Lots of tough times and lots of good times.. Thank you for such a great year of being online friends in our pursuit of being a great program in ALL SPORTS.. Lots of knowledgeable fans and fun people to read.. I have never met any of you but feel a kindred spirit, nevertheless.

I want to thank you for the vote for Poster of the Year last year.. I was honestly humbled and could not believe it, to be honest.. Lots of great posters on here. When you have not met anyone in person yet they still vote for you, that was a total shocker to me... This year, it is looking like Littlefinger will get the POY, and I cant think of someone more deserving of it than him, TBO. He has added SO MUCH to this board. There are a lot of great contributors and writers that would have been worthy as well. Just a lot of informed people and those who add humor to our lives.

Thank you for each and every one of you that make the Gopher experience all the better.. Whether that is Matt, Connor, EJ, or David... You might as well add my friend, Unlimited, who is as talented of writer as anyone or anywhere covering sports, specifically in the area of wrestling.. OPD, AAD, jasonclark, and kcgorilla for making it so fun to hear it from a Gopher player's Dad's perspective. alanschroeder adds dignity and good questions.. Timothynelson and others that have interviewed former Gophers. To all those who have encouraged me in so many ways. To all those with inside info on the University dealings. I could go on and on but this is a fun board and certainly worth the time if you are a Gopher fan.. Thanks for your steadfastness and dedication to a program with a lot of ups and downs. I hope we can all enjoy Gopher success in the 2019 year.. You guys are the best and appreciate you much!!

that the Gophers football team has the best chance to win their division of all the other local teams. The Wolves and the Wild have no chance this year. The Twins probably have the second best chance due to an awful division. It’s early obviously but the Vikings will have a hard time beating out the Bears next year. If what we saw of the Gophers in the last four games is real, our chances to win the west is as good as any teams. Hopefully the Gophers can capitalize on a weak local sports market and start gaining in popularity in the state.

Fugly. Real Fugly.

Brutal game offensively. And not just because of good defenses. Both Offenses have huge warts.

That is all....

that keeps the "red " out. After we won the Axe I was curious to see how the Badger fans reacted so I went over to a site called "Buckyville" It was like we took their first born. Much worse than I thought considering what Gopher fans went through during the long losing period. What got me is Badger fans think it mirrors Haley's Comet. As one fan put it:
"We'll bring 15,000 fans up to that little
Stadiett and beat them by 3 TD's. The streak will start again" I think visiting teams are allowed 3,000 tickets. I would love to see Coyle run a promotion to shut
those a-holes out. Iowa used to be my most hated rival, but now Becky and their obnoxious fans are really starting to PMO.

I have a question.
With all this talk. instead of expanding the current playoff system. Why do they not go to a system where
A) every Div 1 team can only play other Div 1 teams in their non conference schedules.
B) most conferences already have some built in interconfertnce games like we do with the ACC I believe. So why can't the NCAA just create a situation where during the non conference games each conference has to play as many other conferences during the non conference schedule on a rotating basis to fill up the non conference schedule.

This way when ever we play say Wisconsin and beat them and the have already played Georgia when we didn't and vic versa. I mean would that help better determine strength of schedule and would eliminate the need for an 8 team playoff system?

Or am I all wet?

As Minnesota (11-2, 1-1) enters the main body of its Big Ten schedule the scouting report on them is pretty basic. This is a tall, long, athletic roster that is big on the perimeter and strong inside. The guards can get to the rim and the big men are walking double-doubles. Their weakness is the outside shooting. The obvious way to guard them is to pack the defense in, help on the posts, and dare them to make the 3-pointer.

That was the game plan for Mount St. Mary's (3-10) going into Sunday's action and it will be the plan of attack for Wisconsin when the Gophers resume Big Ten play on Thursday night.

In its 71-53 win, Minnesota outscored its opponent in the paint 34-22. It won the rebounding battle 34-22. They got to the foul line 30 times compared to the Mount's 10. They shot 54.5 percent from inside the arc, but just 21 percent from behind it.

To quote the Vikings former Head Coach, Dennis Green, they were who we thought they were.

