NCAA – Page 159 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

NIT Bid to Face Modest Applause

Posted on March 9, 2012March 12, 2012 by David Shama

The thought won’t rally an apathetic fan base but the Gophers may have earned a National Invitation Tournament bid with their 75-68 win over Northwestern last night in Indianapolis.

Last Saturday morning Minnesota sources were talking about the need to win two games to make the NIT. That was just hours before Minnesota, losers of six consecutive games, defeated Nebraska in the Gophers’ final regular season game. And then early yesterday evening Minnesota, the No. 7 seed, defeated Northwestern, the No. 10 seed, in the opening game of the Big Ten Tournament for both teams.

Minnesota’s two-game winning streak leaves the Gophers with a 19-13 overall season record. That could be enough to put the school back in the NIT for the first time since 2008.

Certainly a win tonight over Michigan will remove any doubt the Gophers would be invited to the tournament that is the oldest in college basketball, and holds its semifinals and championship game in New York’s hoops mecca, Madison Square Garden.

The NIT selection committee will have to decide if there are 32 teams more to its liking than Minnesota. Probably not, but either an invite or rejection won’t be met with much passion by Minnesota’s fan base.

The Gophers used to be popular with NIT administrators who liked the large crowds Minnesota drew for their NIT games. That’s history now. The NIT novelty wore off here long ago and the last NIT game (2008) in Minneapolis drew 3,882 fans.

Then there’s the problem of declining interest in the Gophers. Coach Tubby Smith has been under heavy criticism after finishing with a 6-12 Big Ten regular season record in each of the last two years. His five year Big Ten record is 39-52. Average home attendance this season was the lowest in five years.

But give Smith and his players credit for upsetting Northwestern last night, spoiling any chance the 18-13 Wildcats had of earning an NCAA invitation. In the overtime, Smith put a smaller lineup on the floor using four guards and forward Rodney Williams. The unit shutdown Northwestern’s offense as the Gophers outscored the Wildcats 14-7 in overtime.

Minnesota trailed 36-34 at halftime after building a 15-5 lead early in the game. Northwestern soon switched to a zone defense and half court trap that changed the game in the Wildcats’ favor despite 16 first half points by freshman point guard Andre Hollins.

It was Hollins who led the team in scoring with 25 points and showed promise of giving Minnesotathe leader it has been looking for all winter. He made five of 10 three point shots and played with poise in overtime.

The Gophers will need more of that tonight against a Michigan team that was 13-5 during the conference regular season and shared the league title with Michigan State and Ohio State. Game time is 5:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

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UST Football to Head North in May

Posted on March 2, 2012March 2, 2012 by David Shama

Coach Glenn Caruso told Sports Headliners his St. Thomas football team will travel to Winnipeg in late May to play a game against a club team made up of men about 18 to 30 years old.

Division III rules allow teams to play a foreign game every three years. All MIAC teams are permitted seven spring practices but the foreign game policy allows additional practices.

Three years ago Caruso took the Tommies to Winnipeg for a game against another club team. Asked about the score, Caruso didn’t recall but said St. Thomas won by a “pretty good chunk.”

A few extra practices are useful and winning big is better than the alternative but Caruso raved about something else when discussing plans to head across the border. “We’ll play everyone on the squad,” he said. “The benefit (to the trip) is building camaraderie.”

In four seasons under Caruso the Tommies have become a national Division III power. St. Thomas was 13-0 last fall before losing in the semifinal NCAA Division III playoffs to UW-Whitewater.

Next season the Tommies will open at UW-Eau Claire, playing a program that defeated St. John’s last year. The second nonconference game is at home against UW-RiverFalls. “It certainly gets us ready for our conference (schedule),” Caruso said.

The Tommies games will again be broadcast on WCCO Radio. Caruso said he’s heard from various sources including recruits that the broadcasts are making an impact.

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U Looks for Answers Tonight in Champaign

Posted on December 27, 2011December 29, 2011 by David Shama

Although the Gophers are prompting speculation they can be a 2012 NCAA tournament team, Minnesota has plenty to prove starting tonight against Illinois in the Big Ten Conference opening game for both teams.

The Gophers, 12-1 during non-conference play, will need at least a few upset wins over nationally ranked Big Ten teams to persuade the NCAA invite committee they deserve to be in the field of 68. Minnesota defeated major conference schools DePaul, Virginia Tech and USC during a whoopie pie non-league schedule but has no wins over top 25 clubs.

Illinois, after recent losses to UNLV and Missouri, has dropped out of the top 25 since last week but a Minnesota victory in Champaign tonight against the 11-2 Illini will perk up the Gophers resume. A win would also be a surprise.

Not only is Illinois favored, but the Gophers are 10-25 in conference road games during the Tubby Smith era. Road woes in four seasons under Smith is why the coach has a losing record in Big Ten games. He’s 32-40 overall in league play and none of his teams have played .500 basketball in conference away games.

The 2010-11 team for awhile was his best at Minnesota and even climbed to a No. 13 national ranking, but the transfer of guard Devoe Joseph and a season-ending injury to guard Al Nolen ruined the season. Minnesota went 2-7 in Big Ten road games, finished 6-12 overall in the conference and didn’t even earn an NIT invite.

The Gophers completed nonconference play last week with a 63-59 win over North Dakota State, a solid team that lost at Arizona State by three points and will be a contender in the Summit League. Bison coach Saul Phillips saw his team lead 16-5 with nine minutes to play in the first half before the Gophers defensive pressure and offensive togetherness pushed Minnesota ahead by halftime.

“I think they will win their fair share,” Phillips said about the Gophers. “They play solid. They have their roles (and) they play them well. They’ve got a chance to be an NCAA tournament team.

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