University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Face South Dakota State Wednesday Night at Williams Arena
12/11/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
GOPHERS/JACKRABBITS PREVIEW
Minnesota is 10-0 against South Dakota State all-time. The Gophers handled the Jackrabbits last season, 77-53 at Williams Arena. Dan Coleman had a career game with 28 points, six rebounds and five assists as the Gophers shot 56 percent from the field. Minnesota is 48-1 all-time against schools from the Summit League, already defeating North Dakota State last week.
The Gophers have played very well against the Jackrabbits the last two seasons, both Minnesota victories. Spencer Tollackson is 14-19 from the field (.737) and is averaging 15.5 points. Coleman is 14-38 from the floor against SDSU and is averaging 17 points per game in two contests with the Jacks. Jon Williams had one of his better games against SDSU in 2005, scoring eight points on 4-4 shooting and adding nine rebounds. Both totals were career-highs at the time.
SDSU (3-5) is led by sophomore forward Kai Williams, who is averaging 15.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 33.0 minutes played per game.
BENCH BONANZA
Minnesota’s bench has provided a big punch this season, outscoring its opponents in each of the seven games this year. The Gophers hold a cumulative 244-107 bench scoring edge on its foes including a 30-1 advantage over Iowa State on Nov. 20, a 27-4 advantage over UC Riverside on Dec. 1, a 41-7 edge over North Dakota State on Dec. 3 and a 44-27 margin against Colorado State.
A Gopher has scored at least nine points off the bench in every game, led by Blake Hoffarber’s 21 points against Colorado State. Lawrence McKenzie’s scored 20 points off the bench against Iowa State; Damian Johnson came off the pine for 12 points against Army; Hoffarber scored 12 off the bench against Florida State while Hoffarber and Johnson chipped in with 13 and 12 points, respectively, off the bench against UC Riverside. Al Nolen had 15 to lead the Gophers against NDSU.
BIG WINS
Minnesota has already racked up three 30+ point victories just six games into the 2007-08 season. The last time Minnesota won three games by 30 or more points in a season was 1991-92 when the Gophers posted five 30+ point wins.
With a 37-point victory over UC Riverside on Dec. 1 and a 38-point win over North Dakota State on Dec. 3, the Gophers won consecutive games by more than 30 points for the first time since 1991 when Minnesota posted a 95-54 win over Howard on Nov. 30 and a 98-59 win over Youngstown State on Dec. 2.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
At this time last year, the Gophers were 2-5 but that is not the only major difference between the two seasons. Minnesota is averaging 15.1 more points per game this season (77.7-62.6) while allowing 7.5 points less per game (58.9-66.4).
FRESHMAN FIRE
Minnesota has relied heavily on its two freshmen, Al Nolen and Blake Hoffarber in the early part of the season. Nolen has tied for or led the Gophers in assists in five of the six games and has recorded 18 steals, which ranks him first overall in the Big Ten at 2.6 thefts per game. Nolen is also tied for fifth in the Big Ten in assists at 4.0 assists per game and holds the sixth-best three-point percentage in the Big Ten at .471.
Hoffarber scored a season high 21 points, hitting 6-of-11 three pointers, off the bench Dec. 8 against Colorado State. He also came off the bench to contribute 13 points Dec. 1 against UC Riverside and 10 points againstNorth Dakota State. The Hopkins native is fourth on the team in scoring at 10.4 ppg and has the seventh-best three-point percentage in the Big Ten at .463.
