Congratulations!

[Valid Atom 1.0] This is a valid Atom 1.0 feed.

Recommendations

This feed is valid, but interoperability with the widest range of feed readers could be improved by implementing the following recommendations.

Source: https://thedailygopher.com/rss/index.xml

  1. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
  2. <feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xml:lang="en">
  3.  <title>The Daily Gopher -  All Posts</title>
  4.  <subtitle>Your online home for Minnesota Golden Gophers football, basketball and hockey.</subtitle>
  5.  <icon>https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49211/daily-gopher-fave.png</icon>
  6.  <updated>2025-03-14T19:48:51-05:00</updated>
  7.  <id>http://www.thedailygopher.com/rss/current/</id>
  8.  <link type="text/html" href="https://www.thedailygopher.com/" rel="alternate"/>
  9.  <entry>
  10.    <published>2025-03-14T19:48:51-05:00</published>
  11.    <updated>2025-03-14T19:48:51-05:00</updated>
  12.    <title>NCAA Quarterfinal vs Colgate Preview</title>
  13.    <content type="html">  
  14.  
  15.    &lt;figure&gt;
  16.      &lt;img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/TDkN5Pu6v52pA7hVu480j-6xciY=/2x0:2000x1332/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73963699/gallery_image___2025_03_13T163241.259.0.jpg" /&gt;
  17.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Brad Rempel—Gophersports.com&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  18.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  19.  
  20.  &lt;p&gt;Can the Gophers earn at least one more game on home ice next weekend?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="oh3wQb"&gt;The &lt;a href="https://www.thedailygopher.com"&gt;Minnesota Golden Gophers&lt;/a&gt; women’s hockey team has one advantage that none of the rest of the 10 other teams in the NCAA Women’s Hockey Tournament have.  As long as they can keep winning, they won’t need to leave their home rink.  The #4 seeded Gophers will face #5 seed Colgate Raiders on Saturday afternoon at Ridder Arena in a NCAA Quarterfinal.  Earn a win, and the Gophers return next weekend to the NCAA &lt;a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-frozen-four"&gt;Frozen Four&lt;/a&gt; held at...Ridder Arena. &lt;/p&gt;
  21. &lt;p id="mDHbe0"&gt;The Gophers are making their 23rd appearance in the NCAA Tournament and with a win would advance to their 16th Frozen Four in program history.  Minnesota will look return to the Frozen Four for the second time in three seasons after making it to the 2023 Frozen Four in Duluth before falling to Wisconsin in overtime in a NCAA Semifinal.  The Gophers lost a 4OT thriller in their quarterfinal at Clarkson last season.  This year Minnesota will look to get past their ECAC opponent and back to the Frozen Four where WCHA teams will likely be familiar foes to wind out the season. &lt;/p&gt;
  22. &lt;p id="W6Lc0k"&gt;Minnesota will of course rely on Senior forward Abbey Murphy.  The Patty Kazmaier Top 10 Finalist for the second season leads the nation with 31 goals this season, and ranks fourth in points with 63. Murph has notched at least one point in 30 out of the Gophers’ 40 games, including 20 multi-point games and also leads the team with seven game-winning goals and six power play goals. &lt;/p&gt;
  23. &lt;p id="gbks48"&gt;Colgate will obviously try and shut Murphy down, so the Gophers will need production out of some of their other top players.  Senior Ella Huber has recorded a career-high 47 points this season to be second on the team, and she is followed by fifth-year forward Natalie Mlynkova who has 33 points and 16 goals on the season.  &lt;/p&gt;
  24. &lt;p id="SyDOD8"&gt;Minnesota also has gotten offensive production from a couple of blue-liners in junior Sydney Morrow and freshman Chloe Primerano who both have 29 points on the season. &lt;/p&gt;
  25. &lt;p id="eioXED"&gt;In goal the Gophers are riding true freshman Hannah Clark. She holds an 24-9-1 record on the season with a .906 save percentage and 2.30 goals-against average.  Her 24 wins are the most ever for a freshman in program history. &lt;/p&gt;
  26. &lt;p id="OVTY7X"&gt;Minnesota locked their home quarterfinal with a win in the WCHA semifinals last Friday over #2 &lt;a href="https://www.landgrantholyland.com"&gt;Ohio State&lt;/a&gt;.  The Gophers then fell 4-3 to #1 Wisconsin in the WCHA Championship game on Saturday.  Colgate comes in with a similar weekend knocking off #7 St. Lawrence in the ECAC Semifinal on Friday before falling 5-1 to #3 Cornell in the ECAC title game.&lt;/p&gt;
  27. &lt;p id="MqBsNC"&gt;Minnesota will look to continue their historical dominance over the Raiders.  Minnesota and Colgate have faced one another nine times in their history and the Gophers lead the all-time series 8-1.  Colgate did win their most recent meeting at the Smashville Showcase in Nashville in November of 2021.  Minnesota had previous swept the Raiders on their home ice a month prior in October.  This will be the first time the two teams will have ever met in the postseason. &lt;/p&gt;
  28. &lt;p id="svkKKF"&gt;Colgate has become an eastern powerhouse since then.  The Raiders are making their 6th trip to the NCAA Tournament and were the #3 seed last season and made their second Frozen Four appearance in program history.  They knocked off Cornell in the quarterfinals before falling to #2 Wisconsin in a Frozen Four Semifinal. Gone from that team is Patty Kazmaier Award winner and Minnesota native Izzy Daniel, but the Raiders still have some dangerous scorers and a goalie who can keep them in any game.&lt;/p&gt;
  29. &lt;p id="zAK9HI"&gt;The Raiders boast a top-ten Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award finalist in fifth-year forward Kristýna Kaltounková, who leads the NCAA with 111 active career goals and ranks top-five nationally with 26 goals and .72 goals per game.  She scored both goals in the 2-1 win over the Gophers the last time the two teams faced one another in 2021 as a freshman.  Joining her as major offensive threats for Colgate are Eylssa Biederman who leads the Raiders with 50 points and 32 assists on the season.  Kaia Malachino has 19 goals on the season as well and scored the lone goal for the raiders in their 5-1 ECAC Championship game loss.  &lt;/p&gt;
  30. &lt;p id="Ev6jR8"&gt;They also boast a great goalie in Hannah Murphy.  The senior has made 937 saves this season, second most in a season in Raiders history for a save percentage of .940 and is two shy of the mark for most wins in program history.  Murphy has contributed 13 30+ save performances this season, and she currently holds the program records for most career shutouts (17) and most shutouts in a season (6). She allows just 1.88 goals per game. &lt;/p&gt;
  31. &lt;p id="aGR7Z8"&gt;The teams are fairly evenly matched statistically as you would expect for a 4vs 5 matchup.  Minnesota ranks third in the nation scoring 3.7 goals per game, Colgate is 4th at 3.63.  Colgate is 11th in  the nation defensively giving up 1.89 goal per game, Minnesota is 23rd at 2.4 goals per game allowed.  Minnesota has the third best power play in the nation at 28.7%, Colgate is 4th at 28.57%.  The Raiders are 12th in the nation on the penalty kill at 87.51%, the Gophers are 22nd at 82.93%  Colgate averages 8.32 penalty minutes per game, Minnesota 8 even.  The Gophers have six shorties on the year, but Colgate has just one.  Its about as even as they come.  &lt;/p&gt;
  32. &lt;p id="2PlHV7"&gt;Against common opponents this season Minnesota went 5-0 while Colgate went 3-1.  Minnesota swept Minnesota -Duluth 4-0 in the season series and defeated Brown 9-1 in a non-conference matchup at Ridder Arena in January.  Colgate split with UMD at home in October in a pair of one goal games and swept Brown in both matchups this season, but went to overtime in one of them.  &lt;/p&gt;
  33. &lt;p id="lSHRZj"&gt;The game will come down to who can play in their system best, whos goalie can make the biggest save, and it is almost guaranteed to be a one-goal game, or sealed with a late empty netter one way or another.  Hopefully the Gophers can pull out a close one and get at least one more game in front of their fans on the Ridder Arena ice. &lt;/p&gt;
  34. &lt;h2 id="TZJ3vp"&gt;HOW TO WATCH:&lt;/h2&gt;
  35. &lt;h3 id="BNPBVi"&gt;NCAA Women’s Hockey Quarterfinal&lt;/h3&gt;
  36. &lt;h3 id="uTvCvi"&gt;#5 Colgate Raiders @ #4 Minnesota Golden Gophers&lt;/h3&gt;
  37. &lt;p id="IB7ghd"&gt;Where: Ridder Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota&lt;/p&gt;
  38. &lt;p id="qZLqn0"&gt;When: 2 Pm Saturday&lt;/p&gt;
  39. &lt;p id="eqeExk"&gt;Stream: &lt;a href="https://www.espn.com/espnplus/collections/44028/ncaa-women-s-hockey-live-upcoming"&gt;ESPN+&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  40. &lt;p id="Ez5ksh"&gt;Live Audio: &lt;a href="https://gophersports.com/showcase?Live=5595"&gt;Gophersports.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  41. &lt;p id="t8M4qL"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  42. &lt;p id="HYg0Zm"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  43. &lt;p id="wAlzoR"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  44.  
