University of Minnesota Athletics
Postgame Notes
12/23/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Minnesota Team Notes
Tubby Smith moved to 30-14 as the head coach of Minnesota, and 417-159 for his career.
Smith improved to 2-0 vs. Southeastern Louisiana with tonight’s victory. The win also was the second for the Gophers over the Lions in two meetings.
Minnesota is now 5-0 against the Southland Conference.
Minnesota’s 11-0 start is the best by Tubby Smith in his 18 years as a head coach.
The 11-0 Golden Gophers are off to their best start since the 1976-77 squad opened with the same record.
Minnesota’s win tonight was its first as a ranked team since the then-No. 25 Gophers defeated Fairleigh Dickinson, 104-66, on Dec. 13, 2002.
Minnesota is one of 16 teams in the nation that are undefeated at this point in the season (Stanford plays at Santa Clara later tonight on the West Coast).
Minnesota’s starting lineup of guards Al Nolen, Jamal Abu-Shamala, forwards Damian Johnson and Ralph Sampson III and center Colton Iverson started their second game together and improved to 2-0 on the year. The group also opened the South Dakota State Game.
Minnesota’s 40 first-half points marked just the second time this year that the Gophers reach the 40-point mark during the opening 20 minutes. The Gopher’s scored a season-high 47 first-half points vs. Eastern Washington.
The Gophers’ 80 points were it third-most this season and their highest point total this December.
Minnesota’s eight 3-point field goal were one off a season high and the most since canning eight vs. NDSU. The Gophers were also one away from a season low in turnovers, committing just 10.
The Gophers’ 28 rebounds were a season-low and Minnesota’s fewest since grabbing 19 at Colorado State. Minnesota was also outrebounded for the third consecutive game.
SE Louisiana’s 27 field goals tied a season-high by a Gopher opponent (NDSU also had 27), while its 17 assist were the most by a Minnesota foe this year.
Minnesota’s bench contributed 46 points to SE Louisiana’s 14. The Gophers’ bench has now outscored the opposition in 9 of 11 games this year.
Ten of the 12 Gophers who played scored.
Individual Player Notes
After being held just two points vs. Louisville on Saturday, Lawrence Westbrook exploded for 15 points to equal his second-highest scoring total of the season. He entered the game averaging a team-best 12.8 ppg.
Westbrook had two three-pointers made in the game. It was the ninth time in 10 games this year he has made a three-point field goal.
Blake Hoffarber and Damian Johnson also equaled their second-highest point totals of the season. Hoffarber hit the 15-point mark for the second straight contest after entering the game averaging 8.7 points per contest. Johnson reached twin figures for the fifth time in eight games played.
Johnson also registered two blocked shots and three steals and has now had at least one of each in every game this season.
Paul Carter made his first appearance in six contests as a late-game substitution. It was his first playing time since he suffered a sever ankle sprain vs. Eastern Washington.
Al Nolen paced all players with eight assists, his third-most this year.
