University of Minnesota Athletics
South Dakota State Up Next for the Gophers
12/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
South Dakota State Up Next for the Gophers
Minnesota will look to continue the perfect start to the 2008-09 season, as they play host to South Dakota State on Dec. 10 at Williams Arena. The contest will mark the Gophers fifth straight tilt at the friendly confines of “The Barn”.
About the Golden Gophers:
- Minnesota is a perfect 8-0 to start the 2008-09 season, the best start to a season since the 1976-77 Gopher squad began 11-0.
- The Gophers are led by junior guard Lawrence Westbrook, who is averaging a career-high 14.4 ppg. Most recently, Westbrook contributed 17 points and five
assists in a win over Cornell.
- Gopher freshman forward Ralph Sampson is coming off of a 10 point, six rebound effort in a career-high 23 minutes against Cornell.
About the JackRabbits:
- South Dakota State is coached by Scott Nagy (13th Season)
- SDSU is 4-5 after a 85-76 loss to Summit rival Oral Roberts on Dec. 6.
- The JackRabbits are led by junior guard Garrett Callahan (18.6 ppg) and sophomore graud Clint Sargent (13.7 ppg).
Series History:
- Minnesota leads the all-time series 11-0.
- The first meeting between the schools took place during the 1930-31 season. The Gophers won 59-21.
- The Gophers are 49-1 all-time against teams that have played in the Summit League.
Running Wild
Minnesota found themselves down 12 points at halftime Dec. 6 against Cornell, the largest halftime deficit for the Gophers this season. But Minnesota came out of the lockerroom and used a 38-6 run from the 15:19 mark to the 1:28 mark to secure their eight win of the season. The Gophers outscored the Big Red 43-14 overall in the second half.
Minnesota established seven significant runs in the second half of the Cornell game alone.
Run Timeframe
13-0 15:19-10:09
25-2 15:19-4:43
38-6 15:19-1:28
12-0 9:21-4:43
25-4 9:21-1:28
13-1 4:15-1:28
10-0 2:51-1:28
Great Starts
The Gophers have begun the 2008-09 season with eight straight victories, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since beginning the 1976-77 season with 11 straight wins. Further, Tubby Smith has won his first eight games of the season for the first time in his illustrious career.
Best Gopher Beginnings w/out a Loss
Season Start Final Record
1901-02 15-0 15-0
1902-03 13-0 13-0
1918-19 13-0 13-0
1948-49 13-0 18-3
1916-17 11-0 17-2
1976-77 11-0 24-3
1938-39 10-0 14-6
1972-73 9-0 21-5
1906-07 8-0 10-2
1975-76 8-0 16-10
2008-09 8-0 ---
Keep Shooting Young Man
Junior guard Lawrence Westbrook has finished games with double-digit shot attempts in five of the seven games he has played this season. The Gophers are 5-0 in those games and 9-5 overall in the Westbrook/Gopher tenure when this is accomplished. Also, Minnesota is 15-9 all-time when Westbrook scores in double-figures, including 6-0 this season.
Increased Role
Junior Travis Busch has seen an increased role in his junior season. After netting just 21 points as a sophomore, Busch has already doubled his point output through just eight games and established new career-highs for points (8), rebounds (6), steals (3) and minutes (23). Busch, one of the Gophers most versatile players, has seen action at just about every position on the floor.
Freshman Scorers
Freshman center Colton Iverson scored 20 points against Eastern Washington on Nov. 26 and in doing so joined his teammate Blake Hoffarber as the only true freshmen to score 20 or more points in a game since Kris Humphries did so during the 2003-04 season. Humphries finished his freshman season with 20 games of 20 or more points to tie Mychal Thompson (1976-77) for the all-time Gopher record.
Hoffarber made the list last season when he scored a career-high 21 points against Colorado State (12/8/07).
20-POINT GAMES BY A GOPHER FRESHMAN
Player (Season) Points Opponent (date)
Colton Iverson (2008-09) 20 E. Washington (11/26)
Blake Hoffarber (2007-08) 21 Colorado St. (12/8)
Stat Sheet Filler
Minnesota forward Damian Johnson has started his junior campaign where he left off his sophomore season, by filling up the stat sheet. Last year, Johnson played in all 34 games (6 starts) and finished sixth on the team in scoring at 7.1 ppg, second on the team in rebounding at 4.7 rpg, led the team in blocks with 46 (1.4 bpg) and had the second most steals (59, 1.7 spg), which was fifth-most in the conference.
After missing the team’s first three games with a broken bone in his left hand, Johnson started and played 21 minutes against Colorado State (11/22) and contributed six points, five rebounds, five assists, three blocks and one steal. Against Eastern Washington (11/26), he contributed 11 points, two assists, two blocks and two steals and similarly, he scored 11 points, dished out a career-high six assists, swiped four balls and blocked three shots against North Dakota State (11/29). Against Virginia (12/2) in the 2008 Big Ten /ACC Challenge, Johnson contributed six points, six rebounds, three assists, three blocks and three assists in 33 minutes. Most recently, he scored 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting, dished out four assists, grabbed three rebounds, blocked two shots and recorded one steal in only 19 minutes against Cornell (12/6).
For the season, Johnson is averaging 9.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.6 blocks and 2.2 steals per game.
Sharp Shooter
Sophomore guard Blake Hoffarber is quickly working his way up Minnesota's three-point field goal charts. He was 2-of-4 from long-range in Saturday’s 71-54 win vs. Cornell, making him 17-of-41 (.415) this season.
Last year, Hoffarber connected on 70-of-164 (.427) three-point attempts. His total of 70 ranks fourth for the most treys in a single season at Minnesota. Hoffarber has made multiple three-pointers in 24 career games, and the Gophers own a record of 18-6 when that happens. Also, the Gophers are 7-1 when Hoffarber connects on at least four or more shots from behind the arc.
His career three-point field-goal percentage of .424 (87-205) is second all-time in Gopher history. Ray Gaffney (1986-89) holds the record with a percentage of .450 (50-111).
In 2007-08, Hoffarber broke the Gophers’ mark for three-pointers by a freshman, which was set by Voshon Lenard (51) in 1991-92.