  45. </content>
  46.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.thedailygopher.com/2025/3/14/24385241/minnesota-womens-hockey-gophers-ncaa-quarterfinal-vs-colgate-raiders-preview-wcha-ecac"/>
  47.    <id>https://www.thedailygopher.com/2025/3/14/24385241/minnesota-womens-hockey-gophers-ncaa-quarterfinal-vs-colgate-raiders-preview-wcha-ecac</id>
  48.    <author>
  49.      <name>Andy York</name>
  50.    </author>
  51.  </entry>
  52.  <entry>
  53.    <published>2025-03-14T10:00:00-05:00</published>
  54.    <updated>2025-03-14T10:00:00-05:00</updated>
  55.    <title>Weekend TV and Streaming Schedule</title>
  56.    <content type="html">  
  57.  
  58.    &lt;figure&gt;
  59.      &lt;img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1bjeUj-xtPdhVwRigmLQbZhLm1Q=/701x126:2000x992/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73962289/gallery_image___2025_03_13T160339.407.0.jpg" /&gt;
  60.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Christopher Mitchell—Gophersports.com&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  61.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  62.  
  63.  &lt;p&gt;We have NCAA Championship Action this weekend&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="zzxyKs"&gt;The spring sports schedule continues to go full bore while the winter sports start to slow down and end.  We have some NCAA Championship Action with the Gophers pair of weight throwers going for a NCAA title, we have women’s hockey NCAA Tournament action, and baseball and softball kick in full gear to Big Ten play.  Here is our full TV and streaming schedule for the weekend ahead.&lt;/p&gt;
  64. &lt;p id="FugpDG"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  65. &lt;h2 id="R2ZDhh"&gt;Friday March 14th:&lt;/h2&gt;
  66. &lt;h3 id="YRGrak"&gt;Indoor Track and Field @ NCAA Championships 1:15 PM  ESPN+&lt;/h3&gt;
  67. &lt;p id="xoHN3C"&gt;A pair of Gophers in the weight throw will compete at the NCAA Championships in Virginia Beach, VA and try and bring some hardware back to Minneapolis.  Anthonett Nabwe has the longest throw in the nation coming into the Championships at 24.22m and is the reigning two-time Big Ten Champion.  She returns to the NCAAs after finishing 16th a year ago and earning 2nd Team All-American honors as a freshman.  Her throw this season sits No. 2 all-time in Minnesota history in the weight throw, only behind NCAA weight throw champion Kaitlyn Long in 2018, and is the 8th longest ever thrown by a collegian.  &lt;/p&gt;
  68. &lt;p id="NHluEn"&gt;Hadley Streit joins Nabwe at the NCAA Championships this season.  The redshirt sophomore from Mounds View finished 6th at the Big Ten championships.  Her qualifying throw 22.12m earned her the No. 14 overall spot among the 16 qualifiers in the women’s weight throw. &lt;/p&gt;
  69. &lt;p id="UZwniO"&gt;The women’s weight throw competition begins at 1:15 PM on Friday and will stream on ESPN+.  The field of 16 will be cut to nine after the first three throws.  &lt;a href="https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player/_/id/8f0e4768-8966-4367-af5f-16e073c76ec0"&gt;A full stream of the field events will take place HERE.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  70. &lt;h3 id="0I090m"&gt;Softball vs Michigan State @ Oklahoma City  4 PM  B1G+&lt;/h3&gt;
  71. &lt;p id="Z6oDP7"&gt;The Gopher softball team plays their second conference game against the Spartans on Friday afternoon after opening Big Ten play on Thursday.  Minnesota will play their first four conference games at a neutral site in Oklahoma City.  &lt;a href="https://www.theonlycolors.com"&gt;Michigan State&lt;/a&gt; is 7-9 on the season.  The game will stream on B1G+.&lt;/p&gt;
  72. &lt;h3 id="ztalfl"&gt;Baseball @ #9 Oregon  6 PM  B1G+&lt;/h3&gt;
  73. &lt;p id="oioVmq"&gt;The Gopher baseball team opens the road portion of the Big Ten schedule with a trip out west to face one of the newest members of the conference.  Minnesota will play a three game series at #9 Oregon this weekend.  The Gophers opened Big Ten play at US Bank Stadium last weekend winning one of three against Purdue, and then splitting a two game series against Kansas before heading out west.  &lt;/p&gt;
  74. &lt;p id="kFO1ZS"&gt;Oregon is 15-3 on the season.  First pitch is 6 PM central and will stream on B1G+&lt;/p&gt;
  75. &lt;h2 id="8xADdM"&gt;Saturday March 15th:&lt;/h2&gt;
  76. &lt;h3 id="QiP8qC"&gt;Rowing @ San Diego   Saturday AM&lt;/h3&gt;
  77. &lt;p id="lBOsVa"&gt;The Gopher rowing team opens their spring season with an exhibition scrimmage at San Diego in Chula Vista, California.  No stream is available.&lt;/p&gt;
  78. &lt;h3 id="9WSfnc"&gt;Women’s Hockey vs Colgate NCAA Quarterfinal  2 PM  ESPN+&lt;/h3&gt;
  79. &lt;p id="1chVFp"&gt;The #4 seeded Gopher women’s hockey team will host #5 Colgate in a NCAA Quarterfinal at Ridder Arena on Saturday.  Faceoff is set for 2 PM.  The winner will advance to next weekend’s NCAA &lt;a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-frozen-four"&gt;Frozen Four&lt;/a&gt; at Ridder Arena.  Minnesota is looking to return to the Frozen Four for the second time in three seasons.  Face off is 2 PM and will stream live on ESPN+&lt;/p&gt;
  80. &lt;h3 id="kIxsu8"&gt;Baseball @ #9 Oregon  4 PM  B1G+&lt;/h3&gt;
  81. &lt;p id="wjDEwu"&gt;Game two of the series between the Gophers and Ducks will take place at 4 PM on Saturday and will stream on B1G+&lt;/p&gt;
  82. &lt;h3 id="9dPF4U"&gt;Softball vs Penn State  @ Oklahoma City  4:30 PM  B1G+&lt;/h3&gt;
  83. &lt;p id="asgWSY"&gt;The Gopher softball team moves on from the Spartans to Penn State for their next two Big Ten games in Oklahoma City.  First pitch is 4:30 PM and will stream on B1G+.&lt;/p&gt;
  84. &lt;h2 id="HFBTe9"&gt;Sunday March 16th&lt;/h2&gt;
  85. &lt;h3 id="eTqY0n"&gt;Softball vs Penn State  @ Oklahoma City  12:30 PM B1G+&lt;/h3&gt;
  86. &lt;p id="6o6nF3"&gt;The Gopher softball  plays their final game in OKC at 12:30 against the Nittany Lions.  Stream is on B1G+&lt;/p&gt;
  87. &lt;h3 id="Oej0bH"&gt;Baseball @ #9 Oregon  2 PM  B1G+&lt;/h3&gt;
  88. &lt;p id="Pcx3Bo"&gt;The finale between the Gophers and Ducks is set for a 2 PM first pitch in Eugene on B1G+&lt;/p&gt;
  89. &lt;h3 id="qeYEqw"&gt;Gymnastics vs Iowa/ LIU/ Centenary   2 PM   B1G+&lt;/h3&gt;
  90. &lt;p id="NLU5k3"&gt;The Gophers close out the regular season with a quad meet at home.  Minnesota has already defeated the Hawkeyes this season and will face Long Island and Centenary for the first time on Sunday.  It will be Senior Day for the Gopher gymnasts, most notably Mya Hooten.  The action starts at 2 PM and will stream on B1G+&lt;/p&gt;
  91. &lt;h3 id="rbgz4g"&gt;Women’s Basketball NCAA Selection Show 7 PM  ESPN&lt;/h3&gt;
  92. &lt;p id="s13B0K"&gt;The Women’s NCAA brackets will be revealed on ESPN at 7 PM Sunday night, and it is liekly the Gophers will not hear their name called.  Most &lt;a href="https://www.bloggingthebracket.com"&gt;bracketology&lt;/a&gt; experts have the Gophers as one of the first four teams out of the field after their fade down the stretch and opening loss to Washington in the &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/big-ten-basketball-tournament"&gt;Big Ten Tournament&lt;/a&gt;.   &lt;/p&gt;
  93. &lt;p id="kLBTko"&gt;If the Gophers are in the last four in, they will automatically get a #1 seed in the women’s secondary tournament the WBIT.  That selection show will stream on &lt;a href="http://NCAA.com"&gt;NCAA.com&lt;/a&gt; at 8 PM Sunday night.  &lt;/p&gt;
  94. &lt;p id="9ddQok"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  95. &lt;p id="SeOicq"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  96. &lt;p id="w9m0Bg"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  97.  