Except they now have one more addition. In the best news of the day, Eric Curry returned to the court for the first time since March of 2017. The 6-foot-9, 240 pound center's season debut couldn't be seen as anything else but positive. He had 4 points and 6 rebounds, but more importantly was able to log 17 minutes of play, adding even more depth to a vaunted inside game.

The Gophers got out to a quick 9-0 lead and never looked back, although it wasn't able to stretch that lead out against an outmatched opponent. Daniel Oturu made the game's first bucket on his way to his fourth straight double-double. Dupree McBrayer also put his fingerprints on the game during that run by scoring five straight points and feeding Amir Coffey for a dunk. Minnesota forced turnovers and got out on the break. Two of the first four buckets were on the run.

The Mount made a move of their own to cut the lead to 11-9 with 13:28 left. This chapter of the game was marked by a theme that would be a negative one for the Gophers throughout the contest. They committed three turnovers in four possessions. Jordan Murphy had problems with the ball side dig from entry pass's defender. Oturu also turned it over due to a hard post double. Isaiah Washington also made an ill-advised lob inside when there were two other defensive players in help waiting to pounce. The Mount also got some mileage with their guards getting to the rim off the high ball screen.

Minnesota then took its turn in a game of spurts with their own 8-2 run to go back up 19-11 with nine minutes left. The highlight was Curry getting his first bucket this season in transition at the 12:45 mark. The Gophers did a good job of getting to the rim in this run. Murphy was fouled inside and made two foul shots. Brock Stull and Isaiah Washington also made two layups as they looked to run at every opportunity.

The two teams went back and forth although the offense was minimal. They took their biggest lead at 25-14 as Murphy hit Curry for a layup with a beautiful post to post pass.. They were unable to push the lead out any farther as they went into the locker room leading 31-23 at the half.

The game in the first twenty minutes was actually closer than the score indicated. Minnesota had only two more field goals than Mount St. Mary's. Both teams were 2 for 10 from deep. The Gophers also made four more foul shots on five more attempts. Their coach, Dan Engelstad, perhaps had the best defensive game plan of the season thus far. Pack it in and swarm the big men.

Minnesota got off to a good start once again to begin a half. They extended the lead to 38-25 in the first four minutes, then moved it to 44-28 at the 13:39 mark. Coffey and Kalscheur combined for the brunt of the points, but the story was the defense. The Mount did not score in the first four minutes. They were 2 of 9 shooting in that six and a half minute stretch.

The Mount scored the next ten points by doing something Minnesota struggled with. They made three straight 3-pointers to trim the lead to 44-38. Things got even hairier from there. The 24.5 point underdog cut the lead all the way down to six at 51-45 with 7:16 left in the game.

We have spoken about themes of the game. The biggest factor of the game was Minnesota's ability to pile up fouls on the Mount and make them pay at the charity stripe. 11 of their next 16 points came from the charity stripe as they eventually pulled away for an eighteen point win.

The Gophers had four players in double-figures. McBrayer led the team in scoring with 15. His 3-point shooting was needed. He was 3 for 6. Take him away and the team was 1 for 13 overall.

Coffey followed with 13 points. He did the majority fo his damage by getting into the land against the smaller defenders and drawing fouls. He made 7 of 8 free throw attempts. Oturu had his fourth consecutive double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Perhaps the most puzzling part of the game was Jordan Murphy's stat line. The workhorse had only two field goal attempts for the game. He was swarmed on every touch. He ended up with twice as many turnovers as field goal attempts. He nearly had a double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds, but eight of his points were from foul shots as well.

Gabe Kalscheur and Isaiah Washington both had 6 points. Kalscheur's 3-point troubles continued as he went 1 for 6. Washington had been averaging double figure assists in the last two games, but only had two on Sunday.

Eric Curry followed with 4 points and 6 rebounds. Michael Hurt had 3 points and 2 rebounds. Brock Still also contributed with a pair of points.

Minnesota shot 42.3 percent from field and just 21.1 percent from behind the arc. They were 54.5 percent from inside the arc. They also got to the line 30 times for the game, making 23 for a decent 76.7 percent clip. They got to the line 23 times in the second half and made 18.

The Gophers scored 34 points in the paint. Combine that with 23 free throws and 57 of their 71 points came with 15 feet of the bucket.

