The NCAA released the brackets for the DI National Championships late today to be held March 17th-19th at Madison Square Garden in New York City. I am reposting two articles (posted in last weekend's B1G Wrestling tournament thread) talking about the automatic and at-large qualifiers for the NCAA tournament, so you have the backstory for how these qualifiers got into the big dance!

Here are the brackets, followed by the qualifier articles (comments at the end):

http://i.turner.ncaa.com/sites/default/files/images/2016/03/09/2016d1wrestling.pdf

Four Gophers Punch NCAA Tickets at Big Tens

Led by third-place performances from the team's captains -- Brett Pfarr and Michael Kroells -- a quartet of Minnesota grapplers secured their spots in the national tournament

Nick Wanzek secured his first career NCAA tournament berth with his finish at the Big Ten Championships.

GopherSports.com
March 6, 2016

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Minnesota wrapped up the 2016 Big Ten Championships with four wrestlers earning automatic bids to the NCAA tournament in two weeks. As a team, the Gophers placed ninth with 51.5 points.

The Minnesota foursome guaranteed to be in the NCAA field includes three Gophers who wrestled for third place at their respective weights on Sunday -- Tommy Thorn, Brett Pfarr and Michael Kroells -- as well as 174-pounder Nick Wanzek, who finished ninth to capture the conference's last remaining automatic bid at his weight. In addition to the automatic qualifiers, Jake Short also placed, taking seventh at 149 pounds, but he will need an at-large selection to join his teammates at the national tournament.

After an overtime defeat in yesterday's semifinal, Pfarr rebounded with a pair of victories over top-ten opponents on Saturday to finish third, first over Max Huntley (Michigan), 8-3, and then Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska), 3-1. Pfarr did not allow a takedown to either of his opponents on Sunday. In both of his season as a full-time starter for the Gophers, Pfarr has placed in the top three at Big Tens, taking second last year at 184 pounds before his third-place finish at 197 this year.

Kroells came back from a heartbreaking loss that went through two overtime-and-tiebreaker sets in yesterday's semifinal to match Pfarr's team-best, third-place finish. Like Pfarr, Kroells was not taken down in either of his Sunday matches, defeating Brooks Black (Illinois), 1-0, before a rematch of his quarterfinal contest with Billy Smith (Rutgers). Just as they had earlier in the tournament, Kroells and Smith wrestled into tiebreakers, but a rideout for Kroells when he was on top and an escape and takedown from bottom gave him a 4-1 win. Kroells' third-place finish is two spots higher than his debut performance at Big Tens last season.

In his first career Big Ten tournament, Thorn put together a 3-1 showing on Saturday before advancing to the third-place match with an 11-6 win over Javier Gasca III (Michigan State) in a consolation semifinal Sunday afternoon. In the third-place contest, Thorn brought a 3-1 lead into the third period but a double-leg takedown from top seed Micah Jordan (Ohio State) put Thorn to his back, where he was pinned at 5:40. It was just the second loss by fall in Thorn's collegiate career. His fourth-place finish guarantees Thorn the opportunity to make his NCAA Championships debut later this month.

Wanzek clinched his first NCAA bid by winning a ninth-place match early Sunday afternoon over Mitch Sliga (Northwestern). The tournament typically does not feature ninth-place matches but with the NCAA awarding the Big Ten nine automatic bids to the NCAA Championships at 174 pounds, deciding ninth place became highly relevant. Wanzek earned the bid by defeating Sliga 8-3, his third win over the Wildcat this season.

Short was the only other Gopher in action on the tournament's final day. He defeated Cody Burcher (OSU), 4-2 to take seventh place at 149. Because the Big Ten was awarded just six automatic tournament berths at that weight, Short will have to be selected as an at-large participant to this year's field to make his first career NCAA tournament appearance. His resume for that spot includes five wins over NCAA qualifiers and a ranking that places him among the top-three at-large candidates at 149 (the NCAA will select five at-large competitors for the 149 bracket).