  98. </content>
  99.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.thedailygopher.com/2025/3/14/24385214/minnesota-gophers-weekend-tv-and-streaming-schedule-track-and-field-hockey-softball-baseball"/>
  100.    <id>https://www.thedailygopher.com/2025/3/14/24385214/minnesota-gophers-weekend-tv-and-streaming-schedule-track-and-field-hockey-softball-baseball</id>
  101.    <author>
  102.      <name>Andy York</name>
  103.    </author>
  104.  </entry>
  105.  <entry>
  106.    <published>2025-03-13T12:00:00-05:00</published>
  107.    <updated>2025-03-13T12:00:00-05:00</updated>
  108.    <title>Coaches candidates Minnesota should consider to be the next Gopher head basketball coach</title>
  109.    <content type="html">  
  110.  
  111.    &lt;figure&gt;
  112.      &lt;img alt="NCAA Basketball: Notre Dame at Louisville" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BVwA3WFclZ6yvp7jSdSoAVW-6Mw=/0x0:3600x2400/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73960271/usa_today_17597115.0.jpg" /&gt;
  113.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  114.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  115.  
  116.  &lt;p&gt;Who should Mark Coyle interview and hire? Here’s the list&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="5qDVKY"&gt;Yesterday we published a story about what really matters (and what doesn’t) when hiring the next head coach to lead the men’s basketball program. The obvious follow-up to that is, who are the people that Mark Coyle should be considering. &lt;/p&gt;
  117. &lt;p id="mcsgTh"&gt;This is not a list of names coming from a source. This is not a list of just my favorites (though, maybe a little). This is an exhaustive list of quality names who I think could win at Minnesota. And that is the one thing that should matter above all...can this person win at Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
  118. &lt;p id="hHkZhc"&gt;All of this comes down to the interview. Does this person have a plan to win at Minnesota? Does this person have a demonstrated history of winning in a way that translates to Minnesota? PJ Fleck impressed Coyle with his detailed plan of precisely how he would win at Minnesota and what he would do with the program. Give me someone who has that plan, that enthusiasm to win here and then we need the resources to surround that. &lt;/p&gt;
  119. &lt;p id="XlJNCX"&gt;With all of that in mind and the base of knowing what is important in the next coach...here is the list of names to be considered.&lt;/p&gt;
  120. &lt;h3 id="DxWUfq"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;MAKE THE CALL&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  121. &lt;p id="p8JaSe"&gt;Are these names likely to be interested in the Minnesota job? No, this first grouping is a list of unlikely names, but even if there’s a sliver of hope, make the phone call. Frankly, I’m holding out hope that the next hire is an unexpected name who would be very exciting for the fan base.&lt;/p&gt;
  122. &lt;ul&gt;
  123. &lt;li id="FGByZm"&gt;
  124. &lt;strong&gt;Shaka Smart&lt;/strong&gt; - Marquette - Is Smart interested in leaving Marquette for Minnesota? I doubt it, but maybe the lure of the Big Ten is enough to at least have the conversation. &lt;/li&gt;
  125. &lt;li id="4nWHYN"&gt;
  126. &lt;strong&gt;TJ Otzelberger&lt;/strong&gt; - Iowa State - Former South Dakota State coach who is now at Iowa State and has things rolling. He fits the mold of a coach with a system that he teaches well and recruits to. And most importantly, he re-negotiated his contract last year to lower his buyout from $15M, down to $4M. Is that the move of a coach who is looking to set roots in Ames? Is Minnesota a big enough draw (or even a step up?)? &lt;/li&gt;
  127. &lt;li id="iUrCYq"&gt;
  128. &lt;strong&gt;Darian Devries &lt;/strong&gt;- West Virginia - Formerly at Drake and is in just his first season at West Virginia. Devries took Drake to the NCAA Tournament three of his last four seasons there and is about to take the Mountaineers to the tournament as a mid-seed. His teams play great defense and are elite at rebounding. He is an Iowa native who spent his career coaching in the state of Iowa before heading to West Virginia last year.&lt;/li&gt;
  129. &lt;/ul&gt;
  130. &lt;p id="QxIG4s"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  131. &lt;h3 id="LhQ5kv"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;BOUNCE BACK CANDIDATES&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  132. &lt;p id="Jik4za"&gt;These guys have coached at the highest levels, for various reasons ended up back in the mid-major (or low-major) level and are proving why they had a big-time shot in the first place. Think about Bruce Pearl and Rick Barnes being fired at their previous institutions and how they are doing for Auburn and Tennessee now. &lt;/p&gt;
  133. &lt;ul&gt;
  134. &lt;li id="iRLUGI"&gt;
  135. &lt;strong&gt;Chris Mack&lt;/strong&gt; - Charleston - Mack was fantastic at Xavier with top 50 offenses in 7 seasons at Xavier, including his final 5 season. Elite defensive rebounding but typically had poor 3-pt shooting teams. Things went sideways at Louisville, he took 2 years off and just finished his first year at Charleston, replacing Pat Kelsey who ironically left the Cougars for Louisville.&lt;/li&gt;
  136. &lt;li id="4zRvXS"&gt;
  137. &lt;strong&gt;Will Wade&lt;/strong&gt; - McNesse - An unlikely candidate, considering the conservative nature of Minnesota’s compliance department, but Wade wins. In his first year at McNeese he took a team that had gone 11-23 the previous year and made the NCAA Tournament as a 12-seed with a 30-4 record. In year two he has the Cowboys in the tournament again after going 19-1 in the Southland conference. Wade was previously as VCU and LSU where he was a part of NCAA investigations for paying players...which is now permissible. &lt;/li&gt;
  138. &lt;li id="pty96J"&gt;
  139. &lt;strong&gt;Anthony Grant&lt;/strong&gt;  - Dayton - At one point, Grant would have been much higher on my list. He has high-major experience and falls into that bucket of candidates who have maybe learned from their initial mistakes and would benefit from another shot. HIs Flyers team just finished the season on a 4-game win streak including a road win over top-seeded VCU and they finished 3rd in the tough A10. Recruiting and retaining top talent in the portal-era has been a strength of Grant’s, we could do much worse.&lt;/li&gt;
  140. &lt;li id="tEfL4l"&gt;
  141. &lt;strong&gt;Bryce Drew&lt;/strong&gt; - Grand Canyon - After a successful run at Valpo, Drew had a quick stint at Vanderbilt that did not go very well. But Drew is riding high at Grand Canyon in his 5th season. Last year the Antelops made the tournament as a 12-seed and upset Saint Mary’s before falling to Bama in the 2nd round. This year they are the 2-seed in the WAC Tournament.&lt;/li&gt;
  142. &lt;/ul&gt;
  143. &lt;h3 id="KLL58U"&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  144. &lt;h3 id="hiAJ1B"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ATLANTIC 10 NAMES&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  145. &lt;p id="tEMQHp"&gt;Speaking of the A10, there are a number of intriguing names in this conference. I would be thrilled with any of these three names.&lt;/p&gt;
  146. &lt;ul&gt;
  147. &lt;li id="wzgfA8"&gt;
  148. &lt;strong&gt;Ryan Odom &lt;/strong&gt;- VCU - son of Dave Odom, former D3 point guard who has been coaching at all levels. Odom has VCU rolling in the A10 after 2 seasons at Utah State and before that he was at UMBC for five. Hmmmm, I wonder why that school sounds familiar? Odom might be the emerging candidate to take the Virginia job.&lt;/li&gt;
  149. &lt;li id="mC4bqE"&gt;
  150. &lt;strong&gt;Tony Skinn&lt;/strong&gt; - George Mason - predicted 6th in the tough A10, finished 15-3, tied for first place and his teams play ELITE defense. Just 2nd year as head coach after being an ast at OSU, Seton Hall, and Maryland. Has been successful at bringing in top-tier portal talent. The mid-major to high-major jump isn’t always smooth, but having demonstrated ability to recruit and navigate the portal is key.&lt;/li&gt;
  151. &lt;li id="0C31QK"&gt;