Defensively, the held Mount St. Mary's to 33.9 percent shooting for the game and 33.3 percent shooting from deep. They only got to the line ten times compared to thirty for Minnesota. A very interesting number was Minnesota made 18 more foul shots in an 18 point win. The Gophers also had eight more rebounds.

Now, the attention turns to Big Ten play where they are 1-1 thus far. The Gophers will travel to. fifteenth ranked Wisconsin on Thursday night who are 10-3 overall and 2-0 in the conference.

and hope you all have a great SKI_U_MAH YEAR!!!!!!!
RTB!!!!

hwy 55. Screwed again!

I’d like to thank the cop that beat for changing lanes. You let me know how it is. Thanks
For showing me how it is.

SOF
SOS

other dimes I’ve started on this board.

Carry on...I’m Not hurt

Before today’s game we ranked 281st out of 353 D-1 teams in 3 pt field goal percentage at 31%. This doesn’t bode well for our chances in the conference.

loses head coach to GT. Hires replacement who signs class, but then leaves to go back to Miami. Has to set back the program.

Report: Miami nabs Manny Diaz back from Temple as he rejoins Canes as head coach

• By Jack Crosby

Just over two weeks after leaving Miami to take over at Temple, former defensive coordinator Manny Diaz will be returning to the Hurricanes. Diaz has been tabbed to replace Mark Richt, who suddenly retired Sunday, as Miami's next coach, according to The Athletic's Bruce Feldman.

Diaz, a Miami native who returned to his hometown college football team as defensive coordinator under Richt in 2016, spent the last three seasons leading that unit. He was named the head coach at Temple on Dec. 13 and signed his first recruiting class with the Owls a couple of days later.

Prior to Miami, Diaz served as defensive coordinator at Mississippi State (twice), Louisiana Tech, Texas, and Middle Tennessee State. He attended Florida State and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the Seminoles in 1998.

Minnesota was recruiting last spring. As I recall he had early interest from Oregon, but he quickly fell off both Minnesota’s radar and I think off Oregon’s radar at all.

Some schools wanted him to switch positions. Was a Texas RB who played for a school that in his f. Appeared to have an exceptional OLine.

Was curious as to where he ended up signing. I remember thinking his film was great but I couldn’t tell if that was just because his line was so good.

IIRC, STP endorsed this dude’s OLine and gave it the Texas HS seal of approval.

David's preview: https://minnesota.rivals.com/news/scouting-mount-st-mary-s

Connecting him to the Packer's head coach opening. Green Bay's president and COO, Mark Murphy, was the AD at Northwestern when Fitzgerald was named HC in 2006.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles...rominently-connected-to-head-coaching-vacancy

Do you think Coach Fleck takes the Gophers to the Final 4 - Yes or No
I will answer first - Yes

Our #8 ranked Gophers will be wrestling four dual meet matches at the South Beach Duals (in Fort Lauderdale, FL) on Sat. Dec. 29th and Sun. Dec. 30th. We have #16 Lehigh and #13 North Carolina on Sat. and #22 Utah Valley and Kent State on Sunday.

Once the lineups are all posted, I'll make detailed predictions, but right now, we should win all four team matches. The matches will be streamed on Trackwrestling.com, some streaming has been free there lately, so I'm not sure yet if they're charging for this.

Here is an article on our Florida trip from Gophersports.com:


Gophers Take Their Talents to the South Beach Duals

Gophersports.com
Wrestling
12/18/2018

TrackWrestling
TrackWrestling Video

Our #8 ranked Gophers head south for the South Beach Duals just before the New Year to take part in four duals over the course of the two-day competition. Minnesota will wrestle #22 Utah Valley, #16 Lehigh, #13 North Carolina, and Kent State over the weekend.

The Gophers first take on Lehigh on Saturday morning before dualing North Carolina in the afternoon. On the second day they will wrestle Kent State and finish off the event with Utah Valley.

The Competition

The South Beach Duals are an event hosted at the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center where several Division I schools come and wrestle two duals on each day. Last year the Gophers fell 25-16 to North Carolina and 22-19 to Cornell on the first day. The Gophers bounced back on day two with double-digit victories over both Columbia and Binghamton.

The South Beach Duals also host youth and high school events throughout the weekend surrounding the main NCAA wrestling matches.

