Author: David Shama

The Gophers willingness to share the basketball in wins against Penn State, Michigan State and Purdue was refreshing.  It helped open up the offense including a new found inside-outside game that featured an unlikely hero in reserve center Colton Iverson and also the team’s long distance shooters, mainly Westbrook, Hoffarber and Devoe Joseph.  Iverson was in doubles figures in the first three games (scoring 35 points on 15 of 20 shots) and came up with a lot of hustle plays.

Joseph, the mid-season replacement for Al Nolen at point guard, was a new found hero, too, and a major reason the Gophers earned the NCAA invite.  His ball handling, team direction and outside shooting have become better and more consistent in recent weeks.  In the overtime win against Michigan State he had 17 points after halftime.

Give credit to Smith and his coaches for staying with his players and coaxing contributions out of starters and subs.  The Gophers are a team with the sum greater than the parts.  In the tournament center Ralph Sampson III was both a “spectator” and participant, but Iverson made up for Sampson’s sometimes uninspired play.  Sampson had his moments, though, including a team high 13 points in the blowout 69-42 win over Purdue on Saturday.  Forward Paul Carter, like Iverson, came off the bench to make key shots and boost the rebounding when Johnson was in foul trouble or needed a rest.

The Gophers had been flirting with their best basketball even before arriving in Indianapolis.  Minnesota won four of its last six regular season conference games including an 88-53 win over Iowa.

In the tournament Minnesota, the No. 6 seed, defeated No. 11 Penn State, No. 3 Michigan State, No. 2 Purdue and lost to No. 1 Ohio State in the Gophers’ first ever Big Ten Tournament title game.  Penn State’s Battle played on an injured ankle, Michigan State’s Chris Allen, one of the team’s leading scorers, was suspended and didn’t play against the Gophers, and Purdue was without All-Big Ten forward Robbie Hummel who is out for the season after injuring his knee in the Gophers’ game in Minneapolis on February 24.

The Gophers were fortunate not having to face three teams at their best, but that’s sports. And in the 72-67 win against Michigan State the Spartans gifted the Gophers by missing 16 free throws.

Luck?  Yup, and that’s not a word often associated with Gophers basketball in recent years.  Better enjoy the good fortune while it lasts.  The Gophers play their opening NCAA tournament game in Milwaukee on Friday morning against Xavier.  The tourney is lose one and be done.  We’ll know soon if Cinderella made the trip.

Want some advice in making your NCAA tournament choices?  Sports Headliners asked for insight from Jim Dutcher, former Gophers coach and Big Ten TV analyst.

Dutcher predicts No. 1 seeds Kansas and Syracuse will make the Final Four and be joined by No. 2 seeds West Virginia and Villanova.  Then Kansas will defeat Syracuse and West Virginia beats Villanova in the semi-finals.  The Jayhawks then win the national championship against the Mountaineers.

The Jayhawks, the nation’s No. 1 team in the polls, combine consistency with talent.  “They just seem to play at a constant level,” Dutcher said.

Dutcher’s advice to everyday bracketologists is do your homework before making tournament predictions.  On the to-do list is studying styles of play, how teams are playing as of late and who is injured.  Without research, Dutcher said, picking winners is a “crap shoot.”

Dutcher thinks Texas, ranked No. 1 earlier in the season, could be a tournament sleeper.  The Longhorns, who defeated coach Tubby Smith’s Gophers in the NCAA tournament last year, are a No. 8 seed in the East  but they’re talented.  “Texas could be dangerous,” Dutcher said. …

A Timberwolves spokesman said research with season ticket holders showed that patrons were concerned about the value received from their tickets.  A problem is single game purchasers receive aggressive discounts, but now the franchise has a campaign for 2010-2011 season tickets offering savings of up to 50 percent.

In the first two weeks of the “Run with the Pack” campaign, the Timberwolves have sold more new, lower-level season tickets, 625, than all of last year. (These are tickets for the full schedule, not partial plans). The campaign runs through March and is for both new season tickets and renewals.

Rest easy, Vikings fans.  The local NFL franchise will have approval by the state legislature for a new stadium by spring of 2011.

After years of following the issue of replacing the Metrodome with a new state-of-the-art pro football facility, and talking with sources, I am convinced Minnesota lawmakers will not say no to the Vikings.  While the possible cost of near $1 billion seems extravagant in this era of financial meltdown, I believe the controversial issue is more about politics than it is expense.

I watched when this area said no to better playing facilities for the Minneapolis Lakers and Minnesota North Stars.  Eventually both moved to other cities, but there’s no comparison between those franchises and the Vikings whose popularity among sports teams in the state goes beyond anything we’ve ever seen.  Local TV viewership of a Vikings game can reach 1 million or more households, with a huge percentage of televisions in this marketplace tuned in.  That’s a convincing indication of what the franchise means to people in the metropolitan area.  Statewide the Vikings have a huge following, too.  It’s a safe guess that following the team is important to between one-third and one-half of adult males ages 25-54 in the state.

For many Minnesotans seeing the Vikings move to another city would be similar to losing our state parks, or placing a ban on hunting and fishing.  It’s a cultural disaster if the Vikings franchise moves and high risk politics for legislators who will be held accountable.

It makes for entertaining drama when elected officials express caution and opposition to a new stadium.  Some will oppose a stadium no matter what the plan and timing but look for momentum on a bill to continue building between now and the end of the 2011 legislative session.  With 2010 being an election year for legislators and the Vikings’ lease at the Metrodome not expiring until the end of 2011, a stadium bill can be put off one more year.

A year from now things will turn serious and action will follow talk.  Some type of financing plan like lottery game revenues will be approved, and along with the Vikings’ contribution, be enough to fund a facility.  The stadium will have a retractable roof and attract other events beyond Vikings games that will benefit local and state economies.

The stadium will be a source of pride and keep the Vikings here for another 30 years or more.  People will wonder why it took so long to get this done and how the financing idea really didn’t seem that difficult (or painful).  Many of the politicians will congratulate themselves, and when it comes time for re-election the legislative stadium boosters will not lose an election because they voted for the stadium.

Heavy drama for an inevitable result.