  152. &lt;strong&gt;Drew Valentine&lt;/strong&gt; - Loyola-Chicago - Struggled in year 2, but in year 3 he took the Ramblers from last place to a first-place tie. He is the younger brother of Denzel Valentine and spent his graduate assistant years under Tom Izzo at Michigan State. Valentine was an assistant at Loyola during their run to the Final Four and took over for Porter Moser when he left for the Oklahoma job.&lt;/li&gt;
  153. &lt;li id="C1ryKG"&gt;
  154. &lt;strong&gt;Josh Schertz&lt;/strong&gt; - Currently in his first year at St. Louis and after two successful seasons at Indiana State. But prior to that he coached at the D2 level where he made three D2 Final Fours and had one runner-up. His teams take very few 2-pt shots, it is all about threes and layups. He got his D1 shot at Indiana State where over three seasons he took the program from a 11-20 record to 32-7.&lt;/li&gt;
  155. &lt;/ul&gt;
  156. &lt;p id="oXHCrt"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  157. &lt;h3 id="JLhQuw"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;OUT OF THE BOX CANDIDATES&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  158. &lt;ul&gt;
  159. &lt;li id="58hcMt"&gt;
  160. &lt;strong&gt;Eric Henderson&lt;/strong&gt; - SDSU - Henderson typically has great 3pt shooting teams with highly efficient offenses and they do not foul on defense with great rebounding. In his first five seasons at SDSU, he made the NCAA Tournament twice and finished 3rd this season with a very young team.&lt;/li&gt;
  161. &lt;li id="Xq4FsD"&gt;
  162. &lt;strong&gt;Preston Murphy&lt;/strong&gt; - Alabama assistant - the only assistant I have on this list, but Murphy is very highly thought of. He is an offensive-minded coach (for the nation’s best offense) who is an elite recruiter. &lt;/li&gt;
  163. &lt;li id="PjA2jq"&gt;
  164. &lt;strong&gt;Alan Huss&lt;/strong&gt; - High Point - a long-time D1 assistant at New Mexico and then Creighton, Huss is just in his second season as a head coach and he’s been incredibly successful. He is 56-14 in his two seasons, currently has the nation’s longest winning streak and has the Panthers into the NCAA Tournament. Expect to see them as a popular 12/13-seed upset pick. &lt;/li&gt;
  165. &lt;li id="oAbIKB"&gt;
  166. &lt;strong&gt;Ben McCollum&lt;/strong&gt; - Drake - many years at D2 NW Missouri State. Has won four national championships. He is only in his first year at Drake but this might be a great hire. Had to replace virtually the entire Drake roster from last year, he brought most of his D2 team with him to Des Moines and went on to go 30-3, winning the Missouri Valley and punching their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Again, that was with what was essentially a D2 roster. That’s coaching and having a system.&lt;/li&gt;
  167. &lt;li id="KcvGlT"&gt;
  168. &lt;strong&gt;Jim Crutchfield&lt;/strong&gt; - Nova Southeastern (D2) - He is still at D2 and is incredibly successful with a VERY specific and intentional system. &lt;a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6035757/2025/01/08/jim-crutchfield-nova-southeastern-dii-basketball/"&gt;This is a very interesting read&lt;/a&gt; on Crutchfield.&lt;/li&gt;
  169. &lt;/ul&gt;
  170. &lt;p id="jjMq4s"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  171. &lt;h3 id="G0jHKA"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;THE LOCAL ANGLES&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  172. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li id="Exj72j"&gt;
  173. &lt;strong&gt;Niko Medved&lt;/strong&gt; - Colorado St - Medved will almost certainly get a call and early indications are that he is a favorite to land the job.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  174. &lt;p id="PzT8Hg"&gt;His teams on offense do not focus on Off Reb, but have very few turnovers and always a very high 2pt FG%. Defensively they do not foul and do a decent job rebounding. My biggest hesitation is that he has never won a conference championship, but he has earned 2 NCAA bids as an at-large in the Mountain West with 1 NCAA Tournament upset win over Virginia.&lt;/p&gt;
  175. &lt;p id="CLcWDt"&gt;He seems to be doing well at Colorado St, but nothing jumps out to say that he is an obvious candidate. If he were not from the state of Minnesota, I don’t believe that anybody would want to see his name on the list. &lt;/p&gt;
  176. &lt;ul&gt;
  177. &lt;li id="coZYut"&gt;
  178. &lt;strong&gt;Brian Dutcher &lt;/strong&gt;- SDSU - The son of Jim Dutcher who was a long-time assistant coach under Steve Fisher. Dutcher has been very successful as the head coach of the Aztecs, likely to make what would be his 7th NCAA Tournament in eight seasons (presuming he would have made the 2020 tournament).&lt;/li&gt;
  179. &lt;li id="mcNaQH"&gt;
  180. &lt;strong&gt;Tim Miles &lt;/strong&gt;- Last coached for Nebraska in 2019. Could be included in the top section of this post as a “bounce-back candidate.” But this has always been an uninspiring name for me to be the next Gophers coach. I do not expect he will be in the running.&lt;/li&gt;
  181. &lt;li id="OLdbsY"&gt;
  182. &lt;strong&gt;Ryan Saunders&lt;/strong&gt; - Denver Nuggets Assistant - zero collegiate experience. Recruiting, and more importantly, being able to navigate NIL is critical.&lt;/li&gt;
  183. &lt;/ul&gt;
  184. &lt;p id="8z9TZe"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  185. &lt;h3 id="jQDHP5"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;GN’S TOP 5&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  186. &lt;p id="UOCH5v"&gt;This is just my personal preference. I am not going to include any of the names from the “make the call” tier, they would be my top choices, but are highly unlikely. After those elite names, here is who I would be interviewing (in order).&lt;/p&gt;
  187. &lt;ol&gt;
  188. &lt;li id="wXMd0m"&gt;Chris Mack - He has a history of success, both in the regular and post-season and is poised for a return to high-major program. He knows how to manage a program, manage recruiting, manage transfers and has a system that is a highly efficient offense. &lt;/li&gt;
  189. &lt;li id="kIVJrY"&gt;Ryan Odom - a lengthy coaching history and has been very successful at VCU in his short stint. He will be coaching at a high-major next season and I wouldn’t at all be sad if it was in Minnesota. &lt;/li&gt;
  190. &lt;li id="9aQaw2"&gt;Tony Skinn - Another long history of coaching. Skinn has been an assistant at multiple high-major stops and in two seasons is showing he can win as the head coach. Looks to be a defensive-minded coach who is a name on the rise.&lt;/li&gt;
  191. &lt;li id="edt2VC"&gt;Ben McCollum - This would be a huge swing for Mark Coyle, but I think McCollum is the kind of coach who will win wherever he goes. Not a sexy hire, but might be the right hire if you want a program that consistently wins.&lt;/li&gt;
  192. &lt;li id="MOll9q"&gt;Will Wade - I could easily put Wade higher on this list, he flat out wins. But two things cause me to pause. The first is that he is unlikely to get through the U’s stingy and conservative compliance. And secondly, if we do not have resources in place to support the program, I’m not sure Wade will be as successful. But I’d take that chance.&lt;/li&gt;
  193. &lt;/ol&gt;
  194. &lt;p id="zPMnuz"&gt;Bryce Drew, Eric Henderson and Drew Valentine would also be AOK with me.&lt;/p&gt;
  195. &lt;p id="2J1yw1"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  196.  
  197. </content>
  198.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.thedailygopher.com/2025/3/13/24384917/minnesota-gopher-basketball-coaching-candidates-minnesota-should-consider-to-replace-ben-johnson"/>
  199.    <id>https://www.thedailygopher.com/2025/3/13/24384917/minnesota-gopher-basketball-coaching-candidates-minnesota-should-consider-to-replace-ben-johnson</id>
  200.    <author>
  201.      <name>GopherNation</name>
  202.    </author>
  203.  </entry>
  204.  <entry>
  205.    <published>2025-03-13T09:39:57-05:00</published>
  206.    <updated>2025-03-13T09:39:57-05:00</updated>
  207.    <title>What really matters when look for Minnesota’s next basketball coach?</title>
  208.    <content type="html">  
  209.  