Schedule of Events (All times Central)

Saturday, December 29th: NCAA Division 1 weigh in 9:00am mat side
Saturday, December 29th: NCAA Division 1 Round 1 10:00am
Saturday, December 29th: NCAA Division 1 Round 2 12:00pm

Sunday, December 30th: NCAA Division 1 Weigh ins 9:00am
Sunday, December 30th: NCAA Division 1 Round 3 10:00am
Sunday, December 30th: NCAA Division 1 Round 4 12:00pm
Sunday, December 30th: NCAA Division 1 Individual Mini Tournament

Last Time Out

In their last dual on December 8 the Gophers went west to California to take on the Fresno State Bulldogs. The Gophers had little trouble as they earned a 31-6 dual victory with seven weight classes won and a forfeit at heavyweight. The Gophers only lost two weight classes by a combined five points.

Before the trip to Fresno State the Gophers took home 6th place in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Tournament and had one champion, Gable Steveson, and three other placers. Sean Russell earned third, Ethan Lizak placed fourth, and Devin Skatzka took seventh place. At the tournament Steveson defeated both North Carolina's Cory Daniel and Utah Valley's Tate Orndorff which may result in rematches at the South Beach Duals.

The Gophers also handily defeated South Dakota State 35-6 before they flew out to Las Vegas.

Ranked Gophers

The Gophers boast ranked wrestlers in seven of the ten total weight classes. Their highest ranked wrestler across all outlets is No. 2 heavyweight Gable Steveson, an undefeated true freshman. The Gophers have one of the best group of lightweight wrestlers in the country with No. 5 Sean Russell, No. 8 Ethan Lizak, and No.5 Mitch McKee kicking off the action.

149-pound Tommy Thorn is back into the rankings after a short absence and 174-pound Devin Skatzka is steadily moving up the rankings up to No. 15 in his first year wearing the Gophers singlet. 157-pound Steve Bleise is also still ranked #11 despite missing the past month with a broken hand.

Climbing the ladder

Several Gophers are nearing career milestones that could arrive before the end of the year. Nearing the century mark is No. 8 Ethan Lizak. He currently sits less than 20 victories behind head coach Brandon Eggum and assistant coach Dustin Schlatter.

Tommy Thorn now has 80 wins after defeating Khristian Olivas in Fresno. Elsewhere 165-pound Carson Brolsma now has 33 wins with five coming since the South Dakota State Dual. Meanwhile Gable Steveson is undefeated to start his career.

Trip to the Midlands

Some of the Gophers will be traveling to the Ken Kraft Midlands Championship in Chicago. The Midlands is a notorious competition in the wrestling world so tough competition will be found in every bracket.

Among those traveling to Chicago are 125-pound Patrick McKee, 149-pounders Jakob Bergeland, Brayton Lee, Kasper McIntosh, and 165-pound Jake Allar. 174-pound Bailee O'Reilly and 197-pounders Garrett Joles and Bobby Steveson will also be making the trip.

Leadership at the top

The Gophers boast a strong lineup full of senior leaders, particularly true at lighter weights. Both 125-pound Sean Russell and 133-pound Ethan Lizak in their final years of college. 141-pound Mitch McKee is a junior, but 149-pound Tommy Thorn is yet another redshirt senior near the top of the lineup.

True freshman heavyweight Gable Steveson is the only underclassmen to be a starter in multiple duals.

Up Next

The Gophers' Big Ten slate begins just after the New Year with a home dual against Rutgers on January 6. Just a week later Minnesota takes on border rival Iowa in a match-up of two of the top teams in not only the conference, but the country.

The Gophers then hit the road or three consecutive duals against Illinois, Northwestern, and Wisconsin before returning home in early February.

Bale should be up for " Best Actor " at the AW's for his portraying Cheny. I will say this. It is not a movie for hard line Republicans with narrow minds. If you can go to it without getting emotional on your politics, you will enjoy it. You can certainly see why Cheny was the most powerful VP
to ever serve in that position. W was definitely a Presidential puppet under Cheny's iron-handed doings.

All the music of the 1960's generation.. 60's rock like Jimi Hendrix, folk music, hippie music. A lot of people talk about the concert in fondness with all the music of that era. I am a HISTORY NERD and I hope they plan it a bit better than what I have read about the original concert.

