University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Open 76 Classic against Butler
11/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
2009 76 Classic - Anaheim Convention Center: Minnesota will open the third-annual 76 Classic against the No. 10/12 ranked Butler Bulldogs on Thanksgiving night. The Gophers are the first Big Ten team to take part in the classic.
The Gophers will play either UCLA or the University of Portland in the second round on Nov. 27. The final round will take place on Sunday, Nov. 29. The entire tournament can be seen on either ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.
Joining the Gophers, Bulldogs, Bruins and Pilots in the tournament will be Clemson, Long Beach State, Texas A&M and West Virginia. The Mountaineers enter the tournament as the No. 8 ranked team in the nation in the most recent polls, the highest among all participants.
Minnesota opened the season on Nov. 13 with an 87-50 win over Tennessee Tech, in what was Tubby Smith's 600th career game as a head coach. They followed that up with a 40-point victory (82-42) over Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 16, and a 76-51 victory over Utah Valley. Smith's career record entering the 76 Classic is 432-170 (.718).
About the Golden Gophers:
- Minnesota has a combined record of 25-2 under Tubby Smith in regular-season non-conference games, including a perfect 12-0 record to start the 2008-09 season.
- Under Tubby Smith, Minnesota is 20-0 in regular season non-conference games at Williams Arena. Dating back to the 2006-07 season under Jim Molinari, Minnesota has won 22 consecutive non-conference regular season home games.
- Smith is 31-8 (.795) overall at Williams Arena during his two-plus seasons at Minnesota.
- Minnesota is allowing just 59.2 points per game at Williams Arena under Smith (39 games). The Gophers allowed just 58.4 ppg at the Barn in 2008-09 in 18 games and 62.2 in 2007-08. Under Smith, opponents have only reached 70 points eight times in 39 games (21% of the time).
- The Gophers were led a season ago by guard Lawrence Westbrook. He averaged a career-high 12.6 ppg. He also established career-highs in average minutes played (24.1), field-goal percentage (.430) and free-throw percentage (.833).
- Guard Devoe Joseph led Minnesota during the exhibition season with a 19.5 ppg average.
- Gopher freshmen Justin Cobbs and Rodney Williams made their collegiate debuts on Nov. 13 against Tennessee Tech. Williams scored 14 points in 21 minutes played, while Cobbs was scoreless in seven minutes.
About the Bulldogs:
- Butler is located in Indianapolis, Ind., and is a member of the Horizon League.
- Butler is coached by Brad Stevens (Third Season).
- The Bulldogs come into the 76 Classic with a perfect 3-0 record, with wins over Davidson, Northwestern and Evansville.
- The Bulldogs are led by sophomore forward Gordon Hayward, who is averaging a team-high 15.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.
- Butler plays its home games at Hinkle Fieldhouse, which was built the same year as Williams Arena (1928).
Series History:
- This will be the third meeting between the two schools. Minnesota has won both of the pervious matchups; 77-56 on Dec. 9, 1971 at Williams Arena, and a 79-68 triple-overtime victory on Dec. 22, 1973 at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
- Tubby Smith has never faced Butler as a head coach.
- Smith is 2-0 all-time versus teams in the Horizon League (1-0 vs. Valparaiso and 1-0 vs. Wright State).
Winning Big: Minnesota started the season with lopsided victories over Tennessee Tech (87-50), Stephen F. Austin (82-42) and Utah Valley (76-51) for an average margin of victory of 34 points. This is the largest average margin of victory in the team's first three games since the 1976-77 team won its first three games by a margin of 34.33.
Gophers in the Polls:
- Minnesota will head to the 76 Classic as the 16th and 22nd ranked team, respectively, in the ESPN/USA Today and AP polls. The ESPN/USA Today ranking of No. 16 is the highest Minnesota has been since it was also ranked 16th during the 1998-99 season (12/29/98 - 1/9/99).
- The Gophers began the 2009-10 season as the 18th and 25th ranked team in the nation, according to the ESPN/USA Today AP polls, respectively.
- The Gophers were last listed among the nation's best in a preseason poll prior to the 2002-03 season when they began as the 24th ranked team in the nation. That season, Minnesota spent the first eight weeks in the polls and reached as high as 17.
- The Gophers were nationally-ranked for seven-straight weeks last season, reaching as high as 17th in the ESPN/USA Today poll (Jan. 12).
- The Gophers hadn't been ranked for seven consecutive weeks since the 1998-99 season. Minnesota reached as high as #16 that season.
- The Gophers entered the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls last season as the No. 23 ranked team in the country on Dec. 22, the first time they have been ranked since the 2002-03 season.
- Prior to that, 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 was ranked for six consecutive weeks to start the 2002-03 season.
Second Half Bursts: Minnesota's first three contests this season can be described as the "tale of two halves". The team has looked sluggish early in both games, but in each instance has returned from the locker room on fire.
Opponent First Half Second Half
Tennessee Tech 37 pts; 42.9 FG% 50 pts; 67.9 FG%
Stephen F. Austin 26 pts; 45.5 FG% 56 pts; 61.3 FG%
Utah Valley 32 pts; 34.3 FG% 44 pts; 53.6 FG%
