Gopher Basketball Schedule Recap Thing

Since it's Friday I should probably put up something, and since I can't guarantee I'll be drinking tonight and typing up ever random thought in my head, I might as well take a look at the Mighty 2008-2009 Gopher Basketball schedule and see if I can come up with an expected record. From the Barn did this and came up with 21-9 (11-7) and The Daily Gopher came up with 23-7 (12-6). I don't know about you, but these look AWFULLY optimistic to me. Let's look:

Concordia-St Paul: Nice opener. Did Glen Mason put this together? WIN

Bowling Green: Will the Eagles avenge their football loss? No. Of course not. Antonio Daniels graduated like five years ago. WIN

Georgia State: Who? WIN

@ Colorado State: This is a toughy. On one hand, CSU sucked last year. On the other hand, they have four returning starters and a good coach in Tim Miles. Since it's on the road, against a young Gopher team, the nod goes to the Rams. LOSS

Eastern Washington: A few years ago this would have been a good test - when Rodney Stuckey was still there. Now, it's just another cupcake. WIN

North Dakota State: All those annoying white guys are still around, but the Gophers showed last year that, well, they aren't all that good. I still expect a good fight, as NDSU could be a tournament team this year, but the Gophers should pull it out. Like me with your mom. WIN

Virginia: The Gophers catch a break in getting Virginia in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Cavs are a complete mess, not even taking into account there's no more Sean Singletary. WIN

Cornell: A solid, disciplined, fundamentally sound and talented team? Recipe for success against Minnesota. Tubby has made huge leaps with this team over Monson, obviously, but Cornell brings solid talent along with all those Ivy League smarts. LOSS

South Dakota State: WIN

Louisville: This isn't going to be close. LOSS

SE Louisiana: A good team to recover against. WIN

High Point: This could actually be a decent test, as High Point isn't exactly terrible, but they aren't in the Gophers class either. Or at least I hope not. WIN

Michigan State: With luck and continued good recruiting, this will be a good game in about three years. LOSS

Ohio State: Even with the continually loss of good players, the Buckeyes reload and reload and reload again. This will be the most disappointing game of the year. LOSS

@ Iowa: If either team get's into the fifties, I'll be impressed. WIN

Penn State: Iowa and Penn State back-to-back? Good way to build confidence. WIN

@ Wisconsin: And they'll need more than confidence in Madison. LOSS

@ Northwestern: Another disappointment in Evansville, though I'm sure Shamala will light up the joint. A solid recruiting class + Coble + Thompson + Moore spells disaster for the U. LOSS

Purdue: No favors done here after returning from a disappointing road trip. LOSS

@ Indiana: Ugh. Indiana and Iowa are going to fighting for the worst Big Ten team I've ever seen, and that includes the Kris Humphries Gopher squad. WIN (you suck Verdell)

Illinois: I hate this team. WIN

@ Michigan State: Nobody can possibly think they have a chance in this game, right Dawger? LOSS

@ Ohio State: Or this one. LOSS

Indiana: Big blowout potential. A nice twenty point win will feel pretty good right about here. WIN

@ Penn State: They won there last year when I didn't give them a chance, so why not do it again? WIN

@ Michigan: You know, everybody thinks Beilein is a wizard, and I know it's only been a year, but I don't see any big transformation coming soon. Gophers' defense should destroy these clowns. WIN

Northwestern: FOUR GAME WIN STREAK! WIN

@ Illinois: Comes crashing to an end. The Illini are nothing special, but by this time should be playing pretty well and I don't think the Gophers could win in Champaign if they brought their all-time team, including Rico Tucker. LOSS

Wisconsin: I would love to predict a win here. What the hell. This is enough time for the new players and everybody on the Gophers to have it figured it out, and against these queers they could put their best game of the year together here in the Barn. WIN

Michigan: Still garbage. WIN


So there you have it. 18-12 overall, 9-9 in the conference. Good enough for an NIT berth and a win or two. I call that pretty successful with this squad, and expect an NCAA Tournament appearance the following year.