I have been to the area. It is beautiful, I will say that. The problem of the planning of the original WOODSTOCK festival was that no one was concerned about the area as it related to the 1000s of people that attended... Those are real small towns surrounding that area with extremely small grocery stores and little to no fast food nor restaurants to sit down and eat, at the time. EVEN WORSE was the the almost non-existent medical services at the concert. People were taking psychedelic drugs and if someone shouted out "the red pills were bad acid!!", many of those people who took the red pills were too high to know what color of pill they had taken in the first place to seek medical attention or how it would affect them.. With that many people, it is hard to get medical personnel in there in a moments notice and they did not have the facilities at hospitals that they do today. People would overdo it on the drugs and alcohol, there would be normal medical emergencies with a group of people that large, and other things that needed attention.. Police and rescue units were stretched to the breaking point...HOPEFULLY, they have thought this through a little better this time and people can enjoy the music of yesteryear with a better organized plan for food, lodging , and medical. The stage built in honor of the concert is in a beautiful area and if you have been to upstate New York, the scenery is beautiful. If there are people here old enough to remember Woodstock or attended, I would love to hear about your experiences at the time.

Xavier Rhodes is injured. Mike Hughes is injured.. Trae Waynes had nagging injuries in the past. Holton Hill has potential to be very good, Mackenzie Alexander has improved this year.. That is actually a real formidable group, if they are healthy and playing well.

There is a mantra out there that says you can never have enough quality DBs, especially corners. SO do you think we continue to keep all of them, seeing that we seem to get hit with the injury bug every season?? Or do we use one of the guys as trade bait, perhaps for a quality offensive lineman?? We seem to struggle with injuries or key positions where we just dont have the quality of players(o-line). I am glad we got Hughes but so envy the Colts and the 49ers who got those 2 Notre Dame kids(Nelson and McGlinchey) who are having great rookie years as offensive linemen.. I do think O'Neill could be very good for the Vikings in time..Getting healthy and bettering ourselves in the o-line seems to be the 2 biggest obstacles for this team.. What are your thoughts??

Doesn’t really matter now, but after watching him play against WI and GT, it’s surprising he couldn't get on the field other than special teams. Seems like he’s one of those guys who just makes plays regardless of his measurables. I still recall how Claeys used him his frosh/so years on the edge for passing downs. Anyway, glad he stuck it out these last two years.

The #12 ranked Gophers at 11-0 take on the 9-3 Badgers tonight at the Barn. The Gophers hold an 11 game winning streak
against Wisconsin; winning twice last year
91-65 in Minneapolis and 71-61 in Madison. The game will be on the BTN at 8:00 pm.

I think this will be the new uniform standard for the Gophers. They play better with this lid. You heard it here first.

In an effort to purge the demons of the Illinois game, I'm starting a thread for us all to list our favorite all-time movies. These are the movies that you can watch over and over again. These aren't necessarily the greatest movies of all-time (because that would just be going with the masses). These are YOUR favorite movies. You can list as many or as few as you like. No limit.

Here are mine (in no particular order):

Groundhog Day
Lord of the Rings trilogy
Die Hard
The Fifth Element
Saving Private Ryan
Inception
Gladiator
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Snatch
The Matrix
Jurassic Park
Back to the Future 1 & 2
Goodfellas
Pulp Fiction
The Usual Suspects
Shawshank Redemption
Caddyshack
Animal House
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Casablanca
Aliens
Terminator 2
Braveheart
V for Vendetta
You've Got Mail
The Princess Bride
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Bourne Identity
Lion King
Christmas Vacation
Willow
Neverending Story
When Harry Met Sally

*DISCLAIMER* I reserve the right to add other movies later since I'm sure I forgot some of my other favorites.

Offense: 2018 we averaged 378.6 yards per game (before the bowl) for an FBS ranking of 85th. Certain elements of our game were highly ranked in FBS, such as our Yards per completion of 14.11, which ranked 16th. Truthfully, with the development of the O-line, the stable of backs, and the riches at wide receiver, I don't know how we don't improve our Total Offense ranking by at least 50 yards, which would have put us ranked at 45th this year. That doesn't even account for our Quarterback, who I expect will have improved numbers as well. Personally, I don't care who runs the offense, as long as they aren't gimping around (like Annexstad was allowed to do). Morgan proved his worth. Annexstad proved his worth. I expect the gunslinger, Clark to prove his worth. I'm excited about this position and hope the competition breeds greatness instead of turmoil! Truthfully, I expect us to improve by more than 50 yards per game, but I also know that Fleck does value ball control and isn't gonna go all-out up-tempo (although I expect it mixed in much more next year to keep opposing defenses from getting settled.

