NCAA – Page 143 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Big Ten Teams in Final Four Picks

Posted on March 17, 2014March 17, 2014 by David Shama

Former Gophers coach Jim Dutcher agrees with CBS TV analysts who are predicting Michigan State will represent the Big Ten Conference in the Final Four next month in Arlington, Texas.

Dutcher, who led the Gophers to the 1982 Big Ten title, still passionately studies college basketball. He told Sports Headliners his choices for the Final Four are Louisville, Florida, Michigan State and Wisconsin.

Last night CBS announced the NCAA Men’s Tournament field of 68 teams, and analysts Seth Davis, Doug Gottlieb and Clark Kellogg offered predictions including Final Four picks. Davis and Kellogg both like Florida, Michigan State, Wichita State and Wisconsin. Gottlieb’s choices are Arizona, Florida, Louisville and Michigan State.

Louisville is the defending national champion and Dutcher predicts a repeat by the Cardinals. “They’re probably playing better than anyone in the country,” Dutcher said. “They’re so tough-minded.”

Dutcher suggested that fans figuring out predicted tournament winners pay attention to not just the records of teams but also how they are playing right now. Teams who are among the most likely to continue late season momentum in the tournament, according to Dutcher, include Baylor, Louisville, Michigan State and UCLA. The Spartans, a preseason choice to be national champs, faltered this winter because of injuries but yesterday defeated Michigan to win the Big Ten Tournament. “We all knew they were a good team,” Dutcher said. “They’re a threat to win it all.”

Syracuse is another team to respect when trying to make sense of March Madness. The Orange were rolling with a No. 1 ranking and undefeated season before stumbling in recent weeks and finishing with a 27-5 record. But Dutcher pointed out the Orange not only have one of the tournament’s premiere players in forward C.J. Fair, they also have a troublesome zone defense. He said teams who don’t play the Orange on a regular basis can have “fits” trying to score against the zone.

When predicting upsets it’s hard to argue with paying attention to games involving No. 5 and No. 12 seeds. In tourney history 12 seeds have pulled off some surprises. A few years ago Dutcher gave a friend three upset predictions using the 12 beats 5 formula and all were accurate.

This week Dutcher believes No. 10 seeds Stanford and Arizona State will defeat No. 7 seeds New Mexico and Texas. Iowa and Tennessee have a play-in game on Wednesday night and the winner will be a No. 11 seed who Dutcher said “can beat” No. 6 seed Massachusetts.

Dutcher has sentimental favorites in the tournament including Wisconsin. He’s known Badgers coach Bo Ryan for a long time and wants to see him finally have a Final Four team. Ryan’s Badgers have never finished lower than fourth in the Big Ten standings but haven’t made deep tournament runs. “I’d like to see it on his resume (the Final Four),” Dutcher said.

A Michigan alum and former assistant coach in Ann Arbor, Dutcher is also pulling for Michigan in the tournament. He admires Michigan coach John Beilein. “He is a quality guy,” Dutcher said.

Worth Noting

Coach Richard Pitino’s Gophers are in the 32-team NIT field and have an opening game tomorrow night at Williams Arena against High Point. “I think the Gophers will play good (in the NIT),” Dutcher said. “They have a new coach (this season) and are trying to make an impression.

“I don’t think the fans will buy into it (the NIT) too much. Coaches have referred to it as the ‘Not Interested Tournament.’ ”

Not only is the NIT not a strong gate attraction but Minnesota’s home attendance has been declining for decades. For the 2013-14 season the Gophers averaged 12,329 for 18 home games, ranking 10^th in the 12-team Big Ten. Williams Arena capacity is 14,625. Only Northwestern at 6,719 and Penn State, 6,500, averaged fewer fans per home game.

The Gophers are a No. 1 seed in the NIT along with Florida State, St. John’s and SMU.

Senior guard Austin Hollins will play in his 137^th game as a Gopher when Minnesota meets High Point. Last week he broke Rodney Williams’ school record for most games at 134.

The Gophers went to the NIT Finals in 2012 but never hosted a game. They won four consecutive games before losing to Stanford in the championship game in New York.

College basketball fan Steve Nestor e-mailed that former Gophers athletic director McKinley Boston, now AD at New Mexico State, has seen his Lobos make the NCAA Tournament four of the last five years including in 2014. The Aggies have seven international players on their roster including Canadian brothers Sim and Tanveer Bhullar. They are large lads at 7-foot-5 and 7-foot-3, and weighing 360 and 335 pounds respectively.

Wally Pribyl, who played football for the Gophers in the late 1960s, is struggling in his fight with cancer. He is hospitalized in South Dakota and reached out last week to former teammates via e-mail. “I can’t express in words how much I appreciate the thoughts, prayers and messages of support,” he wrote.

Former Vikings running backs Dave Osborn and Oscar Reed have birthdays this month on March 18 and 24. Twin Cities sports marketing authority Bill Robertson‘s birthday is March 21.