Full match-by-match results are listed below.

With the Big Ten Championships complete, only one event remains on the 2015-16 schedule -- the NCAA Championships. The pinnacle of the college wrestling season begins in two weeks, on Thursday, March 17, and runs for three days. For the first time ever, this year's event will be hosted at "The World's Most Famous Arena," Madison Square Gardens in New York City.

Match-by-Match Results

141 - Tommy Thorn
Cons Semis: Tommy Thorn dec Javier Gasca III (Michigan State), 11-6
3rd Place: Micah Jordan (Ohio State) fall (5:40) Tommy Thorn

149 - Jake Short
7th Place: Jake Short dec Cody Burcher (Ohio State), 4-2

174 - Nick Wanzek
Qualifier (9th place): Nick Wanzek dec Mitch Sliga (Northwestern), 8-3

197 - Brett Pfarr
Cons Semis: Brett Pfarr dec Max Huntley (Michigan), 8-3
3rd Place: Brett Pfarr dec Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska), 3-1

285 - Michael Kroells
Cons Semis: Michael Kroells dec Brooks Black (Illinois), 1-0
3rd Place: Michael Kroells dec (TB-1) Billy Smith (Rutgers), 4-1


So we have 4 automatic qualifiers to the Nattys and Short will also get an at-large slot. Of these 5 Natty participants...could they have done better?? Kroells was seeded 5th and he got 3rd, so he outperformed his level. Short was seeded 7th and took 7th. #2 Pfarr took 3rd, #2 Thorn took 4th, and #7 Wanzek took 9th. So, yes the last three could have done better, but they still did well, and I don't think it's worth being upset about. Tommy was winning vs. #1 Jordan, but he did a really stupid move when he turned towards Jordan and gave up a td and put himself on his back for the fall.

Wanzek almost blew his chances when he lost to Robertson, who he had beat easily in the dual. He had come in so confident after his big 13-10 win over #4 Zack Brunson a couple weeks ago, but then he got absolutely crushed in a 16-0 TF by Meyer (who later got pinned by Brunson!). After that, his confidence was lower than pond scum...thus his loss to Robertson. So he was fortunate that there were 9 automatic qualifiers at 174. Hopefully, he'll be able to forget about his screw-ups and get himself ready for nattys.

Where we did screw-up was with Kingsley. All he had to do was beat Ruschell, who he beat easily in the dual and he would have been in the 7th place match...and his weight qualified 7 automatically. Even if he had gotten 8th, he would be in a good position to get picked for an at-large bid. This was the worst match he's wrestled in the last two months. So, he's probably done.

And Brandon Krone lost a winnable match to Rhoads of IA that would have put him in the 7th place match. Same with Polakowski, although his was a little less winnable (but still possible) when he lost 4-1 to Jimenez of WI.

Some of these Gophers are rated #33 or higher in some unofficial ratings services, so maybe someone (besides Short) will still get in. At large bids are announced on March 9th.

Of the guys we will have at nattys, we have a good chance for 4 AAs, Short included, Wanzek not.

I'll do some detailed discussion on the Natty tournament as it gets closer. Like last year, ESPN3 will be broadcasting every match. It's one of my favorite weekends of the year and will be fun to watch!!

________________________________________________________________________________
(Posted earlier today 3-9-16)

The 49 at-large NCAA D1 qualifiers were announced late yesterday and at 149# Jake Short made the dance!! Here is an article from Intermat which lists the additional qualifiers:

At-large selections announced for NCAA Division I Championships
InterMat Staff
3/8/2016

The NCAA announced the 49 at-large selections for the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships today.