Defense: 2018 we averaged giving up 394.3 yards per game (before the bowl) for an FBS ranking of 65th. With Rossi being the new coordinator, hopefully we can see an improvement on those numbers. I'd like to think we saw the last of games where we give up multiple 50+ yard TD runs. I'd prefer to think of the games like Maryland, Nebraska and Illinois as anomalies, especially with how we performed against much different styled, high-powered offenses in Purdue and Georgia Tech at the end of the year. Despite Rossi taking the DC position by a firm grip, we have a talent infusion of redshirt and true freshman that will provide future greatness, but also occasional frustration. Because of these growing pains, I don't expect as much growth in the defensive numbers next year. However, I do expect some improvement. I'd like to think we can improve by 20 yards per game, which would have improved our 2018 Total Defense to 47th.

So, imagine a team that is ranked 45th in Total Offense and 47th in Total Defense...what record would a team have with those rankings? Clearly there are other elements to the game that factor into final record, such as Turnover Margin and play of the special teams. In 2018, our Turnover Margin ranked 101st in FBS. We turned it over 25 times, versus gaining 20 turnovers at -.42 per game (before the bowl). Not good! I truthfully believe many of the turnovers can be related to lack of cohesion on the O-Line to start the season as well as playing freshman quarterbacks. Knowing Fleck has the "ball is the program" mantra, I expect this to be flipped next year. Let's say we flip it to a +5 margin and get it to +.42 per game, we would jump from 101 to 32 this year. That may be unrealistic, but I expect less turnovers with a very experienced group on offense back next year. I also expect Rossi's style to be a tad more aggressive and lead to more turnovers. Having some stud linemen join the D will help create more turnovers too! As far as special teams, it's obvious Fleck values players that make special teams plays. Giving out scholarships to some of the best in the country will help solidify that area of the team. It may not be as great as 2018, but it won't be what holds us back either.

In summation, I expect BIG things in 2019. I truly feel a corner has been turned by Fleck and company, and hope for a 9 win year or better with the schedule laid out in front of us...

Week 1: South Dakota St.
Week 2: @ Fresno St.
Week 3: Georgia Southern
Week 4: @ Purdue
Week 5: Illinois
Week 6: Nebraska
Week 7: @ Rutgers
Week 8: Maryland
Week 9: Penn St
Week 10: @ Iowa
Week 11: @ Northwestern
Week 12: Wisconsin


I was gonna put my guesses for wins/losses behind each game and then I realized I would look like such an immense homer it would be silly. But, really, look at that schedule! We are NO LONGER afraid of Wisconsin. We crushed them. Purdue will be formidable, but they can be an enigma. Nebraska has Martinez that scares the hell out of me, but it's a home game. Penn St. no longer has Trace McSorley next year. Iowa at Kinnick might be the GAME OF THE YEAR. Northwestern will have to find a replacement for Thorson. The other teams on the schedule just don't scare me anymore.

Help me find a true lock for a loss? I don't see one.

Does that mean we go undefeated? Unlikely. But really gentlemen...there is a lot to look forward to next year!

Expect BIG THINGS!

It is appropriate that Minnesota's contest with Mount St. Mary's this Sunday will be the final game of the 2018 calendar year. Not only is this a transition game that will end one year and begin another, it will also transition the Gophers from its non-conference schedule to Big Ten play.

The Mount (3-9) will be Minnesota's (10-2) last game before they move on to league play against arch-rival Wisconsin next Thursday.

The Mountaineers come to Williams Arena having won three games in a row. They began the season on a nine game losing streak, but have won its last three contests against Wilson (74-59), American (56-55), and St. Mary's of Maryland (83-44).

