If Dr. Tom was dead, he'd be spinning in his grave: Gophs destroy Hawkeyes

Ain't it fun playing the Squawk-eyes?  They truly are terrible.  Unathletic, slow, and pale.  The maroon and gold had their way on Sunday, and it was fun to watch.  Pretty much every minute of it.  My only gripe were Wayne Larivee's continued insistence that this was each of the Gopher seniors' last game in Barn.  Wayne, did anybody bother to mention to you that at this point we're pretty much a lock to host an NIT game or two?

It was great to see Westbrook and Johnson go off on Senior night.  Hell, even Bostick got some love.  I know LW has been the subject of a lot of criticism throughout the year for his pouting and temperment, but I still love the guy for how he can light it up some nights, and has the fearlessness take any shot.  DJ played a game that was an analog for his entire productive career at Minnesota. 10 points, 11 assists, 5 boards, 3 steals, and 3 blocks in 23 minutes.  Yeah, I know Iowa is horrid, but that's serious production in limited time.

What's really a shame is that he won't be recognized as Big Ten Defensive POY, an award I think he deserves. Chris Kramer and David Lighty are nice defenders (and my guesses for Def-POY), but in my opinion they don't contribute to the defense the same way DJ does. DJ may not be a true shut down defender, but much of his defense is played coming from the help side.  Damien steals and blocks, and as such creates offensive opportunities for his teammates.  He's inch-for-inch the best shot blocker in the Big Ten, ranked 3rd in the Big Ten, and with nothing but centers around him statistically.  He leads the conference in steals. He constantly deflects balls in the passing lane.  And he's a nightmare matchup in a zone.  What more can the kid do?  Come on writers - give DJ Swat a little love (great nickname from 'The Daily Gopher', along with a nice summary of the graduating seniors).  He deserves this award.

What's really disappointing about today is that had we not laid an egg against Michigan or won one of the last second heartbreakers, we'd have taken 5th place in the standings, as Illinois got taken apart by Wisconsin. That would have made our tourney hopes look a lot better right now.  Such is life as a Gopher fan.  Its hard to figure this team out. They can be so sharp some nights, and like absolute dogs the next. Inconsistency is our middle name.  Still, I think a win over Penn State (who look like a very dangerous team to face right now) and then a win over the Spartans in the second round will put us in, unless some dark horse wins the B-10 tourney (the B-10 tourney bracket came out a few hours ago).  Anybody else agree?