Comments Welcome

Deal in Works to Reward Jerry Kill

Posted on February 3, 2014February 4, 2014 by David Shama

Multiple sources have told Sports Headliners a deal is in the works to increase coach Jerry Kill’s compensation. An increase in salary could be from $1.2 million to $2.2 million annually.

The new agreement is believed to have other elements beyond salary but those details haven’t been identified by sources. An announcement appears likely between recruiting Signing Day on Wednesday and the team’s spring game April 12.

Kill was the lowest paid head coach in the Big Ten Conference last fall, according to a November 7 USA Today article listing the earnings of major college football coaches throughout the country. The story said the average compensation for a Big Ten head football coach was $2.6 million.

Kill has been Minnesota’s coach for three seasons, leading a rebuilding of the program. The 2013 Gophers won eight games, the most since 2003. They also had four conference wins, the most since 2005.

University of Minnesota president Eric Kaler and other decision makers are admirers of Kill and want to see him remain with the Gophers. Athletic director Norwood Teague gave more than a nod of support toward Kill when he recently promoted Dan O’Brien from Kill’s staff to the position of senior associate athletics director. In that role O’Brien, a Kill ally and former college football coach, will oversee Gophers football operations and be very supportive of Kill’s needs for the program.

Because of struggles with epilepsy, Kill coached from the press box and not the sidelines for much of last season. But Kill has made changes in his daily life and appears to be in good spirits as he closes in on announcing his 2014 recruiting class Wednesday. He has let it be known how excited he is about soon driving a car or truck again, another indication of improved health.

In addition to Kill’s change in contract, expect his assistant coaches to receive compensation increases before next season.

Worth Noting

The Signing Day Central blog on Gophersports.com will activate at 6 a.m. Wednesday and announce signees and include their bios. Recruiting coordinator Billy Glasscock, defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys and offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover will answer questions on the blog about recruits who sign National Letters of Intent to play for the Gophers.

Kill’s 4 p.m. Signing Day news conference from TCF Bank Stadium will be streamed online at Gophersports.com.

The Signing Day Social program for fans begins at 6 p.m. at TCF Bank Stadium. Doors open at 5 p.m. The cost is $25 per person and some Gophers signees are expected to attend. Registration is available at GoalLineClub.com.

Kill was inducted into the Saluki Hall of Fame on Friday night. He revived a collapsing football program at Southern Illinois, going 50-18 in his final five seasons in Carbondale before moving to Northern Illinois and then Minnesota.

Kill said on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” yesterday that if the Gophers can hold the verbal commitments they have received from recruits this will be a “very, very good signing class.”

Recognition and honors are coming to Mike Grant, the Eden Prairie High School football coach who has led the Eagles to nine state championships including three consecutive titles. Grant will be inducted into the Minnesota Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame March 29 along with several others (more details in Wednesday’s column), and he is also the Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year award winner. Grant receives $25,000.00 for the national award, with $15,000.00 dedicated to the Eden Prairie program.

Former Gophers quarterback Rickey Foggie, who played for Lou Holtz at Minnesota, is the new head coach at Red Wing High School and takes over a program that was 1-17 during the last two seasons, according to a January 30 online story by the Red Wing Republican Eagle.

Vikings Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton is 74 today.

After losing to Northwestern 55-54 on Saturday, the Gophers are now 1-2 without Andre Hollins, their leading scorer and star guard who has an injured left ankle. When will Hollins return? “Hoping for Purdue (game on Wednesday) but highly doubt it,” Gophers coach Richard Pitino said on Saturday.

The Gophers locker room was filled with disappointed players after the Northwestern game and a loss that left Minnesota 4-5 in the Big Ten. Center Mo Walker sat with his face covered, hiding tears and unwilling to answer questions.

Walker had an opportunity to rebound a shot attempt and score the winning basket as time expired but may have been fouled. Pitino said “no comment” when asked about the play.

Dan Kornbaum, the Augsburg center who after transferring from UMD has become one of the MIAC’s best scorers, rebounders and shot blockers, is the grandson of former Gophers All-American center Ron Johnson. Kornbaum’s mother, Jenni, ranks fifth in total career points for women at South Dakota State. The Timberwolves’ Robbie Hummel is a first cousin of Kornbaum.

The Wild has home games against the Lightning and Predators tomorrow and Thursday evenings. Then the NHL takes a schedule break because of the Winter Olympics with the Wild not playing again until February 27.

Zach Parise and Ryan Suter from the Wild will play for the U.S. Olympic team. Mikael Granlund will represent Finland and Mikko Koivu, too, if he is recovered from right ankle surgery. Nino Niederreiter will play for Switzerland. Parise, who is an alternate captain for the Wild, will be captain of the U.S. team. Suter is an alternate captain for the U.S. team.

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Dutcher Predicts U NCAA Tourney Invite

Posted on January 29, 2014January 29, 2014 by David Shama

Jim Dutcher told Sports Headliners he expects the Gophers — a team predicted to finish near the bottom of the Big Ten standings — to make the NCAA Tournament in March.

