved despite getting swept by Sparty. Alas. They host ranked Wisconsin over the weekend.
#-6: Wild (Last Week: -4). Got waxed by The Bastard Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes at home, 4-0, Thursday, then could not come back against The Bastard Atlanta Flames Saturday in a 5-4 Loss (also at the X) before doubling up the Blackhawks Sunday in Chicago. But of course that's not the big news coming out of the organization this Week. Yesterday/Tuesday afternoon it was revealed that superstar Kirill Kaprizov will have surgery for a "lower body injury" and be out at least four Weeks. This club has been achieving all season, but the recent injury hits to Kaprizov and others has dampened its high-flying ways, and now they face at least a month without their talisman. Oh, well; we didn't think much from this squad anyway since this is the final season of the big Parise/Suter cap hits. Just wish the fantasy could've gone on a lot further that it probably will.
This screening Week culminate its five-Game road trip -- at Toronto and Montreal on a back-to-back (which are tonight/Wednesday night and tomorrow/Thursday night), then at Ottawa and Boston.
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