  210.    &lt;figure&gt;
  211.      &lt;img alt="Bowling Green v Minnesota" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wR9Ku9wAIP36U6YZCW5o_dxS1Cg=/0x0:5278x3519/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73959907/1350244549.0.jpg" /&gt;
  212.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by David Berding/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  213.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  214.  
  215.  &lt;p&gt;Revisiting what was written 4 years ago, it still applies today (mostly).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="KEJzog"&gt;Four years ago, Richard Pitino’s departure was negotiated, and Mark Coyle needed to hire a new coach to lead his men’s basketball program. He hired Ben Johnson and after just four seasons, Coyle is faced with &lt;a href="https://www.thedailygopher.com/2025/3/13/24384851/minnesota-mens-basketball-gophers-ben-johnson-fired-big-ten-ncaa"&gt;making that same hiring decision&lt;/a&gt; again.&lt;/p&gt;
  216. &lt;p id="YoHPHh"&gt;We wrote here about what are &lt;a href="https://www.thedailygopher.com/2021/3/16/21029755/minnesota-gopher-basketball-coaching-search-what-should-we-be-looking-for-resumes-systems-recruiting"&gt;the key things we should be looking for&lt;/a&gt; when hiring a new coach. This friendly advice was ignored and here we are again, needing to find someone to revitalize Gopher basketball and ignite The Barn.&lt;/p&gt;
  217. &lt;p id="Y9jlc0"&gt;To be frank, these keys were not remotely followed. Presumably, Coyle was laser focused on attracting someone with local ties to the program, both an emotional tie and having actually been a part of the program as a player/coach. That trumped finding the “right” person for the job. He did this with the women’s program as well and it achieved similar results.&lt;/p&gt;
  218. &lt;p id="YmJJIX"&gt;It might be time to revisit what really matters (and what doesn’t) if you want to hire a successful basketball coach in the Big Ten.&lt;/p&gt;
  219. &lt;p id="KmCw5B"&gt;Some of this is going to be a straight copy/paste from the 2021 article but that is also the timeframe when the landscape of college athletics changed dramatically, so there are other things to consider. &lt;/p&gt;
  220. &lt;p id="G3sQTH"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1 - Find a coach who has a system.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  221. &lt;p id="lrb0cY"&gt;To be more specific, find a coach who has an understanding of and a plan for possessions. How do they value their offensive possessions and how do they limit their opponents possessions.&lt;/p&gt;
  222. &lt;p id="ohyPGZ"&gt;Having talented kids matters at this level, but teams that have a specific system are often able to play above their collective talent level. Minnesota has not been able to compete in the game of acquiring the most talented roster, and that is not likely to change. You HAVE to do more with less, at least initially. That starts with having a system.&lt;/p&gt;
  223. &lt;p id="wJXmXe"&gt;I assure you, this does NOT have to be a slow-paced system that takes basketball back 30 years (think Wisconsin under Bo Ryan..but that worked). Roy Williams had a system that was very much up-tempo. But he absolutely had a plan, had rules incorporated into this offense and they were executing a system, not just running and gunning. &lt;/p&gt;
  224. &lt;p id="Xq0Tgy"&gt;Josh Schertz has had a very specific offensive system for years at the D2 level before taking it to Indiana State and now St. Louis. His offense takes easy twos and a lot of good looks from three. His overall tempo is good, his team’s efficiency is incredible and he has been wildly successful. Find a guy like this.&lt;/p&gt;
  225. &lt;p id="eHLpjw"&gt;This also applies to the defensive end. Some coaches prioritize a pressure defense that generates turnovers (reducing the number of possessions your opponent has and often turning into efficient points for your offense). Some coaches, think Tom Izzo, place tremendous emphasis on defensive rebounding to limit opponent possessions to just one shot. And over time you see that Michigan State is consistently one of the best defensive rebounding teams in the country. Because it is a part of their defensive identity, it is taught and executed (more on this later).&lt;/p&gt;
  226. &lt;p id="p8X5Hp"&gt;At the collegiate level, this matters! Have a system that has been consistently executives over the course of this coach’s career.&lt;/p&gt;
  227. &lt;p id="bGavkU"&gt;(I expand on this &lt;a href="https://www.thedailygopher.com/2021/3/16/21029755/minnesota-gopher-basketball-coaching-search-what-should-we-be-looking-for-resumes-systems-recruiting"&gt;more in the 2021 article&lt;/a&gt; and I highly encourage you to read it)&lt;/p&gt;
  228. &lt;p id="y7Vx9M"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2 - Recruit to that system.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  229. &lt;p id="Y7dBws"&gt;Talent does matter, but once you have a coach who knows what he is running, he needs to be able to recruit to that. &lt;/p&gt;
  230. &lt;p id="t1pgft"&gt;If your system demands making a lot of threes (see Coach Schertz above) then you better recruit kids who can make threes. If your system demands players who take high-percentage shots, then you better recruit kids who take good shots and have a high basketball IQ.&lt;/p&gt;
  231. &lt;p id="RQ6sUY"&gt;There are two dangers here. The first is that there are some things you can teach and somethings you cannot. Identify what you are able to teach and what attributes have to be innate to the player. &lt;/p&gt;
  232. &lt;p id="1tCJPL"&gt;Secondly, don’t try to fit a square peg into a round hole. Back to the Coach Schertz shooting example. If you can get a 5-star player who is an athletic wing who can slash to the basket, while shooting 22% from three...you might want to think about this. Obviously you take a 5-star player, this was an extreme example. But don’t try to make the wrong guy fit, or be flexible with your system to some degree. &lt;/p&gt;
  233. &lt;p id="wmirLv"&gt;Recruiting always matters. It works best when you bring in the “right” kind of player to fit what you are running.&lt;/p&gt;
  234. &lt;p id="VRntTy"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3 - Teach and execute the system.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  235. &lt;p id="mugy3S"&gt;You need a coach who can teach their system. This is often demonstrated by seeing consistency over time. &lt;/p&gt;
  236. &lt;p id="8MXS98"&gt;Back to my Izzo and Michigan State example, you can look and see over time that his teams routinely excel at defensive rebounding. He doesn’t just have a rebounding philosophy and hope he can recruit guys like Draymond Green every year. No, this is ingrained in their program. Izzo preaches it, he emphasizes it, he teaches it, and if you don’t execute it, you won’t be playing much. The Spartans have been in the top 50 in defensive rebounding percentage 19 times since 1997. That isn’t just hoping, that is teaching.&lt;/p&gt;
  237. &lt;p id="w0Dtrb"&gt;The same can be said of Roy Williams and his offensive philosophy. I was at a coaching clinic when he was teaching us a bit about what they do on offense. They don’t call set plays, but they have a number of specific rules. If the ball gets passed up the right wing, the other four players know where to go. Maybe that wing can wait for a ball screen to go back to the middle, again, everybody knows how to read and react to that. All told, they had something like 15 different actions that could be run from when they gained possession and it was taught to his guys well enough that they knew what to do based on the prior action. &lt;/p&gt;
  238. &lt;p id="BQvw6K"&gt;Have a specific system, recruit to it and be able to teach it. In 2021, this is where I stopped. But with the prevalence of the portal and NIL, I’m adding a 4th key.&lt;/p&gt;
  239. &lt;p id="pTz54A"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4 - Demonstrated ability to navigate NIL and the transfer portal.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  240. &lt;p id="WRC7Vl"&gt;This “key” is new. Navigating the portal and building up NIL collectives has become vitabl over the last four seasons. Once again, Minnesota does not have the same resources as the rest of the Big Ten. But money is not always the only thing that matters. &lt;/p&gt;
  241. &lt;p id="L6llqH"&gt;This may be harder to define than the first three things, but it is vital. After year one, I would have given Ben Johnson a lot of credit for navigating the transfer portal and bringing in a collection of talent that played well together and achieved more than any of us would have anticipated. But since the first year, it was a disaster. &lt;/p&gt;
  242. &lt;p id="drpPtk"&gt;If it comes down to just money, we will lose this arms race. But finding kids who focus on other factors, building great relationships, creating a culture that kids want to remain a part of, all matter. I would argue that in the world of football, PJ Fleck is doing more with less than anybody else in the country, largely because of culture and relationships.&lt;/p&gt;
  243. &lt;p id="emowtj"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Secondary things that matter.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  244. &lt;p id="4N3Is8"&gt;Has the coach been a proven winner? &lt;/p&gt;
  245. &lt;p id="KevyrO"&gt;Does he have experience as a head coach?&lt;/p&gt;
  246. &lt;p id="SYZsQZ"&gt;Has he demonstrated the ability to recruit?&lt;/p&gt;
  247. &lt;p id="2X0TC3"&gt;These things are also important. I have a system for my 5th/6th grade girls team and it is successful. This does not make me qualified for the Gopher job (but I’m open to hearing what the offer would be, we are 6-1). &lt;/p&gt;
  248. &lt;p id="qdvbiQ"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;LASTLY - It doesn’t matter where they are from.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  249. &lt;p id="6xxsee"&gt;Find the best candidate you believe will start winning basketball games. &lt;/p&gt;
  250. &lt;p id="T1u1Xa"&gt;You may have already seen local media posting lists of who they think are on the list (maybe even the short list) of candidates and it will be filled with names of people who are somehow tied to the state of Minnesota or the university.&lt;/p&gt;
  251. &lt;p id="0aNKie"&gt;THIS DOES NOT MATTER.&lt;/p&gt;
  252. &lt;p id="J6aSDB"&gt;Those lists are lazy. If the best candidate is also from Minnesota, AWESOME. That’s a win-win. But if Coyle is interviewing a candidate who he wouldn’t be considering if they had grown up in Idaho, then don’t interview him because he grew up in Minnesota. &lt;/p&gt;
  253. &lt;p id="HKVuu7"&gt;I have nothing against Niko Medved, Brian Dutcher, Tim Miles or any other name that you will hear because they are one of us. In fact, Craig Smith was on my personal shortlist four years ago. Maybe one of them is the right person for the job. My point is, that prioritizing where they are from is not relevant to this job. &lt;/p&gt;
  254. &lt;p id="KkZtxb"&gt;I’m sure that one or two of those names will get a phone call or even an interview. I believe there are many more qualified coaches out there, but I wouldn’t rule them out.&lt;/p&gt;
  255. &lt;p id="QpAZEw"&gt;The obvious follow-up question is, who are names that Coyle should be considering? And that list is coming next. Shockingly, Coyle isn’t asking for my opinion. I’m happy to give it, and will, but the hope is that he deviates from the plan he had last time. I firmly believe it isn’t necessarily about the name, he should be looking for certain attributes that equate to winning.&lt;/p&gt;
  256.  
