Meeting with Wisconsin signals start of critical stretch for Gophers
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MINNEAPOLIS -- Four weeks removed from the Big Ten tournament, the Gophers have reached a critical juncture in their season.
"Everyone knows it's kind of crunch time," redshirt freshman center Elliott Eliason said.
That is even more so for the Gophers, who at 5-6 in the conference are teetering on the NCAA tournament bubble.
Records aside, the remainder of their schedule appears favorable on the surface. All but two of the Gophers' last seven games take place at Williams Arena. The catch, however, is five of those feature match-ups against the Big Ten's elite class, starting with Thursday's showdown with border-rival No. 21 Wisconsin (6 p.m., 1500 ESPN).
The "U" is currently hovering in the middle of the pack in the jumbled Big Ten standings. If the season concluded on Thursday, the Gophers (17-7, 5-6) would be staring at a ninth place finish and a possible second-round meeting with likely top seed Ohio State in the conference tournament.
Though content with his team's strong bounce-back victory at Nebraska on Sunday, coach Tubby Smith is far from his comfort zone.
"I don't like where we sit. I don't like that we're under .500 in the league," Smith said. "We've got a lot of things we've got to accomplish between now and tomorrow, and the rest of the season, if we want to accomplish anything at all."
The Gophers' 2010-11 campaign serves as a reminder of how quickly a team's postseason standing can be altered in the stretch run. Holding an identical 5-6 conference record a year ago, the injury and transfer-ravaged Gophers fell apart, winning only once more to finish at 6-12.
Fast-forward to the present day, where they are hoping for a reversal of fortune.
Last season is no longer part of the thought process for Smith's squad. Despite reoccurring periods of inconsistent play, the Gophers -- winners in five of their last seven -- are seemingly better equipped to guard against another collapse.
"We're still a team that believes we have a lot to play for and build on what we did (versus Nebraska)," Smith said. "That's what we're trying to do. I like our kids' attitudes. I like the way they are playing."
No love lost
A palpable sense of anticipation and tension could be felt at practice Wednesday on the eve of Wisconsin's first visit to the Twin Cities in two years.
"I know we're definitely very excited to play, very anxious and just very focused at the same time," said Eliason, who along with the majority of his "U" teammates has not played in the rivalry at home. "Because we know how much it matters, not just for our fanbase and Wisconsin, but for ourselves."
Thursday will serve as a homecoming for Badgers starters Jordan Taylor, Mike Bruesewitz and Jared Berggren -- all of whom hail from Minnesota. With Taylor -- a preseason All-American candidate -- at the forefront, the trio has helped to keep Wisconsin cemented as one of the Big Ten's premier teams. The Badgers (18-6, 7-4) recovered from a brief setback -- a 1-3 start to conference play -- to win six straight before falling short against No. 3 Ohio State last Saturday.
Stopping, or at the very least limiting, Taylor is a primary feature of the Gophers' game plan. It is a goal few teams have accomplished this year. The Bloomington native leads Wisconsin in scoring (14 ppg), while possessing a command of the ball that is hard to match. Dangerously efficient, his assist-to-turnover ratio (3.0) is second-best in the Big Ten only to Northwestern's Dave Sobolewski (3.4).
"He is a guy that the way he goes is the way they go," Smith said. "If he's off his game, they are going to be a little off their game too."
Smith's teams have fared well against the Badgers, posting a 3-2 record in his tenure at the "U".
Notes
• The Gophers' bench has scored 43 percent of the team's 205 points in the last three games (93 out of 205), including 39 and 40 point outings in wins against Illinois and Nebraska.
• Guard Chip Armelin has adopted the role of sixth-man in the reserves' recent outburst, with two of his best scoring outings coming a week apart. The fiery sophomore outdid his 14 point performance in the overtime win versus the Illini by shooting 7-of-11 from the floor at Nebraska, on his way to a career-high 15 points.
"The style of game is critical for him," Smith said. "When you play up and down, he really has the tendency to shine. When he's making his threes like he's been doing he is pretty effective, because he can really put the ball on the floor and take it to the basket."
• Eliason received four stitches in his upper lip after he was bumped by freshman Joe Coleman in practice this week. "I was surprised, but he got me pretty good," Eliason remarked slyly.
• Wisconsin's Mike Bruesewitz and Eliason were teammates on Guy Rancourt's East All-Stars squad last summer, competing in an international tournament in Estonia. Gophers reserve Chris Halvorsen also shares a close relationship with Bruesewitz as the pair attended Henry Sibley high school in Mendota Heights together.