125:
Dalton Macri (Cornell)
Sean McCabe (Rutgers)
Zeke Moisey (West Virginia)
David Terao (American)
Chasen Tolbert (Utah Valley)

133:
Josh Alber (Northern Iowa)
Rossi Bruno (Michigan)
Josh Martinez (Air Force)
Joey Palmer (Oregon State)
Caleb Richardson (Penn)
Zach Synon (Missouri)

141:
Logan Everett (Army West Point)
Jameson Oster (Northwestern)
Mike Pongracz (Chattanooga)
Tyler Smith (Bucknell)

149:
Steven Galiardo (Brown)
Alex Griffin (Purdue)
Coleman Hammond (CSU Bakersfield)
Alex Kocer (South Dakota State)
Jake Short (Minnesota)
Christopher Vassar (Gardner-Webb)

157:
Andrew Atkinson (Virginia)
Gregory Flournoy (George Mason)
Ian Miller (Kent State)
Aaron Walker (The Citadel)

165:
Tyler Buckwalter (Kent State)
Geno Morelli (Penn State)
Forrest Przybysz Appalachian State)
Patrick Rhoads (Iowa)
Mitchell Wightman (American)

174:
Te'Shan Campbell (Pittsburgh)
Casey Kent (Pennsylvania)
Sean Mappes (Chattanooga)
Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton)

184:
Abram Ayala (Princeton)
Kenny Courts (Ohio State)
Garet Krohn (Stanford)
John Lampe (Chattanooga)
Dane Pestano (Iowa State)

197:
Reuben Franklin (CSU Bakersfield)
Chip Ness (North Carolina)
Jake Smith (West Virginia)
Michael Woulfe (Navy)

285:
Mauro Correnti (Rider)
Patrick Gillen (Virginia)
Joseph Goodhart (Drexel)
Gage Hutchison (Eastern Michigan)
Garrett Ryan (Columbia)
Sam Stoll (Iowa)

A second Intermat article discussed the best wrestlers who did not qualify for the Nattys...and they listed 133# Sam Brancale as one. Here is the section on Brancale from the article:

133: Sam Brancale (Minnesota)

Sam Brancale went 0-2 at the Big Tens and was eliminated by Purdue's Luke Welch (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)

"Brancale picked up some very impressive wins this season, but struggled mightily down the stretch, losing his last 10 matches of the season. He was winless in the conference and went 0-2 at the Big Ten Championships. So why is he even in the conversation for best staying home? Because of his wins prior to the start of the Big Ten dual meet season. In November, Brancale beat two-time All-American Mason Beckman of Lehigh and NCAA qualifier Gary Wayne Harding of Oklahoma State. In December, he pinned All-American Rossi Bruno of Michigan at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Then at the Southern Scuffle he dominated eventual SoCon champion Nathan Kraisser of Campbell. Brancale learned that it's not how you start the season that matters, but how you finish it."

Andrew Hipp (President/Owner of Intermat) wrote the article and his comments just show how far Sam fell in the last half of the year. It must be a confidence issue and it's too bad for Sam as I'm sure it's killing him that he's had such a weak finish to his year. These guys all work extremely hard so it's tough to watch when it doesn't quite work out. We'll have to see if some of the weaker Gopher wrestlers this year (SB, Kingsley, Krone, and C. Pfarr) remain in the lineup for next year. In most cases, I expect not. We will have plenty of time to discuss this in about 2 weeks after the season is over. This should be a more positive discussion, as our future next year will look quite a bit better!!

The brackets for the Natty tournament should be out soon...I'll post them as soon as they are available.

____________________________________________________________________________________


Here are brackets again, so you don't have to go back to the top:

http://i.turner.ncaa.com/sites/default/files/images/2016/03/09/2016d1wrestling.pdf


Some thoughts on how our 5 Gopher qualifiers early matches look (1st # before wrestler's name is Intermat ranking...# after name is NCAA ranking):

- 141 #8 Tommy Thorn (#11) has a tough road to hoe and it was made tougher by seeding of the selection committee. Thorn beat Anthony Ashenault (RU) (#4) convincingly in the dual and beat Matt Manley (MO) #5 twice in the Cliff Keen Invitational. Thorn should win his first match vs. Nicholas Gil (Navy 25-15), then he has a tough one vs. Micah Jordan (OSU) (#6), who he was ahead of in the 3rd period last weekend, before making a very stupid move, turning into Jordan, which led to him getting quickly pinned.