  257. </content>
  258.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.thedailygopher.com/2025/3/13/24338261/minnesota-gopher-basketball-coaching-search-what-are-the-important-things-to-look-for-hire"/>
  259.    <id>https://www.thedailygopher.com/2025/3/13/24338261/minnesota-gopher-basketball-coaching-search-what-are-the-important-things-to-look-for-hire</id>
  260.    <author>
  261.      <name>GopherNation</name>
  262.    </author>
  263.  </entry>
  264.  <entry>
  265.    <published>2025-03-13T08:34:18-05:00</published>
  266.    <updated>2025-03-13T08:34:18-05:00</updated>
  267.    <title>Ben Johnson Fired</title>
  268.    <content type="html">  
  269.  
  270.    &lt;figure&gt;
  271.      &lt;img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/B4QAsredpKoAS0C7jgTFqPu6Zjc=/0x0:1998x1332/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73959750/gallery_image___2025_03_13T081306.829.0.jpg" /&gt;
  272.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Brad Rempel—Gophersports.com&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  273.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  274.  
  275.  &lt;p&gt;The University of Minnesota made the announcement early in the morning in Thursday&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="vqcqID"&gt;The University of Minnesota announced at 1:21 Thursday morning that Ben Johnson had been fired as head coach of the &lt;a href="https://www.thedailygopher.com"&gt;Minnesota Golden Gophers&lt;/a&gt; men’s basketball team.  The Gophers will begin an immediate national search for his successor.&lt;/p&gt;
  276. &lt;p id="2zQQEc"&gt;The full statement from Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle is below:&lt;/p&gt;
  277. &lt;p id="6PikvJ"&gt;&lt;em&gt;“I met with Ben in-person early this morning when the team returned to Minneapolis from the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament and informed him that we were making a change in leadership. I thanked him for his dedication and for guiding the program, one he cares deeply about, for the last four years. Ben is a terrific person, and we wish him well.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  278. &lt;p id="OEqk8f"&gt;&lt;em&gt;“These decisions are difficult and are made after careful consideration and evaluation. The expectation for our program is to compete for championships, and unfortunately, we have not done that in the last four years. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  279. &lt;p id="iqO2E4"&gt;&lt;em&gt;“This is an extremely desirable job in one of the best conferences and cities in the nation, and we fully expect to compete at the highest level on and off the court. We provide a world-class experience for our student-athletes, have one of the best practice facilities in the nation and play games in a historic venue. We offer everything that is needed to be successful, and we will immediately begin a nationwide search for our next men’s basketball coach.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  280. &lt;p id="G5ghxX"&gt;In four years as Minnesota head coach Johnson went 56-71 overall, and  22-57 in Big Ten play.  This past season the Gophers finished 15-17, including 7-13 in conference play. The Gophers ended officially in 12th place in the Big Ten (really a 5-way tie for 11th) after preseason predictions placed them 18th out of 18 teams in the newly expanded Big Ten.  &lt;/p&gt;
  281. &lt;p id="mog0ar"&gt;Two things about the announcement are allready making ripples in the Twin Cities sports world on Thursday morning.  The first is the timing of the announcement.  Minnesota released the press release at 1:21 AM on Thursday.  Many prominent Twin Cities media people had negative comments on the timing.  &lt;/p&gt;
  282. &lt;p id="iY62Fx"&gt;Here are what appear to be the facts.  The Gophers lost 72-64 to Northwestern in the &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/big-ten-basketball-tournament"&gt;Big Ten Tournament&lt;/a&gt; yesterday.  Minnesota did not leave Indy until later that evening after needing to go back to the hotel to pick up gear, etc.  The Gophers did not arrive back at MSP until 11:54 PM last night according to flight aware.&lt;/p&gt;
  283. &lt;div id="iyUtX2"&gt;
  284. &lt;blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:dpjvgkmjqtsfn2cczs3nh622/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkaztgn5pk2d" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreihxkmzhyn4jddzy7nsewb5yzwcin2v3pkuvtnobp6jeimuy2eblba"&gt;
  285. &lt;p lang="en"&gt;Waited for the team to arrive back in MSP, landed right before midnight
  286.  
  287. www.flightaware.com/live/flight/...&lt;/p&gt;— &lt;a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dpjvgkmjqtsfn2cczs3nh622?ref_src=embed"&gt;Bewilder2 (@bewilder2.bsky.social)&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dpjvgkmjqtsfn2cczs3nh622/post/3lkaztgn5pk2d?ref_src=embed"&gt;2025-03-13T11:51:54.891Z&lt;/a&gt;
  288. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  289. &lt;script async="" src="https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  290. &lt;/div&gt;
  291. &lt;p id="BH5OU0"&gt;The team would arrive back to campus about 12:30 AM, where according to the press release Coyle would have told Johnson immediately that he had been fired.  Then the U told the public immediately rather than waiting until the morning.  Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.&lt;/p&gt;
  292. &lt;p id="08aJhZ"&gt;As Justin Gaard of KFAN and Gopher women’s PBP voice along with various other jobs in the Gopher media universe put it, Mark Coyle’s presence on the NCAA basketball committee pretty much forced this to be the timeline unless the Gophers wanted to wait until Monday.&lt;/p&gt;
  293. &lt;div id="HMzKJV"&gt;
  294. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  295. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;No good way to do it. NCAA Committee role adds another challenge for timing. Wanted to do it in person. Wanted to do it quickly. If you were following a private plane last night (like me) the one from Indy Exec to Flying Cloud would have had your eye. That plane flew back to Indy… &lt;a href="https://t.co/4ePmAbOL1x"&gt;https://t.co/4ePmAbOL1x&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Justin Gaard (@Gaardsy) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/Gaardsy/status/1900172142391550264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;March 13, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  296. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  297. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  298.  
