University of Minnesota Athletics
MBB: Gophers Start Eight Game Homestand Against Central Michigan
12/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Matchup
The Minnesota Golden Gophers return home to open an eight game homestand today that extends through the beginning of January and the start of the Big Ten season vs. Central Michigan. Minnesota is riding a wave after a hard-fought 57-48 victory at Nebraska on Wednesday night. It was the Gophers' first road non-conference regular season victory since 2001, a span of eight games. Minnesota clawed back from a nine-point halftime deficit and trailling by five with 4:30 to play, scored 15 straight points to put the game away. Central Michigan arrives in the Twin Cities with a 4-2 record. The Chippewas have wins at home over Valparaiso, Saginaw Valley, Rochester College and East Tennessee State. CMU has lost its only two road games to date, at Evansville, (100-85) and at Kent State (81-72).
Scouting the Chippewas
Central Michigan and Minnesota have similar stories entering the 2004-05 season. The Chippewas and the Gophers have had to replace the majority of their scoring and rebounding from last season's team and are depending on character and grit to make up for experience and depth. CMU returns six letterwinners and two starters from a 6-24 team which went 2-16 in the MAC last season. Senior guard Tony Bowne, the lone holdover from Central's 2003 championship squad is second on the team in scoring at 12.7 ppg. Junior guard Kevin Nelson leads the team at 17.2 ppg. Freshman point guard Giordan Watson has quarterbacked the Chippewas since day one and is third on the team scoring at a 12.3 points per game clip along with leading the team in assists averaging 5.2 apg. In the paint, 6-8, senior forwards Steve Harris and Tom Pantlind take on the heavy lifting for the Chippewas. Harris averages 7.2 points and leads the team at 6.7 rebounds per game and Pantlind contritbutes with 5.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per contest.
The Series
This is the first meeting between the two schools. Minnesota holds an 12-2 advantage over Mid-American Conference schools (including vacated games). The last time Minnesota played a MAC school was 1998 when they defeated Eastern Michigan, 65-58, at Willliams Arena.
What's Next
Minnesota continues its homestand Wednesday vs. Chicago State. The game will not be televised and will begin at 7 p.m.