Thorn could certainly win this match...he had Jordan on his heels until the bad move. Tommy is a good rider, he gets out from bottom well, and he's a very good scrambler. But, unless he is confident and aggressive on his feet...on offense and defense (his biggest weakness), he will have a tough time with the elite wrestlers in this tourney. He is a confident wrestler who could be a 4x AA and could be a 1-2x natty champ, but it all depends on whether he's up for it, at this early age!!

If he loses to Jordan, not sure who he'll have next.

- 149 Of our 5 qualifiers, Jake Short (unranked) may have the toughest draw in his first match vs. #3 Alec Pantaleo (MI) #5. Pantaleo beat #4 Tsirtsis last weekend to take 3rd, and he is a very solid wrestler. Jake's weakest aspects are his offense on his feet and he doesn't ride very well. Having said this, if Short wrestles like he has lately, he can beat almost everyone. If he can get by Pantaleo, the rest of the bracket is tough (they're all tough...it's the nattys!!) until he gets Zain Retherford in the semis.

I think he's ready for the challenge so this should be fun to watch.

- 174 Like Short, Nick Wanzek also has a very difficult first round match vs #10 Myles Martin (OSU) #11. Martin took 3rd last weekend beating a talented Nate Jackson (IN)...and he looked really good!!! So, I think it's unlikely that Wanzek gets the win here, but who knows?? Will it be the NW that beat #4 Zach Brunson 13-10, or the NW that got Tech Falled 16-0 last weekend by Alex Meyer (IA) #13? Either way, I'm glad he's getting a chance to participate as a Sophomore, as this experience may help him in the future if the light bulb comes on and continues to shine brightly, without flickering so much.

Nick is still undersized at 174 and he needs to get better at a lot of things, but he has the foundation to be a 1-2x AA if he keeps improving.

- 197 Our stud and team leader #4 Brett Pfarr got a favorable #3 ranking from the NCAA even though he lost his last match to Burak (IA) #4. He has the best draw of our Gopher wrestlers as he gets Preston Weigel (OK State) in the 1st round, then Zack Nye (VA) #14 in the 2nd round, and because he's #3 instead of #4, Burak has to wrestle very tough Conor Hartmann (DU) #5, Pfarr gets Jared Haught (VT) #6, who he beat earlier this year.

Both McIntosh (PSU) #1 and J' Den Cox (MO) #2 have separated themselves by about 33-50% above Pfarr, Burak and Hartmann #s 3-5, because they are even more athletic and creative (Pfarr has lost to both by 1 point). But, both are still beatable. Pfarr is so very solid at this weight, in almost all positions, that he should take (most likely) 3rd or 4th when all is over...and he could win this is he was able to muster the right energy and moves at exactly the right time.

Like I alluded to earlier, Brett Pfarr has become a stud...and he is fun to watch!!!

- #8 285 Michael Kroells (#9) has a decent draw as he has Correnti (Rider) unranked 16-13, then he has Wessels (Lehigh) #8, who Kroells split matches with...winning the last one. In the quarters, he would have 2x natty champ Gwiazdowski (NC State) #1.

So this draw should set MK up nicely for a high AA finish!

The level of talent at this tournament is pretty unbelievable!! I follow the sport closely and it's amazing how many close matches of both highly skilled competitors turn on who wants it most and is willing to go for it 100% at exactly the right (crucial) moment. The one whose confidence in the ability to finish a move, and whose free will determination sets them above equal and even higher level opponents. And it's all there to be played out!!

So who wants its most?? Of our Gopher Wrestlers, I think we have three clear AAs (Pfarr, Kroells and Thorn), one slightly possible AA (Short), and one weak possibility (unless he's able to get and keep it in high gear) Wanzek. Pfarr is also a possible Champion (10-20%), and Thorn is also possible...but with his inexperience, he's a real longshot (10% or less). Still, he's in the conversation because he has the tools, but just hasn't learned to use them all yet.

