Rise up Gopher Nation!

Tonight is a big night for the fans of the Minnesota Golden Gopher Men's Basketball program.  Fresh off a 95-77 beating of Western Kentucky, our Gophs are lookin ahead tonight to a big showdown with the often-dominant North Carolina Tar Heels. 
These two teams have only played four times in their history, with the only Gopher win coming 30 years ago.  That North Carolina team had SIX (!) former McDonald's All-American prep stars and had been to the Final Four the previous year.  Trent Tucker and company rose up the squash the mighty Tar Heels on that fateful December evening, and tonight Ralph Sampson III can finally make his daddy proud by doing the same.
Some reasons to believe it could happen:

1)  It is early in the season.  Harrison Barnes (out of Frank's college town Ames, Iowa), is a proven commodity and was named to the Associated Press All-America first team before he played his first collegiate game.  It was clear in the UNC match up vs. Hofstra last night that the team is still gelling and can be rattled by a team that can administer a strong zone defense.
2) The Gophs big men have played very well against smaller front courts so far and will have a chance to prove it is no fluke against a larger and more athletic Tar Heel squad.  Ralph and Trevor Mbakwe have had great games; Mbakwe averaging a double-double and Ralph controlling the paint while also showing off his smooth J (even cashing in on a 3).  We also have depth with Colt ( Not THIS Colt ) Iverson able to spell either men and play big minutes.
3) Tubby's teams always bring strong defense and can harass you all over the court.  This team can create turnovers for sure, but the question will be can Al Nolen and Blake Hoffarber continue to hold down the point guard duty without Devoe Joseph.  If we can limit our turnovers and work a strong half-court offense (usually out of the question with Tubby) we will be in it.
4) How many ESPY winners does UNC have? Blake's got 2 words for ya
5) Neutral court.  This is huge.  The Gophers beat Louisville 2 years ago (who ended up being the #1 seed in the NCAA tourney that year) on neutral ground.  Anytime you can catch a top team early in the season AND on a neutral court, you've got a shot.

Game isn't for 8 hours, so check in with your travel agent in the next few hours and let's all make a little trip down to Puerto Rico to support our boys.

KenPom has the Gophs at a 31% chance of winning, no doubt we are the underdogs, but even in a loss if Tubby's boys can keep it close and play well, this game will look good for us down the road when it comes time to talk NCAA tourney.
But I'm gonna drink the kool-aid and be a homer and go with Gophs win 72-69(Chyess!).  It is gonna be close, and might not look so good for the home-town team, but I'm predicting a plethora of Stunners will be given just in the nick of time by Stone Cold to help save the day