Thursday, December 13, 2007

Gophers 78, Rabbits 72


I HAVE DISCOVERED THE SECRET OF TIME TRAVEL! No flux capacitor needed.

Ok, maybe not (but maybe), but it sure felt like that last night. The Gophers struggling at home with a much inferior opponent who should have been blown out completely did not bring back happy memories, and was little too close to the Dan Monson era for me. Luckily, the last two minutes brought me back to the present and to reality.

To be fair, SDSU deserves a lot of credit, in particular a little wiener guard named Garrett Callahan (pictured above). He came into the game averaging 13 points per game, and walked out with 28 points, and almost dominated the game. The stats say he shot 11-18, but they must be lying because he hardly missed. I guess at the end of the game when it became chucking time, but he was on fire the way I haven't seen since Mike Taylor or Vince Grier in the second half against Wisconsin. He pulled up on a 3 on 2 from three (his foot was actually on the line) and buried the shot with his legs going one way and his body the other, and later had a floater hit the back of the rim, bounce way up, and come down through. Just on fire. It wasn't until Al Nolen was matched up on him that the Gophers were able to slow him down.

It wasn't just Callahan's play that kept the Rabbits in the game, Minnesota helped them out on the defensive end. Lapses on defense gave the Rabbits a lot of open looks, including a wide open alley-oop off an inbounds play that was pretty embarrassing, and allowing 16 offensive rebounds is absolutely god awful. To make it even worse, 10 of those were by guys 6-7 or smaller, and their tallest guy was only 6-8. SDSU shot the ball 61 times compared to 48 for the Gophers. Terrible. Minnesota shot 56% for the floor, 68% from the line, and had 24 assists to only 10 turnovers, and was STILL losing with four minutes left.

Essentially, the pressure defense didn't work (only forced 10 turnovers) except on Clint Sargent, one of the worst players in DI history. The stats say he didn't have any turnovers, but that is clearly creative bookkeeping because the guy was terrible. The ability of the rest of the Rabbits to handle the D led to easy baskets and easy rebounds, and was basically what kept them in the game.

The Gophers did win, so there had to be some good news. As bad as the defense was, the offense was very solid. Coleman and Tollackson had it working down low, although Coleman seemed to disappear in the second half. Al Nolen continues to impress and play well. He is already a terrific defender, and in a few years could be another Eric Harris. And Hoffbauer seems to have complete confidence in his shot, and is knocking them down. I am a little concerned with McKenzie. He's scoring five less points per game and taking four less shots per game than last year. I was hoping he would take his shots more in the flow of the offense this year, and he seems to be, but he almost seems a little too passive this year. I don't want the old McKenzie back, but I'm not sure I'm thrilled with this new one either.

Last thing I want to mention is the half time entertainment. Not the first part, which was some danceline bit, which is fine - whatever. The second part, was a game of three on three between two students dressed like idiots (cape guy and devil guy) with Goldy and three students dressed like apes. And what's with the ape thing? I thought this was "The Barn" not "The Zoo" or "The Jungle." Anyway, just horrible. I'm not sure any of these guys knew how to play basketball at all, other than one of the apes who pulled off a modified Dreamshake (tm), which was awesome. In general, it was completely unwatchable, and even worse than Quick Change. I'm sure it was exciting for those who got to play, but even the student section, where these guys came from, seemed pretty bored with it. In conclusion, that's why I think Scrooged is the best Christmas movie ever.

The Citadel +30 @ Davidson
Miss State -6 vs. Miami (FL)

Yesterday: 4-3
Season: 104-90


Also, since there's a football game tonight, Denver -1.5 @ Houston

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

The half time show sounds like something you would see at Englestad Arena. Ape Costumes playing basketball??? Very KKK!

Anonymous said...

Dreamshake, too good!

P.S. Is Rickey Henderson on that list?

Anonymous said...

1 year, 4.5, with the Jays

Anonymous said...

WWWWWW, Did you see Bryce Webster Signed with Utah State. Nice team!

Anonymous said...

Snacks - Do you remember when we would play "Tony 2" and your gay brother was in complete denial of Brady Anderson's use of steroids? I sure do.

P.S. W, you sucked at that game to.

WWWWWW said...

I NEVER denied Brady Anderson took roids.

I may have sucked at Tony 2 though.

Echo off.

Anonymous said...

Cust on the juice. Time for the bear to get rid of that Nascar looking A's lid.

Anonymous said...

Thank God Mitchell & Co. didn't investigate wife beating and rape in baseball or I would have been in big trouble.

P.S. Maybe the Bear should walk around in a smelly, sweat stained wool hat that is missing the button on top instead of a hat made out of breathable material. That way he could show everyone how big of a fan he is by wearing the same hat that Joe Mauer wears. Better yet, maybe he should just wear a visor.

Anonymous said...

yes I recall W's unhealthy manlove for Brady Anderson. It was, and still is, sad.

On a related note, I heard that Chad Allen has also been linked to the juice. Which, I present to you as Exhibit 1A for the argument that Barry Bonds record should not have an asterisk next to it!

Anonymous said...

Take back what you said about Kirby. Aquited on all charges.

WWWWWW said...

Based on the full list, I would have to agree with Snacks, most of these guys sucked anyway.

Allen, Tim Laker, FP Santangelo, Gregg Zaun, Chris Donnels, and on and on. Most of these guys are terrible.

Anonymous said...

I always try to remember the good times. Like the time Dad hit Mom with a telephone and then choked her with the cord right there in front Catherine and me. He was such a good guy. I just don't think he was capable of raping that woman.

Anonymous said...

How did that Denver bet work out for you?

Snacks, have you dumped WWWWWW to the curb yet our is that dead weight still on your back???

Anonymous said...

Classless Bear - Taking stabs at a deceased man is pretty lowbrow even for you.

Which trendy little team's gear will you be sporting this year in CA? The CO Rockies or LA Galaxy?

PS Faggot, I'm not Jose C.

Anonymous said...

Classless Bear - Taking stabs at a deceased man is pretty lowbrow even for you.

Which trendy little team's gear will you be sporting this year in CA? The CO Rockies or LA Galaxy?

PS Faggot, I'm not Jose C.

Anonymous said...

Sorry Dawg, sometimes it is hard to decipher between your material and Snake's material. I guess it's only natural for your material to fuse, given the fact that the two of you actually test your material on each other before you post it.

P.S. Oakland is real trendy.

P.P.S. I did stop into a Rockies pro shop a few weeks ago. Let's just say I can finally give Hilgert a run when it comes to licensed apparel.

Anonymous said...

How did I get lumped into this soap opera? I was just informing WWWWW of the Bryce Webster signing?????? I apologize if that offended anyone other than WWWWWWWW.

I am not Jose C. if that was your reference. I hate guys with Chapstick tubes for dicks!