As a team, we are used to being top #2-5...if we perform well we will be Top 8-12 (in other sports we would kill to be at this level!!) Don't worry, we are going to be as much as 50% better next year...so knowing that, watch the tournament and enjoy the great wrestling!!!

Derek Kerstetter, a 6-5, 280 OT from Ronald Reagan HS has been offered by the Gophers.

Kerstetter has eight offers total, including Bowling Green, Toledo and Illinois.

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I never would have thought I'd see the day that Hunter would be considered a HOF player, but the numbers stack up pretty well in his favor. A great comp is Jim Rice, a 2009 inductee. Hunter’s and Rice’s numbers were very comparable as both collected 2,452 hits in their careers, Rice hit 29 more home runs, drove in 60 more runs and hit .298 vs Hunter’s .277.

does Rice’s 29 home run, 60 RBI advantage really matter when it comes to voting players into the Hall of Fame? Maybe, but those numbers could easily be made up over the course of one season and shouldn’t be what holds Hunter back. Rice was an American League MVP, eight-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger, three-time home run leader and two-time RBI leader. Where Rice lacked is where Hunter excelled. Hunter’s defense made him one of the best at the position in the modern era and his nine selections are just three behind Willie Mayes

Sendejo getting $16 million over 4 years.. Still pursuing Iloka at safety for the Bengals. Is Harrison Smith still in our plans with those pursuits/signings??. SIgned Loadholt... What in the world are the Vikings thinking???

Check this video out. This is awesome. Something Pitino and every coach at the U for that matter should show their players

http://www.inspiremore.com/buzz-williams-veteran-talk/

Jackrabbits Head Coach Scott Nagy is on KFAN right now. They are back in the Dance after beating NDSU last night in the Summit League Final. Possible next HC candidate? 10K people in the stands last night for the Championship in Sioux Falls. SDSU is a better program than the U of M right now. Let that sink in for a minute. Nagy might be an SoDak St. lifer, but I would take him in a heartbeat over Jr. right now.

If the site crashes next signing day, you are not allowed to post on your own site except for an apology to all of the amazing members on this site, and offer up free membership for a year. If the site doesn't crash, I will buy a lifetime subscription and never speak poorly of you or this site again! Also, I will pay for 42 to stick around so he doesn't leave for that two-timing Burns site.

Boom!

Conference tournaments are now a spectacle unto themselves... Fun basketball all over the country.. Gives teams hope that may have been saddled with injuries early in the season and now become healthy. Many times, regional rivalries that the intensity is incredible.... Legends get made with great experiences like Blake Hoffarber's shot against Indiana.

For those not old enough to remember, the conference tournament of yesteryear to watch was the ACC tournament... It was like a war and the country took note... In the early to mid 70's, North Carolina State, North Carolina, and Maryland were incredible teams.. ONLY ONE made the NCAA's in those days as they only took 16 teams.. Another consequence is that the NIT took the remnant teams and arguably had as talented if not MORE talented fields for their tournament than the NCAAs... The ACC looked at it as sending the best team to try to knock off John Wooden's UCLA Bruins.. Eventually, the David Thompson led North Carolina State Wolfpack did just that.

Then, the ACC made the stink about it and proposed "at-large" teams to the tournament... They felt that they had 2-3 teams every year that were in the nation's top 5 so they thought on a given day, any of those teams could beat each other in a rematch. What many don't remember is the Gus Williams/Paul Westphal teams at USC were #2 in the nation behind crosstown rival UCLA and they made the same argument at the time.. "We at USC are the #2 team in the nation yet cant make the NCAA tournament because the NCAA will only take one team per conference and it happens to be that the only team ahead of us is IN OUR CONFERENCE".. After deliberation, the NCAA finally agreed to expanding the tournament and giving at-large conference bids.

