Gophers Face No. 22/21 Louisville Sunday at 2 p.m. in Subway Classic Finale

Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
vs.
Louisville Cardinals (1-1, 0-0 Big East)

LOCATION Williams Arena (14,625) - Minneapolis, Minn.
DATE / TIME: Sun., Nov. 18 / 2 p.m.
TELEVISION: none
RADIO / WEBCAST: KBEM-FM-88.5, KRDS 95.5 /
Gopher Radio Network / gophersports.com
Corbu Stathes (play-by-play), Lynnette Sjoquist (analyst)

Golden Gopher Watch List Nov. 18, 2007
Gophers Faces No. 22/21 Louisville in Subway Classic Finale - Minnesota plays host to No. 22/21 Louisville in the finale of the Subway Classic on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Subway Success - Minnesota has captured the Subway Classic title in six of the last seven seasons. Brittany McCoy earned all-tournament team honors at last year’s Classic.
Harper Scores in Double Figure For Third Straight Game - Sophomore Zoe Harper has scored in double digits in all three games of the 2007-08 season.
Busy Schedule For the Gophers - Including Friday’s game versus Western Carolina, Minnesota plays six games in a span of 10 days, featuring two games in the Subway Classic, a non-conference tile versus North Dakota State on Tuesday, then three games in consecutive days at the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Tournament over Thanksgiving weekend.

Minnesota Hosts No. 22/21 Louisville
Minnesota continues play in the Subway Classic on Sunday, Nov. 18, facing No. 22/21 Louisville at 2 p.m. in Williams Arena. The Golden Gophers (3-0) defeated Western Carolina in the Classic opener on Friday, while the Cardinals (1-1) dropped a 77-72 decision to Western Carolina on Saturday.

Eight Straight Title-Game Appearances For Gophers
Minnesota will make its eighth-straight appearance in the Subway Classic title game. The Gophers captured six titles before their streak was snapped last season in a loss to Middle Tennessee State.

Quality Field For 2007 Subway Classic
The 2007 Subway Classic field features three teams that advanced to postseason play last season. Louisville advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, while Minnesota and Western Carolina competed in the WNIT.

Different Classic Format in 2007
A three-game round-robin will be used to contest the Subway Classic this season. A fourth team dropped out of the field late in the scheduling process. Efforts to fill the vacancy were unsuccessful forcing the decision to move to a round-robin format.

Subway Classic History
Minnesota plays host to its 26th early-season tournament, dubbed the Subway Basketball Classic for the sixth season. Past names of the tournament include the Four Points Sheraton Classic, Regal Classic, Minnesota Classic, the Dial Basketball Classic and the Golden Gopher Classic.

The Golden Gophers have captured the title in the tournament the six of the last seven seasons. Last year, Minnesota streak of six straight titles was snapped by a 79-61 loss to Middle Tennessee in the title game.

Minnesota has won its tournament 12 times with the Gophers’ streak of six straight titles from 2000-06 their longest. The 2000 championship was Minnesota's first Classic title since 1993. The Gophers have captured 12 Classic MVP awards, including three by Lindsay Whalen and two each by Laura Coenen and Carol Ann Shudlick.

McCoy Returns as Subway All-Tourney Selection
Minnesota sophomore Brittany McCoy was selected to the Subway Classic All-Tournament Team a year ago as a freshman. She was the first Gopher rookie named to the tourney’s honor squad since Lindsay Whalen earned the honor in 2000. Whalen went on to capture four straight Subway Classic all-tournament team honors.

Got Any ASU Tapes?
Arizona State defeated UC Riverside and then Louisville in the first and second rounds of the 2007 NCAA Tournament, respectively. Minnesota defeated the Highlanders in the season opener and now face the challenge of playing the Cardinals in the third game of the season.

A Familiar Face Returns to Williams Arena
Louisville head coach Jeff Walz was an assistant coach on Brenda (Oldfield) Frese’s 2001-02 Golden Gopher staff. Walz is in his first season at Louisville.

Pan American Teammates Square Off on Sunday
Minnesota’s Emily Fox and Louisville Angel McCoughtry were teammates on the U.S. team that captured the gold medal in the Pan American Games in Brazil last summer.

Early-Season Success a Norm
Minnesota has been 3-0 to start the season in five of Pam Borton’s sixth years at Minnesota. In three of those seasons, including the 2005-06 and 2006-07 campaigns, the Gophers continued on to 4-0.

RPI Indicates a Strong Field Too
Early-season RPI indicates the Subway Classic should be a competitive one. Louisville checks in with a RPI rating of No. 8, according to CollegeRPI.com. Minnesota comes in at No. 27, while Western Carolina is No. 42.