They have played an aggressive schedule thus far. They have losses to North Carolina State, Marshall, Maryland, and St. John's. There are also some common opponents that they share with the Gophers. They lost to North Carolina A&T by a score of 74-60, and also lost 92-77 to Minnesota's fellow Big Ten member, Maryland, that they will play later in the year.

This is one of the youngest teams in the country. There are no upperclassmen on the roster, no savvy vets to fall back on in pressure situations The entire roster is made up of freshmen and sophomores. The starting lineup in Mount St. Mary's last game was comprised of three freshmen, a redshirt freshman, and a sophomore. There are a total of nine freshmen on the roster.

The Mount is not a juggernaut offensively. They rank in the lowest sixth in the country in almost every statistical category.

They average just 68.6 points on the season. which ranks 295th in the country. They convert 40.5 percent of their shots which is good only for 316th out of 351 teams. 24 of their 59 field goal attempts per game are 3-pointer, and that part of their game is woeful as well. A 28.5 percent conversion rate puts them 325th. They get to the line right at 20 times per game and make 67.5 percent.

The Mountaineers average 11.7 offensive rebounds per game and dish out just 11.2 assists compared to 15 turnovers.

They will run a lot of five out in hopes of spreading the floor to let Jalen Gibbs work. At times, they will play a post who will come out to set an early ball-screen for Gibbs. That is used to allow him to try to get to the rim. There isn't a lot of screening action out of these looks. They just try to spread the floor. A three guard, two post alignment is also used depending on the lineup.

Defensively, Mount St. Mary's isn''t much better than they are on the other end. They give up 77.4 points per game or 293rd place. That is not a good place to be, but it gets worse. In their nine losses the average goes up to 85.7 points per game.

Opponents are shooting 46.7 percent overall and 36.4 percent from behind the arc. They also average 36.3 rebounds per game.

The Mount will go to several defensive looks mostly out of necessity. They simply are looking for one that works. Look for a combination on man-to-man, 2-3 zone, and a 1-1-3 which is basically the same as a 2-3 except the top two guards are in a tandem. The back guard will take the first pass to the wing, while the top guard slides back to the foul line.

Jalen Gibbs leads the team in scoring at 16.1 points per game. The 6-foot-3 sophomore shoots 45.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point territory. He is a 66 percent foul shooter. Gibbs is second on the team in rebounding at 6.2 per game.

Vado Moore comes off the bench, but he is the second leading scorer on the team, and the only other player besides Gibbs who averages in double figures. The 6-foot-0 freshman averages 10.9 points per game. He shoots 36.9 percent from the field and 30.6 percent from deep. Moore is an 82.9 percent foul shooter.

Omar Habwe also did not start the last game, but is third on the team in scoring at 8.8 points. The 6-foot-6 sophomore can play inside and out. Just over four of his seven field goal attempts are 3-pointers where he is shooting only 26 percent. He is just 32.1 percent from the field overall. Habwe is 79.6 percent from the foul line and also averages 4.7 rebounds.

Malik Jefferson is a 6-foot-9 freshman, and is the team's leading post scorer at 7.6 points. He is the team's leading rebounder at 7.5. Jefferson shoots 52.6 percent from the field, and all of them have been inside the arc. He has not attempted a 3-pointer at all on the year. When he is fouled he only makes 45 percent of his shots from the foul line.

Dee Barnes is the team's leading 3-point shooter. Over half of the field goal attempts by the 6-foot-4 freshman have been from deep where he is making 38.9 percent of his tries. On the season he makes 45 percent of his shots and averages 7.4 points per game. Surprisingly, although he is the best outside shooter on the team, he only makes 30.8 percent of his foul shots.

Nana Opoku is another starting inside player. The 6-foot-8 redshirt freshman averages 6.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. He shoots 43 percent from the field and will step out for a 3-pointer, but only makes 22 percent of those.

At 5-foot-8, Damian Chang Qui may be the smallest player Minnesota will see this season. The 5-foot-8 freshman averages 4.7 points per game and leads the team in assists at 2.6. He is not a strong perimeter shooter though, only making 20.8 percent of his long balls.

Collin Nnamane rounds out the players who have received notable time. The 6-foot-8 freshman averages 2.8 points and 3.1 rebounds. He is strictly a back to basket player in the low post.

Minnesota is listed as a 24.5 point favorite.