The irony was that the BIG TEN, NOT THE ACC, were the first to take advantage of the at-large bids as Indiana capped off an undefeated season by beating conference foe, Michigan, in the national championship in 1976. The ACC has NEVER had 2 teams against each other in the national championship game. First time 2 teams from the same conference played in the national championship game.... Later on in the glory years of the Big East, Villanova shot close to 80% from the field and beat Georgetown led by Patrick Ewing in 1985... Georgetown beat Villanova every time they played them during the year as a conference opponent.. I swear if they played that game 100 times that Georgetown would have won the other 99. But that one magical night, Villanova claimed that title as their own in one of the NCAA's biggest upsets ever. A few years later, Billy Tubbs' Oklahoma squad led by Waymon Tisdale beat on Kansas during the year.. Kansas coach Larry Brown had Danny Manning, who was 6-11 but could handle the ball like a guard. Oklahoma had a suffocating press but Manning would handle the ball in the national championship game and just throw over the top of the smaller Oklahoma guards to get it over half court.. A big strategic difference than the regular season games that Oklahoma won... So at-large teams in the tournament had been proven to be a great thing for college basketball

Some of the state's top prospects. Hard hitters, pitching and some record holders

http://www.gophersports.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/030816aab.html

Women's hockey team poised for another national title?

Four wrestlers clinch NCAA tournament berths.

I know football and men's basketball are the big ones, but hey, UofM is still doing great things.

Just me, but I'd take both their rosters over what we have at Minnesota now and next year. A good blend of lunch pail kids mixed in with the likes of Sabonas, Cunningham, and that freshman guard from BYU, Emory. The kid knows the game and can flat out play. Both teams with players that have incredible basketball smarts and great teamwork. After what we've seen this year from the Gophers this game was a real treat to watch.

I know there has been a lot of negativity and I am as guilty of 'jumping on that bandwagon' as anyone as I was frustrated most of this sports season,,,, Thank you for pointing out the good things happening in the Gopher program... I feel a sense of shame that I get a bad attitude when I should know better.. I know I wouldn't allow that out of my team when I coached so I just need to practice what I preached yet still allow myself room for SOME dissent and sharing frustration.....Yes, this is just a message board but just having a better perspective is something that I know I need so I honestly appreciate you pointing out some of the good things, as well.

Minnesota, continuing in their search for more offensive lineman, offered Jordan Tucker, a 6-6, 325 OL from Roswell, GA.

Tucker has offers from Tennessee, South Carolina and Missouri. Minnesota is his first Big 10 offer.

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And soon after, Tucker's teammate, Sheldon Evans, announced he had been offered by the Gophers, his first from a P5 school.

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It's been a busy week on the recruiting trail for Minnesota.

Today the staff offered Reese Leitao, a 3-star 6-foot-4, 230 pound tight end from Jenks, Okla. who has nine offers, including Minnesota.

Leitao is the first tight end the Gophers have offered for the class of 2017. Jenks High was the No. 1-ranked team in Oklahoma last season and No. 24 team in the nation by MaxPreps.com and Leitao is rated as the state's 10th best prospect, so the Gophers are definitely searching for the best of the best.

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News breaking that Eagles will trade DeMarco Murray to Titans. I was really looking forward to Cobb getting a chance to start this year. Of course, in the NFL you never know how things will turn out.

Mrs. Go4Roses and I encourage GI subscribers to contribute $51 to the Gary Tinsley Fund through the University of Minnesota Foundation. Gary, "Hacksaw", to some, turned his collegiate career around to become a true leader of the Gopher football team and died tragically of complications of an enlarged heart. We've become annual contributors because of how he touched our hearts, though we never had the chance to meet him. The essence of a Golden Gopher is the legacy he has left behind.
Thanks for reading.
Go4Roses.

