The Gophers went from a top 3 Big Ten looking team, to a team that desperately needs a scorer. The Gophers went in to Wisconsin, looked as if they were going to lose, only to come back and win a dramatic game in OT. Westbrook scored 29 points to lead the way and had Gopher Nation raving...until the weekend.

The Gophers traveled to Northwestern on Sunday afternoon and lost to a very underrated Wildcat team. They looked the exact same vs Purdue at home Thursday night as well. They proved 2 things: 1) they can play solid D against anyone in the Big Ten. 2) They don't have a true scorer who can create their own shot.

I don't care how Westbrook scored his 29 pts vs Wisconsin, because 4 or 5 of those shots were lucky. He follows those games up with terrible outings. I hate the "he's a Westbrook" talk about his aggressivness. HE CAN'T CREATE HIS OWN SHOT! He is a below average 3 point shooter and gets way out of control when he gets flustered. The Gophers losses vs NW and PUR had WAY too much going on outside the 3 pt line. They need to drive to the hoop (in control) and get the ball down low. Kick it out for a 3 if you want, but when you dont have guys who can't create a shot off the dribble, you have to make things happen in the lane. Iverson and Sampson maybe slower due to being freshman, but they have shown signs of good foot work and post moves to get the ball in the hole and create fouls.

Next year, with Royce White and that other guy...the Gophers will be MUCH more significant on the offensive side and the country will notice. Until then...enjoy the fact that we have a team that COULD be anyone, but needs to catch them on a night where they keep them shooting 3s all night.

Tubby Smith's recruiting of Junior College players from last year proved to be a big key to the solid play for the Gophers today. The Gophers beat Penn State 79-59 today at Williams Arena to move to 3-1 in Big Ten play and 15-1 overall. The Gophers shot the lights out today, hitting 62.5% of their shots. They also went 9-9 from the three point line...which is pretty uncharacteristic of a Mens Gopher basketball team. Rebounds, assists, steals and turn overs were all pretty even between the two teams. The Gophers did block 8 shots, to Penn State's 0...showing that the U's defense is continuing to get better under Tubby Smith.

The full court press defense of the Gophers in the past 3 or 4 games has forced the opponents to take some ridiculious shots...mostly from the beyond the 3 point line. This is something the Gophers can continue to focus on because until a team shoots the 3 like they did today, they will be in most games. Overall it was a very nice win for Minnesota...every win helps in Big Ten play.

The Gophers beat Tubby Smith's alma mater, High Point, today 82-56, to improve to 12-0 for the first time in 60 years. This was the last non-conference game before the Big Ten season starts this week. The Gophers will face Michigan State Wednesday at 11:00am...at the barn! This young team seems to be playing good enough defense to actually make some noise this year in the Big Ten. Even a .500 record in conference play will get them in the NCAA Tournament. I think this is the type of buzz that Gopher fans needed because the recruits next year are going to make us REALLY good. Stay tuned...more Gopher blogs to come after the Vikings are done playing.