  299. &lt;/div&gt;
  300. &lt;p id="Qp0UCO"&gt;JG basically says Coyle watched the game yesterday allready being in Indy for NCAA Committee work, flew home separate from the team, fired Ben immediately in person in Minneapolis rather than doing it before the flight home in Indy, and then flew back to Indy this morning to resume work forming the NCAA Tournament field.  Again, damned if you do, damned if you don’t.&lt;/p&gt;
  301. &lt;p id="4BNetu"&gt;The other factor that will be explored in greater detail over the next few days is what will a new coach do about NIL.  We can all admit that Ben Johnson was hamstrung by the lack of NIL and institutional support for the Men’s Basketball program.  Some of Ben’s strongest supporters wanted to give him one more season with a hopeful uptick in NIL and revenue sharing dollars.  In the end, Mark Coyle decided with that vast majority of the roster turning over, this was the time to make a full scale change.  Only time will tell if this was the right decision.  Coyle saying in the press releease that the “expectation for our program is to compete for championships” is not realistic possible with the current level of support for the program.  Will just making a coaching change help that investment?  If not the best coach in the world isn’t going to matter. &lt;/p&gt;
  302. &lt;p id="efGqQT"&gt;One thing that is true though.  This may be the biggest hiring decision Mark Coyle will have as AD at Minnesota.  He hired PJ Fleck which has worked out.  But he botched both basketball hires initially with now Ben Johnson joining Lindsay Whalen as Gopher alums who didn’t work out.  There is a lot of angst out there in the Minnesota fan base, and this hire if it would fail may be enough to get the winds to change and start the call for replacing Coyle.  But, if he nails it, then he should deserve a lot of the praise.  Again, only time will tell.  &lt;/p&gt;
  303. &lt;p id="UZ5iFU"&gt;We will have much more on the firing later this week as well as a look at who might be in consideration to replace Ben Johnson. &lt;/p&gt;
  304.  
  305. </content>
  306.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.thedailygopher.com/2025/3/13/24384851/minnesota-mens-basketball-gophers-ben-johnson-fired-big-ten-ncaa"/>
  307.    <id>https://www.thedailygopher.com/2025/3/13/24384851/minnesota-mens-basketball-gophers-ben-johnson-fired-big-ten-ncaa</id>
  308.    <author>
  309.      <name>Andy York</name>
  310.    </author>
  311.  </entry>
  312.  <entry>
  313.    <published>2025-03-11T11:19:45-05:00</published>
  314.    <updated>2025-03-11T11:19:45-05:00</updated>
  315.    <title>3 keys to beating Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament and how to watch</title>
  316.    <content type="html">  
  317.  
  318.    &lt;figure&gt;
  319.      &lt;img alt="NCAA Basketball: Northwestern at Minnesota" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/8mXLc5YLUkxVU2ah0B7KJyzrlbg=/0x0:3240x2160/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73954922/usa_today_25511099.0.jpg" /&gt;
  320.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Matt Krohn-Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  321.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  322.  
  323.  &lt;p&gt;The Gophers are facing Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament, can Minnesota move on to face Wisconsin?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="1rUpzV"&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;
  324. &lt;div&gt;&lt;p id="AeqeJA"&gt;&lt;style&gt;.float-left {float: left;padding: 2%;text-align: center;width: 32%;margin-bottom: 20px;}.float-left img {max-width: 100px;}.float-left h4, .float-left h3 {font-family: 'Knockout 28 A', 'Knockout 28 B';font-weight: 100;text-transform: uppercase;}.float-left h4 {font-size: 21px;color: #858282;}.float-left h3 {font-size: 30px;}.when {border-right: 1px solid #ccc;border-left: 1px solid #ccc;}.icon { height: 80px;}.location-image { text-align: center;}.location img { width: 100%;}.left {max-width: 100px;margin-top: 40px !important;width: 100%;}.left {float: left;}.clearfix {clear: both;}@media only screen and (max-width : 100px ){.left {float: none;margin: 0 auto;width: 100%;}}@media only screen and (max-width : 870px) {.left {max-width: 100px;margin-top: 40px !important;width: 100%;float: left;}}@media only screen and (max-width : 600px) {.float-left {float: none;margin: 0 auto;width: 100%;}.when {border: none;}&lt;/style&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  325. &lt;div class="float-left"&gt;
  326. &lt;img src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13458620/location-mark.0.png" class="photo icon"&gt;
  327. &lt;h3&gt;Indianapolis&lt;/h3&gt;
  328. &lt;/div&gt;
  329.  
  330. &lt;div class="float-left when"&gt;  
  331. &lt;img src="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/assets/3826141/when_icon.svg" class="photo icon"&gt;
  332. &lt;h3&gt;2:30 PM Wednesday&lt;/h3&gt;
  333. &lt;/div&gt;
  334.  
  335. &lt;div class="float-left"&gt;
  336. &lt;img style="width: 100px; height: 79px;" src="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/assets/3873703/tv.svg" height="453" width="100"&gt;
  337. &lt;h3&gt;Peacock&lt;/h3&gt;
  338. &lt;/div&gt;
  339.  
  340. &lt;div class="float-left"&gt;
  341. &lt;img src="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/assets/3495805/basketball.svg" class="photo icon"&gt;  &lt;h3&gt;Northwestern&lt;/h3&gt;
  342. &lt;/div&gt;
  343. &lt;p id="2Fb1UK"&gt;It was just a couple of weeks ago when Minnesota hosted Northwestern and lost by 12. Is there an advantage to having lost that game and getting a quick rematch?&lt;/p&gt;
  344. &lt;h3 id="BD9mWn"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Northwestern Wildcats&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  345. &lt;p id="I7Ngo7"&gt;Record: 16-15 (7-10)&lt;br&gt;KenPom Rank: 47&lt;/p&gt;
  346. &lt;p id="PvJJgD"&gt;Minnesota has seen a surge in production from their bench with Brennan Rigsby and Frank Mitchell averaging 12 and 10 points per game respectively over the last four games. Does this make Minnesota more balanced? Do they have a Big Ten Tournament run in them? &lt;/p&gt;
  347. &lt;p id="ao9sxL"&gt;It starts with Northwestern on Wednesday afternoon. &lt;/p&gt;
  348. &lt;h4 id="bgXIhb"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KEYS TO A GOPHER WIN&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  349. &lt;p id="L8UDie"&gt;&lt;strong style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"&gt;&lt;img style="float: left;" src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/3109073/maroon_key_medium.png" class="photo" alt="Maroon_key_medium"&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  350. &lt;p id="Q9SoEN"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Nick Martinelli must be stopped &lt;/strong&gt;- This was a key last time around and Martinelli went off for 29 points. This one is obvious, he must be slowed. Martinelli is crafty and gutsy, the Gophers have to be physical with him without getting in foul trouble.&lt;/p&gt;
  351. &lt;p id="L3hpCf"&gt;&lt;strong style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"&gt;&lt;img style="float: left;" src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/3109073/maroon_key_medium.png" class="photo" alt="Maroon_key_medium"&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  352. &lt;p id="9DoHzQ"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Our guy has to score too &lt;/strong&gt;- Dawson Garcia nearly matched Martinelli’s total with 26, but most of that came in the second half as the Gophers tried to close the gap and come back to win. &lt;/p&gt;
  353. &lt;p id="vGhy5z"&gt;&lt;strong style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"&gt;&lt;img style="float: left;" src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/3109073/maroon_key_medium.png" class="photo" alt="Maroon_key_medium"&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  354. &lt;p id="cq9nuW"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Paging Mike Mitchell&lt;/strong&gt; - This might be more for the tournament than just this singular game, but Mitchell has to find his shot again. Over his last four games he has three total points and is 1/10 from behind the arc. In the Rutgers loss, he appeared to pass up shots he would otherwise be taking. I don’t want to see Mitchell chucking shots, but he needs to make a couple and gain some confidence.&lt;/p&gt;
  355. &lt;h4 id="Mc6tO5"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;PREDICTION&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  356. &lt;p id="ZQHGcY"&gt;I feel strangely confident in this game. Ben Johnson will lean on his team’s experience, lessons learned from the prior loss to the Wildcats and this time the Gophers get a win.&lt;/p&gt;
  357. &lt;p id="jMUxbS"&gt;Minnesota - 73&lt;br&gt;Northwestern - 70&lt;/p&gt;
  358.  
  359. </content>
  360.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.thedailygopher.com/2025/3/11/24378475/minnesota-gopher-basketball-3-keys-to-beating-northwestern-in-the-big-ten-tournament-how-to-watch"/>
  361.    <id>https://www.thedailygopher.com/2025/3/11/24378475/minnesota-gopher-basketball-3-keys-to-beating-northwestern-in-the-big-ten-tournament-how-to-watch</id>
  362.    <author>
  363.      <name>GopherNation</name>
  364.    </author>
  365.  </entry>
  366.  <entry>
  367.    <published>2025-03-10T08:58:48-05:00</published>
  368.    <updated>2025-03-10T08:58:48-05:00</updated>
  369.    <title>Gophers #12 Seed in Big Ten Tournament</title>
  370.    <content type="html">  
  371.  
  372.    &lt;figure&gt;
  373.      &lt;img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6kK-jbv3_lULiW5pco5cMxrbIxc=/0x0:1992x1328/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73951874/gallery_image___2025_03_10T085244.421.0.jpg" /&gt;
  374.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Brad Rempel—Gophersports.com&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  375.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  376.  