Great to see the ol offers but where is the d

Much discussed on the board about future longevity of Pitino, TC, and to some degree Lucia.For kicks and giggles let's say this happens next year. Who survives?
Football: No rival wins and the Gophers go 7-5
and a minor bowl game. The season starts well with a 21 point win over Oregon State, but ends with a blowout win by the Badgers in Madison. The offense averages more than a touchdown per game versus last year, but the Gophers secondary is decimated by injuries and the loss of BBC and Murray. Is 7-5 enough of improvement considering no rival wins and a 4-5 conference record with wins against Rutgers,Maryland,Purdue, and Illinois? What say you?
Basketball: This would be based on Buggs and Gaston staying and McBrayer,Dorsey,and Mason reinstated. The young colts start fast losing only 3 games in the pre-season.One being the ACC challenge. Lynch is a force in the middle even through prone to foul trouble.Fitzgerald is a pleasant surprise giving them length on the wing. Sharp continues his steady play and shares equal time with Dorsey and McBrayer. Of the incoming freshman, Curry is not ready to play and is red shirted. Hurt brings a shooters mentality and has some very good pre-season games against lesser compitition. Coffey has a Murphy like pre-season; good game,bad game, but his ability to find an open teammate and play defense covers for his lack of offense. The conference season is another story. Hurt is not strong enough physically and has trouble on ball screens, thus he can't get his shot off. Fitzgerald also has trouble with the physical play in the conference. The Gophers end up.8-10 On the plus side one of the wins is against arch rival Wisconsin. They go 1-1 in the BTT. No dance. The NIT sees two home games that draw crowds of around 7,000. Gophers don't make it to New York losing in a quarter final game. Season record: 18-12. What say you?
Hockey: The season starts fast the 10 freshmen are now sophmores. They lose 2 games against UMD,and split with Minnesota State, and St.Cloud State leading up to the Mariucci Classic. They go.1-1 in the Classic.
They go 4-2 in the next 6 games against the BIG, trailing Michigan in the standings and leading up to the North Star Challange.Depite getting superb goal tending from Kautz, they lose both games. Michigan wins the outright title, but the Gophers win the BTT and and a spot in the NCAA. They lose a first round game in the West Regionals. The consensus is they are the 3rd best team in the State. What say you?

Tubby Smith named Big 12's Coach of the Year after leading Texas Tech's turnaround


By Mike DuPont , Special Contributor Contact Mike DuPont on Twitter: @MikeDuPont_


Texas Tech's regular season reached its conclusion with a win over Kansas State on Saturday but the Red Raiders were also victors on Sunday afternoon when the Big 12 announced its All-Conference awards.

Tech coach Tubby Smith earned the Big 12's Coach of the Year award after guiding the Red Raiders to a 19-win season, including nine wins in conference play and a potential NCAA Tournament appearance.

Smith has won more than 500 games as a head coach at five programs and has earned Coach of the Year recognition in three different conferences, including the Mountain Valley Conference and the SEC.


Last season's award winner, West Virginia coach Bob Huggins spoke highly of Smith and Texas Tech's decision to hire him earlier in the season, attributing Texas Tech's gradual ascent to the depth of talent within the Big 12 Conference.

"Listen, I knew when, you know, I see on the ticker that [Texas Tech] hired Tubby Smith here then I knew that they wanted to win. Because that guy's a winner, he's been a winner anywhere he's ever been. He does a great job of bench coaching. They recruited good players, they've got good players.

"That's the problem with this league: there's too many good players on every team and there's too many good coaches sitting there. You can't outsmart anybody and I guess the people who make shots that day and play the best that day win."

Kansas coach Bill Self expressed a similar sentiment while also acknowledging Smith's assistant coaches Pooh Williamson, Joe Esposito and Vince Taylor made positive contributions to Texas Tech's recent success.

"He has a great staff," Self said. "Tubby is an icon in our profession. It's great to see all the good things that have happened to them. They are young so they are going to continue to get better. They have so many different guys step up and make plays. When we start talking about Coach of the Year, I don't think you have to look much further than Tubby."

