I want to start off with the Gophers 77-73 victory over the number one team in the land. This was a huge and possibly even season defining game for this ball club. They were playing awful basketball over their past ten games and didn't even look like a team that should be taking up a spot in the field of 68. Well led by Trevor Mbakwe and Elliott Eliason they definitely showed up last night. It seemed as though every time the Hoosiers made a run, the Gophers would have an answer. Whether it be dropping it down low for Mbakwe to go to work or letting Andre Hollins create his own shot up top, scoring was not hard to come by for the Gophers yesterday. I just want to point out the extremely hard work and determination of Eliason last night, though. Going up against one of the top three big men in the country last night and with Mbakwe in foul trouble, Eliason more than stepped in adequately last night and really kept the Gophers in the game. An unbelievable atmosphere in The Barn surely helped the home team down the stretch and led to their first victory over a number one ranked team since 1989. When the student section started to storm the court following the victory I loved the reaction of either Mike Tirico or Dan Dakich. They exclaimed that they saw 75-year old men rushing on to the court as well as the students of the University. This was a day for not only current student but alumni as well to rejoice and bask in the glory of victory.
In a night where most Minnesota sports fans were tuned into the Gophers, the Wild had a huge come from behind victory over a division foe. The Calgary Flames had just defeated the Wild on their home ice a few nights previously and the Wild were pissed and hungry. They couldn't put the puck in the net for the first 55 minutes and change but that isn't the point. Jason Zucker came up with a huge goal late in the third period and then Zach Parise finished off the Flames with a quick backhand wrist flick just over 30 seconds into the overtime session. It was a huge win for the Wild for multiple reasons. One reason is that they were playing very poor hockey in the games prior to this one and they had to get off the schneid. Another reason is that hopefully they will gain some confidence from the late scoring barrage and it will carry on to future games. This team clearly needs to score more and hopefully that will occur after this little noticed but still very important division victory.
Phoenix, Arizona is an awesome place to vacation and in fact I was there just last weekend, but it certainly doesn't house a solid NBA team and if you cannot beat the Phoenix Suns then you know your team is in trouble. That is exactly where the Timberwolves find themselves after losing last night 84-83 in overtime to the dreadful Suns. I don't have much to say about the Timberwolves other than to say that someone in the locker room better step up and soon and tell the team that we are too talented to keep on losing. We need someone who can step up down the stretch and carry the team to victory. That is all.
On a side note, the Hopkins High School Royals were defeated by the Minnetonka High School Skippers last night, 62-58. This eliminates the Royals from any conference title hopes that they so desperately clung on to. It will be interesting how their section plays out with a hot St. Louis Park team also joining the fray.
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