University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Head to Iowa City to Face the Hawkeyes
1/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Gophers Head to Iowa City to Face the Hawkeyes
The Gophers hit the road for the first time in the Big Ten Conference portion of the schedule, as they head to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes. Both the Gophers and Hawkeyes sit at 1-1 in the standings after the first week of conference play.
About the Golden Gophers:
- The Gophers are led by junior guard Lawrence Westbrook, who is averaging a career-high 13.0 ppg. Most recently, Westbrook scored a game-high15 points in Minnesota’s win over Ohio State on Jan. 3.
- Gopher junior forward Damian Johnson continued to show his versatility as he again filled out the score sheet with12 points, six rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocks against Ohio State. Johnson is leading the Big Ten Conference with 2.4 spg, is second with 2.5 bpg, is second with a .566 FG% (47-83) and fourth with a 2.5 assist/turnover ratio.
- Gopher sophomore Blake Hoffarber is 29-of-67 (.433) from behind the arc for the season and 99-of-231 (.429) for his career, the second best percentage in Gopher Basketball history.
About the Hawkeyes:
- Iowa is coached by Todd Lickliter (8th Season, 2nd at Iowa).
- The Hawkeyes are 11-4 this season with non-conference losses to West Virginia and Boston College.
- The Hawkeyes are coming off a 65-60 victory over Indiana in Iowa City in their Big Ten Conference home opener.
- Iowa is led by guards Matt Gatens (10.7 ppg, .542 3-PT%) and Jeff Peterson (10.1 ppg, 4.0 apg, .500 FG%).
Series History:
- Minnesota leads the all-time series 91-81.
- Minnesota won the only matchup a season ago 63-50 at Williams Arena, thanks to double-figure scoring from four Gophers. Guard Al Nolen led the Gophers with 11 points and a then career-high eight assists. Damian Johnson chipped in with nine points and seven rebounds.
- This will be the only regular-season matchup between the two schools.
-Tubby Smith is 2-1 all-time against Iowa.
-Tubby Smith is 26-20 all-time against teams that belong to the Big Ten Conference
- The Gophers have a 668-718 all-time record against teams that belong or have belonged to the Big Ten Conference. gophers in the polls
- The 13-1 Gophers are nationally-ranked for the third straight week, as they sit 22nd and 19th, respectively, in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls. They entered the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls as the No. 23 ranked team in the country on Dec.22, the first time they have been ranked since the 2002-03 season.
- 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 9 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.
- The win over Louisville was 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 9, ESPN 11), Michigan State (10/15), Ohio State (24/23) and Michigan (23/24).
Tubby Trends
In just a season and a half under Tubby Smith, Minnesota has followed some pretty significant winning trends:
- 30-1 when leading with 5:00 remaining
- 27-0 when leading at the half
- 24-4 when outrebounding its opponent
- 23-1 when scoring 70 points or more
- 21-2 when attempting more free throws than its opponent
At Home in a New Home
- Under Tubby Smith, Minnesota is 17-0 in regular season non-conference games at Williams Arena. Dating back to the 2006-07 season under Jim Molinari, Minnesota has won 19 consecutive non-conference regular season home games.
- Smith is 23-6 (.793) overall at Williams Arena during his two seasons at Minnesota.
- Minnesota is allowing just 61.7 points per game at Williams Arena under Smith (29 games). The Gophers are allowing just 61.1 ppg at the Barn in 2008-09 through 12 games. Under Smith, opponents have only reached 70 points seven times in 29 games (24% of the time).
Unmatched Depth
Minnesota's depth is unmatched in the Big Ten Conference this season.The Gophers are the only team with 11 players averaging at least 3.5 points per game (Michigan is the only team with 10 players). Minnesota also has 11 players averaging at least 10 minutes per game of action. Michigan has 10 players while four others have nine. Minnesota and Illinois are the only teams to have nine players averaging 2.0 rebounds per game.