Tipping It Up Fast and Furious
Friday’s game versus Western Carolina kicked off the Gophers’ busiest portion of their 2007-08 schedule. Minnesota will play six games in a span of 10 days, featuring two games in the Subway Classic, a non-conference tile versus North Dakota State on Tuesday, then three games in consecutive days at the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Tournament over Thanksgiving weekend.

Defending Their Home Court in The Barn
Williams Arena is one of the toughest places to play in for opposing teams in the nation. During Pam Borton’s coaching tenure, the Golden Gophers have compiled an impressive 30-3 (90.9%) record in games against nonconference opponents. The three blemishes on the Gophers’ record are a loss to then-No. 1 ranked LSU in December of 2004 and losses to Middle Tennessee and South Dakota State last season. The 30-3 record includes a 4-0 mark in the NCAA Tournament.

Ohm Makes Big Impact Versus Western Carolina
It is a bit unusual for a player to make an impact the combination of three-point field goals and rebounding, but that is exactly the kind of game sophomore Katie Ohm enjoyed in the win over Western Carolina. Ohm netted three big treys, while working the boards for a career-high 10 rebounds.

A Different Double Rebounder Every Game
Minnesota has finished with a different player with double-figures in rebounding in each of its first three games this season. Korinne Campbell started the streak with 11 versus UC Riverside, followed by Ashley Ellis-Milan’s 13-rebound performance against Northern Iowa. Katie Ohm extended the streak with 10 rebounds versus Western Carolina.

Ellis-Milan Getting to the Line
Starting center Ashley Ellis-Milan has done an excellent job of getting to the free throw line so far this season. Ellis-Milan has made a team-best 19 trips to the charity stripe, converting at a 75.7 percent clip.

Learning Lessons in Close Games
The Gophers’ non-conference games are geared toward preparing a team for a grueling Big Ten season. Last season, seven of the Gophers’ league games came down to a difference of four points or less. So, the experience of playing in a close game may pay big dividends later on. The Gophers’ 70-67 win over Western Carolina was highlighted by 17 lead changes and eight ties.

Harper Extends Streak to Three Games
Zoe Harper gets the early nod for most improved player honors this season after posting career highs twice and double-figure performances in this young season. Harper scored 10 points versus UC Riverside, then bettered that with a career-high 11 against Northern Iowa. She then added 10 points versus Western Carolina.

Good Grades on the Glass
Rebounding will be a key to success throughout the season for the Gophers. After three games, the Gophers have a +16.0 rebounding margin, with three players averaging over 8.0 rebounds a game - Ashley Ellis-Milan (9.0), Leslie Knight (8.7) and Korinne Campbell (8.0).

A Bit Too Offensive
Minnesota plays an aggressive, physical style of basketball. In the non-conference season that has recently resulted in the Gophers being whistled for a number of offensive fouls. The Gophers have been called for 17 offensive fouls this season, with eight being whistled in the Northern Iowa game alone. In that game six of the eight players who saw action also collected an offensive foul and the turnover that comes with it. Looking at it that way, over 30 percent (17 of 56) of the Minnesota turnovers have come as a result of offensive fouls.

Offensive Glass Domination Great, Also a Necessity
The Gophers have collected 63 offensive rebounds (21.0 per game) to just 28 (9.3) per game) for their opponents. Offensive rebounding is a skill in which the Gophers excel, but it is also a necessity until Minnesota can improve on its 39.9 percent team field goal percentage.

Gophers Win When They Score 70 Points
Though for a team with a defensive philosophy this statistic only makes sense, it’s worthy of mention nonetheless. Minnesota has won 65 straight games when the Gophers have scored 70 or more points. One has to go back to the 2003 Big Ten Tournament and an 80-77 loss to Iowa to find the last time Minnesota tallied 70 yet lost.

Gophers Receive Votes in National Poll
Minnesota continued to receive votes in the first regular-season release of the USA Today/ESPN Division I Coaches’ Poll on Nov. 13. Tennessee received 28 of the 31 first-place votes to retain the No. 1 ranking. Connecticut, Maryland, LSU and Stanford round out the top five. Three Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 25, Ohio State at No. 16, Michigan State at No. 18 and Purdue at No. 23. Penn State and Wisconsin received votes. Tennessee also holds the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25.

Looking to Add Hardware to the Trophy Case
Minnesota has captured eight titles in early-season tournaments during Pam Borton’s six-year reign at Minnesota. Four of those titles are Subway Classic championships (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005). The others were the Air Force Tournament (Colorado Springs, Colo.) in 2002-03, the Junkanoo Jam (Grand Island, Bahamas) in 2003-04, the Virginia Cavalier Classic (Charlottesville, Vir.) in 2003-04.

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