The Gophers, 4-4, have been a surprise team in the Big Ten even though they let a bull’s-eye opportunity for a win get away on Sunday when the Cornhuskers, now 2-5, defeated Minnesota 82-78 in Lincoln. Dutcher didn’t see that coming but he still believes the Gophers will win enough games to make the tournament, even without injured leading scorer Andre Hollins who is out indefinitely with an ankle injury.

The Big Ten will likely have the highest (or near highest) RPI of any conference and Dutcher said that means the tournament selection committee will be looking for six Big Ten teams. “There’s enough winnable games left that they can still get to 10 games (wins),” the Gophers former head coach said. “Even if they get to nine they’re going to make the tournament because they’re going to want to take a minimum of six Big Ten teams. …The Gophers would have to fall flat on their faces not to finish in the top six (in the conference).”

The Gophers play Northwestern, 3-5, at home on Saturday. Then go to Purdue, 3-4, February 5 before playing Indiana, 3-4, in Minneapolis on February 8.

“They should be favored in all three of them (those games),” Dutcher said. “Then they got a home game coming with Penn State (1-6). They got a home game with Illinois coming (2-6). You gotta think that they can win those games. So they wouldn’t have to really come out (and) upset a bunch of people to get into the tournament.”

Dutcher said the Gophers, now with an overall record of 15-6, can win the next three games without Hollins. He knows, however, the value of a player he describes as the team’s best offensively. “They probably would love to have him available on the fifth of February at Purdue,“ Dutcher said.

Dutcher believes the Gophers have “much better personnel” than Northwestern. He also said Purdue “struggles to score points” but Indiana will be a more difficult game and one that could go either way.

“I think 10 (wins) still is a reasonable number but they’re going to have to guard somebody,” Dutcher said. “They can’t give a guy like Petteway 35 points.”

Terran Petteway led Nebraska in scoring with a career high on Sunday night. The Cornhuskers made 50 percent of their field goal attempts in the game. And in Minnesota’s previous road loss, Iowa converted 49.2 percent of its field goal attempts during a high scoring 94-73 game.

Dutcher, who coached the Gophers to the 1982 Big Ten title, pointed out that in the Nebraska game point guard DeAndre Mathieu had nine turnovers. “He didn’t make good decisions,” Dutcher said.

Last year’s Gophers were 8-10 in the Big Ten during the regular season and finished seventh in the conference. That club was 20-12 overall after the Big Ten Tournament and received an NCAA Tournament invitation.

Worth Noting

Isaiah Gentry, the 6-4 wide receiver from Cincinnati Moeller High School, verbally committed to the Gophers last night. He is expected to sign his National Letter of Intent on February 5.

Iowa State hired former Kansas head coach Mark Mangino as offensive coordinator earlier this month. Mangino, who once was offensive coordinator at Oklahoma and made Kansas a top 10 team, will be Jeff Jones’ coordinator if the Washburn High School Rivals.com four-star player decides to attend school in Ames and not Minneapolis.

Nikola Pekovic scored 22 points when the Wolves defeated the Pelicans earlier this month. That was one of 17 times this season he has totaled more than 20 points but with bursitis in his right ankle sidelining him indefinitely he won’t be on the court tonight when the Wolves and Pelicans play at Target Center.

The DeLaSalle High School basketball team has high profile players in Reid Travis and Jarvis Johnson but Sacar Anim has been leading the team in scoring average. Ryan James, reporting for Gopherillustrated.com, wrote on Monday the Islanders’ wing is averaging a team best 15.9 points per game and being recruited by Creighton, Iowa, Nebraska, Northern Iowa and Wisconsin.

Taste of the NFL, a Twin Cities-based non-profit organization dedicated to reducing hunger in America, has raised more than $14 million dollars for local and national food banks, providing more than 112 million meals. This year’s event will take place Saturday, on the eve of the Super Bowl, at Pier 12 of the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Taste of the NFL was created in 1992 by Cuisine Concepts co-owners Wayne Kostroski and Mark Haugen, the restaurateurs from Goodfellow’s, Tejas, Bar Abilene and the Franklin Street Bakery.

In recognition of the Taste of the NFL, Kostroski rang the closing bell yesterday for the New York Stock Exchange.

Twins president Dave St. Peter said the estimated local economic impact from next July’s MLB All-Star Game is about $85 million.

A hockey source told Sports Headliners he expects Minneapolis-St. Paul to host an outdoor NHL game in the “next couple of years.” The Red Wings used Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor for their game with the Maple Leafs while Comerica Park in Detroit was the site of other hockey events as part of the NHL Winter Classic promotion. A similar setup could be done here using both TCF Bank Stadium and Target Field.

The WCHA hopes to have a new commissioner by the end of March to replace retiring Bruce McLeod.

Not sure if the thought warms you but the “World’s Toughest Rodeo” will be indoors at Xcel Energy Center Friday and Saturday nights.

KSTP TV sports director Joe Schmit has written a book, Sudden Impact: Stories of Influence through Purpose, Persistence & Passion. The book includes stories about Larry Fitzgerald, Joe Mauer and Paul Molitor. More at Joeschmit.com.

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