University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Face High Point in Final Nonconference Tilt
12/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Gophers Face High Point in Final Nonconference Tilt
The Gophers will stay at Williams Arena and conclude the non-conference portion of their schedule by hosting High Point on Dec. 28. High Point is the alma-mater of Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith. The Gophers will not leave Williams Arena until a Jan. 8 tilt with the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City.
About the Golden Gophers:
- Minnesota is a perfect 11-0 to start the 2008-09 season, the best start to a season since the 1976-77 Gopher squad also started the season 11-0.
- The Gophers are led by junior guard Lawrence Westbrook, who is averaging a career-high 13.0 ppg. Most recently, Westbrook scored 15 points and dished out three assists against Southeastern Louisiana.
- Gopher sophomore Blake Hoffarber scored 15 points against Southeastern Louisiana, nine of which came from behind the arc. Hoffarber finished the game 3-of-4 from 3-point land and is 24-of-52 (.462) from behind the arc for the season and 94-of-216 (.435) for his career.
- Gopher junior Travis Busch came off the bench to score a career-high 13 points and tie a career-high with six rebounds while playing a career-high 25 minutes against Louisville. Busch logged 11 minutes and scored six points in the Dec. 23 game against Eastern Louisiana.
- The 23rd ranked Golden Gophers haven’t faced another team while ranked since the No. 25 locals faced the No. 5 ranked Oregon Ducks on in Eugene on Dec.22, 2002. Minnesota lost the game 90-81.
About the Panthers:
- High Point is coached by Bart Lundy (11th Season, Sixth at High Point).
- The Panthers are 4-7 this season with wins over Atlanta Christian, Montreat College, North Carolina Central and Limestone College.
- High Point is led by junior guard Eugene Harris (13.5 ppg) and freshman guard Nick Barbour (10.5 ppg).
Series History:
- This will be the first meeting between the two schools.
- Tubby Smith is also 3-0 all-time against his alma-mater, all coming while at Kentucky.
- Tubby Smith is 9-0 all-time against teams that belong to the Big South Conference: 3-0 vs. High Point, 2-0 vs. Winthrop, 1-0 vs. Charleston Southern, 1-0 vs. Liberty, 1-0 vs. UNC-Ashville and 1-0 vs. VMI.
- The Gophers are 2-0 all-time against teams that belong to the Big South Conference, 2-0 vs. UNC-Ashville and 1-0 vs. Coastal Carolina.
Gophers Enter the Polls
- The 11-0 Gophers are nationally-ranked for the first time since 2002, as they entered the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls as No. 23 ranked team in the country. Minnesota earned the ranking with a 70-64 victory over No. 9 Louisville on Dec.20.
- The Gophers were last ranked in the AP poll on December 17, 2002 (No. 25) and December 9, 2002 in the ESPN/USA Today poll (No. 25). Minnesota is one of just 10 unbeaten teams remaining in the country. Minnesota was ranked for six consecutive weeks to start the 2002-03 season.
- The victory over Louisville was the first win over a top 10-ranked opponent since Feb. 9, 200 when Minnesota beat No. 9 Indiana 77-75.
- Including Minnesota's win over No. 22 Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament last season, the Maroon and Gold has won consecutive games over ranked opponents for the first time since 2006.
- The win over Louisville was also the first over a ranked opponent away from Williams Arena since March 23, 1990 when Minnesota defeated No. 6 Syracuse in the NCAA Southeast Regional in New Orleans (not including vacated games).
- Minnesota is one of five ranked teams from the Big Ten Conference, joining Purdue (AP 10, ESPN 15), Michigan State (11/18), Ohio State (15/13) and Michigan (24/NR).
At Home in New Home
- Under Tubby Smith, Minnesota is 16-0 in regular season non-conference games at Williams Arena. Dating back to the 2006-07 season under Jim Molinari, Minnesota has won 18 consecutive non-conference regular season home games.
- Smith is 22-6 (.786) overall at Williams Arena during his two seasons at Minnesota.
- Minnesota is allowing just 61.1 points per game at Williams Arena under Smith (28 games). The Gophers are allowing just 60.9 ppg at the Barn in 2008-09 through nine games. Under Smith, opponents have only reached 70 points six times in 28 games (21% of the time).
Gophers Show Depth
Twelve of the Gophers 13 players played at least one minute in the Dec. 23 victory over Eastern Louisiana. In the same game, four Gopher players played at least 24 minutes. For the season, seven Minnesota players are averaging at least 17 minutes a game, led by sophomore guard Al Nolen, who is logging 30.5 minutes a contest.
Still Perfect
The Gophers are one of only 10 teams that remain perfect on the 2008-09 season. Fellow Big Ten Conference member Ohio State joins Minnesota on the list. The Gophers haven’t been undefeated this late in a season since 1976-77.
Undefeated Teams
School Record
Clemson 12-0
Oklahoma 12-0
Pittsburgh 12-0
North Carolina 11-0
Minnesota 11-0
Illinois State 11-0
Wake Forest 11-0
Connecticut 10-0
Ohio State 9-0
Stanford 8-0