  377.  &lt;p&gt;The Gophers open against #13 Northwestern on Wednesday&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="TsNPNz"&gt;With the Big Ten regular season complete after their 75-67 loss in overtime at &lt;a href="https://www.onthebanks.com"&gt;Rutgers&lt;/a&gt; on Sunday, the &lt;a href="https://www.thedailygopher.com"&gt;Minnesota Golden Gophers&lt;/a&gt; can now look ahead to extending their season as long as possible through the &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/big-ten-basketball-tournament"&gt;Big Ten Tournament&lt;/a&gt;.  After the large 5-way tie at 7-13 in the Big Ten standings was broken, the Gophers came out on the top of the pack and will be the #12 seed in the Big Ten Tournament which begins Wednesday in Indianapolis.  &lt;/p&gt;
  378. &lt;p id="rsou1k"&gt;Minnesota knew they were in the tournament prior to their game against Rutgers on Sunday, but knew the game would have a direct result in the seeding.  With the win, the Scarlet Knights jumped ahead of the large pack tied at 7-13 to 8-12 and will be the #11 seed.  Minnesota had the best record against the five teams tied at 7-13— Iowa, Nebraska, Northwestern and USC and thus won the tiebreaker and was awarded the #12 seed.  The Cornhuskers were the big loser on Sunday losing at home Ito Iowa, and with their five consecutive losses to end the regular season lost the tiebreaker and will be the 16th team—missing the Big Ten Tournament.  They saw their season come to an end along with Penn State and Washington who also will sit the inaugural 15-team tournament out.&lt;/p&gt;
  379. &lt;p id="zxQeJz"&gt;Minnesota will face #13 seeded Northwestern at 2:30 PM Wednesday in the first game of the Tournament.  Minnesota lost their lone game to the Wildcats this season 75-63 in Williams Arena just a few weeks ago.  Dawson Garcia led the team with 26 points but the team shot just 41% from the field and gave up 29 to Nick Martenelli.  Northwestern took a 10-0 lead in the first 2:15 of the game and Minnesota was chasing from the very start.  &lt;/p&gt;
  380. &lt;p id="9uAoSb"&gt;The winner of Wednesday’s game will advance to face #5 Wisconsin on Thursday at approximately 1:45 PM.  Wednesday’s game will stream on Peacock.  The full Big Ten Tournament bracket is below:&lt;/p&gt;
  381. &lt;p id="0VGwO6"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  382. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  383.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/a-XtyNs8DhGBSqQCvG_3vnQvR5M=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25905150/25BBT_Bracket_030935.jpg"&gt;
  384.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  385.  
  386.  
  387. </content>
  388.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.thedailygopher.com/2025/3/10/24382100/minnesota-basketball-gophers-12-seed-in-big-ten-tournament-northwestern-wisconsin"/>
  389.    <id>https://www.thedailygopher.com/2025/3/10/24382100/minnesota-basketball-gophers-12-seed-in-big-ten-tournament-northwestern-wisconsin</id>
  390.    <author>
  391.      <name>Andy York</name>
  392.    </author>
  393.  </entry>
  394.  <entry>
  395.    <published>2025-03-10T08:40:56-05:00</published>
  396.    <updated>2025-03-10T08:40:56-05:00</updated>
  397.    <title>Gable Steveson is a Big Ten Champion...Again</title>
  398.    <content type="html">  
  399.  
  400.    &lt;figure&gt;
  401.      &lt;img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/w4VsAwo-OJhX_Cs9JifXPy9cBSM=/0x0:1998x1332/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73951846/gallery_image___2025_03_10T082244.711.0.jpg" /&gt;
  402.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Brad Rempel—Gophersports.com&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  403.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  404.  
  405.  &lt;p&gt;He’s the first heavyweight in history to win four Big Ten titles&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="YTy0xS"&gt;The &lt;a href="https://www.thedailygopher.com"&gt;Minnesota Golden Gophers&lt;/a&gt; had three wrestlers make the Championship round of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships on Sunday but only one would go on to win a title.  We all know who that one was.  Gable Steveson made history yet again as he became the only heavyweight to ever win four Big Ten Championships with a 10-3 win over Penn State’s Greg Kerkvleit on Sunday.  Gable has now won 66th straight matches, passing Dustin Schlatter for the second longest win streak in program history.&lt;/p&gt;
  406. &lt;p id="V3ktUM"&gt;Steveson was not really tested in the Big Ten Championships as he cruised through his opponents.  In theory the toughest one would be fellow Minnesotan and Simley High School grad Kerkvleit who is the reining NCAA Heavyweight Champ and had won 38 straight matches headed into the Big Ten final. He never had a chance.  Gable picked up an early first period takedown to take a 3-0 lead.  He would add takedowns in the second and third periods and took the riding time point to cruise into the victory.  He becomes the obvious favorite to win his third NCAA Championship. Steveson has yet to be taken down this season and he’s now 6-0 this year against top-10 opponents and 14-0 overall.  He was named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Championships for his domination.  &lt;/p&gt;
  407. &lt;p id="dqOQmc"&gt;Steveson became the first heavyweight in Big Ten history to win four titles, and he became just the 19th wrestler to accomplish the feat overall. The only other Gopher to do so was Verne Gagne, who recorded wins in 1944 and 1947-49. He will not have enough matches left in his career to eclipse Vole Konrad’s 76-match winning streak, but likely will get a chance to add up to five more to his tally at the NCAA Championships. &lt;/p&gt;
  408. &lt;p id="BYMPMm"&gt;The Gophers fell in their chances to win two additional titles.  Vance VomBaur faced off agant Vance hardy of Nebraska who head lost to earlier in the season.  This time Hardy took advantage of a VomBaur mistake and flipped him for a pin midway through the first period.&lt;/p&gt;
  409. &lt;p id="e8v2H0"&gt;Redshirt freshman Max McEnelly had a very tough task taking on Penn State’s Carter Starocci at 184 pounds.  Starocci has won the last four NCAA Championships and has not lost a match since 2020.  That loss was to former Iowa wrestler Michael Kemmerer—who is now a current Minnesota assistant and was mat-side for the final on Sunday.  &lt;/p&gt;
  410. &lt;p id="GB3wZE"&gt;McEnelly struck first scoring the opening takedown for a 3-1 lead after one period. Starocci responded in the second with a quick escape and a takedown to take the lead.  Down 5-4 going to the third, McEnelly lodged an escape of his own, sending the match to overtime, With 40 seconds left in the extra session, McEnelly went for a shot but missed and Starocci caught him on the re-attack for the 8-5 victory. But Max proved his own against the nation’s best and will hopefully get another shot at him at the NCAA Championships.  He was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year after the meet concluded.&lt;/p&gt;
  411. &lt;p id="z31SeH"&gt;The Gophers also added fourth place finishes from Andrew Sparks at 165 and Isiah Salazar at 197.   Tommy Askey took 5th at 157.  Minnesota qualified nine of their ten wrestlers for the NCAA Championships based upon their results at the Big Ten Championships.  Tyler Wells at 133 is the only weight not to yet qualify but still has a good chance at an at-large bid when the full list of NCAA participants are announced on Tuesday and the full brackets are released with seeding on Wednesday.  The NCAA Championships will take place March 20-22 in Philadelphia.  &lt;/p&gt;
  412. &lt;p id="Tw34sO"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  413. &lt;p id="GwQAoS"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  414.  
  415. </content>
  416.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.thedailygopher.com/2025/3/10/24382080/minnesota-wrestling-gophers-gable-steveson-is-a-big-ten-champion-again-mcenelly-vombaur"/>
  417.    <id>https://www.thedailygopher.com/2025/3/10/24382080/minnesota-wrestling-gophers-gable-steveson-is-a-big-ten-champion-again-mcenelly-vombaur</id>
  418.    <author>
  419.      <name>Andy York</name>
  420.    </author>
  421.  </entry>
  422. </feed>
  423.  

If you would like to create a banner that links to this page (i.e. this validation result), do the following:

  1. Download the "valid Atom 1.0" banner.

  2. Upload the image to your own server. (This step is important. Please do not link directly to the image on this server.)

  3. Add this HTML to your page (change the image src attribute if necessary):

If you would like to create a text link instead, here is the URL you can use:

http://www.feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=https%3A//thedailygopher.com/rss/index.xml

Home · About · News · Docs · Terms

 
Copyright © 2002-9 Sam Ruby, Mark Pilgrim, Joseph Walton, and Phil Ringnalda