If the Red Raiders were to hear their name called next Sunday, Smith would join Lon Kruger as the only coaches to lead five different programs to the tournament.

http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/col...ch-coach-tubby-smith-named-big-12s-coach-year

Gents, I will be down at the Target Center and Williams Arena the next four days and I hope many of you can get down there as well. If you do, here are some guys to see:

https://minnesota.n.rivals.com/news/state-tournament-preview-gopher-prospect-perspective

Just want to make you guys familiar with what the Gophs have done locally. I don't feel like starting a thread every time they watch somebody as that will water this board down.

Gary Trent Jr. Watched him two games ago, he and Tre. Gary told us that they are somewhat talking to him but I think everyone knows his plan is to leave the state for college most likely.

Theo John. Watched him numerous times. More than anybody really. They were at 2 of their games recently. Clemson just saw him this week.

Goanar Mar. They watched him about two weeks ago. Butler just watched him this week, Xavier and Iowa too.

McKinley Wright. Of course if they saw Theo, they also saw McKinley. Kid is really good but a few inches shorter than some other PGs. Does that make a difference? Many programs deciding that now. Iowa State, Illinois, and a few others have made that choice.

Nathan Reuvers. I believe they have now been to 3 of his games this winter at least. Notre Dame just watched him too.

Jericho Sims. They have seen him, Clemson just saw him. Jericho plays against a very low level of competition so schools have a tough time watching and judging on that. I'm told he's made huge strides. I have a video of a recent game of his I will watch soon.

Myles Hanson. Offered by UNI recently, Gophers went to check him out to see what he can do.

Trae Berhow. Just offered by UNI and was at their game on Wednesday. Gophers saw him last night to see how he is. Kid now has 7 D1 offers.

They have also had Ishmael El-Amin, Isaac Johnson, and Simon Wright in to games this year and have always talked to Brad Davison too.

Really a good class of talent.

If you have read anything I have said about Tom Izzo at Michigan State, You know I think he is probably the best head coach in college basketball. Right now, Michigan State is playing as well as anyone in the Big Ten though Indiana could give them problems.. They are clicking well on offense right now.. I know Izzo is not as happy as he would like to be about their defense, but that still may come.. His teams always seem to finish the year strong.

I live about 2 hours from the Michigan State campus and have been privileged to attend a practice as an observer. I also have talked to some players that have graduated from Michigan State....For instance, AJ Granger lives about an hour south of me in Findlay, Ohio where he works at an employment company. He grew up in the area as well. He was the center on the Izzo national championship team and you get a flavor for how Izzo does things by listening to guys like that. Izzo is a winner, through and through.. More about caring for his players than "X's and O's".. Trust me, he has recruited some difficult kids to deal with over the years.... I said that the 2 toughest places I have seen HS basketball is Flint, Michigan and Gary Indiana.. Izzo has recruited kids from both areas. He has, at times, been the father figure that some of his kids have never had in their lives.. He has a way of breaking kids down then building them back up, just like the military has done for many people..

I am not going to say Izzo is a miracle worker because he has some real advantages, even from the get-go.. He took over an established program from the retired Jud Heathcote.. The Breslin Center was new during his reign.. The contacts in Flint were established and Michigan made some huge recruiting tactical errors, in my opinion, that opened doors for Izzo at Michigan State. So he had some things fall his way, no doubt.. You have to recruit talent to win like he does, no doubt.. But what he does with the kids, once they get to campus, is what is impressive. I realize that he does not have the championships like Coach K, or Williams at North Carolina but he is just a top-of-the-line guy that gets the best out of his kids in a continuous upward trajectory.

Nick Brahms, 6-4, 280 pound tackle from Navarre, Fl is the latest prospect to be offered by the Gophers. He is also the 11th lineman to get an offer in 2017.

Brahms has one other P5 offer, that being Virginia, but has more than a dozen in total.

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