Big Ten Tourney Teams Rounding Into Form

November 28, 2013
Big Ten Tourney Teams Rounding Into Form

In our Big Ten preaseason previews we said, “Our general belief is that the top six teams look like NCAA tournament teams” and that remains true. The same question is from a month ago remains, however: will a seventh or eighth team make the tourney this year?

We listed four teams who had a chance to dance, but that group did not include Penn State. To date, some projection models really like Penn State after the Nits have put together some impressive offensive performances. However, we still don’t seem them as a team who has a real chance of making the tournament this season.

The following illustration shows where KenPom.com had the Big Ten’s top teams ranked at the beginning of the year and where KenPom has them ranked today. The current ranking is now in line with Late Night Hoops’ preseason rankings.

Nov2813Rankings

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Gophers: Stats through 5 games & other notes

Gophers: Stats through 5 games & other notes
November 24, 2013

Before getting into the year-to-date numbers there are a few miscellaneous items to cover:

  • Can Minnesota beat Syracuse tomorrow? Of course. But they’ll need to make 3-pointers.
  • The Gophers have taken some monster leads early in their games this season. They’ll face more adversity in Maui and probably find themselves trailing at times – how they handle it is of great interest. Do they jack up 25 foot 3-point attempts? Get careless with the ball and turn it over? Get it in the hands of Dre Hollins and Austin Hollins and let them lead?

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Gophers 74, Richmond 59 – Stats

Gophers 74, Richmond 59 – Stats
November 16, 2013

Minnesota’s 19-0 run to close out this game made the final score look different than how the game flowed. With just over 7 minutes left, Richmond led Minnesota by 4. Nonetheless, it was a nice win for Richard Pitino and the Gophers in what is their only road game in the nonconference portion of their schedule.

Below are miscellaneous comments and insights you may not find elsewhere:
Four Factors

Eff. eFG% TO% OR% FTR
Minnesota 106.2 42.5% 11.5% 38.8% 43.3%
Richmond 84.7 39.2% 11.5% 16.7% 30.0%

Similar to what we saw many times last season, Minnesota’s performance on the boards was dominant.  Ultimately most games get down to shooting and both teams struggled Saturday night. The Gophers were just a bit better.
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Gophers 84, Montana 58 – Stats

Gophers 84, Montana 58 
November 12, 2013

In looking ahead to Montana we mentioned 3 players who were 3-point shooters to watch. They combined for 5/12 3FG shooting (41.7%). However, the rest of the Grizzlies were only 1/10. Even a solid effort from star Kareem Jamar (18 points, 6 boards) wasn’t enough to keep this one even a little bit close.

Below are some miscellaneous stats you may not see elsewhere…
Four Factors

Eff. eFG% TO% OR% FTR
Minnesota 122.9 53.3% 11.7% 36.8% 45.9%
Montana 84.8 46.0% 19.0% 13.9% 44.0%

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Gophers beat Lehigh 81-62; Montana up next

Gophers beat Lehigh 81-62; Montana up next

Below are some miscellaneous facts and figures regarding the Minnesota / Lehigh opener on Friday night.

First a few notes on Montana, who the Gophers on Tuesday, November 12 at 7pm CT:

  • The Grizzlies experienced heavy roster turnover (graduation) this spring.
  • Montana’s 2012-13 season was a success with a record of 25-7, although it ended on a sour note. Syracuse demolished them 81-34 in the NCAA tournament.
  • The Syracuse zone limited the Griz to 24.1% eFG. You’d hope to see some zone from Minnesota on Tuesday.

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#7 Minnesota – Team & Player Previews

#7 Minnesota
2013-14 Big Ten Preseason

We see teams 7 through 10 as being very close to one another. One win could mean the difference between the 10th and 7th place.

The Gophers are slotted at the top of the group thanks in large part to them returning 2 of the Big Ten’s top 3 returning offensive players. Junior Andre Hollins and criminally underrated senior Austin Hollins are difference makers that can win games for this team.
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#1 Ohio State

#1 Ohio State
2013-14 Big Ten Preseason

It’s a very close call between Ohio State and Michigan State, but we’re giving the Buckeyes the nod.

Once you get past the big names of Craft and the now-pro Thomas, there are a lot of guys who now have age and experience that can be strong contributors this season. Ross (scoring), Smith, Scott (5.1% steal rate), Williams (size, rebounding, shot blocking) and one of our favorites – Sam Thompson (ORtg may decline a bit, but we would like to see his %Poss up to 19% from 15.6%).
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