University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Play Host to St. Joe's on Saturday
12/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Minnesota vs. St. Joseph's
Minnesota welcomes St. Joseph's to Williams Arena on Saturday, Dec. 12, in what is the Gophers' third game of their six-game homestand. The game, scheduled for 3:00 p.m. (Central), will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
The Hawks (3-5) are making their first trip to the Twin Cities, and the Barn, since the 1963 season. That year, Minnesota defeated St. Joe's, 69-63. The two schools met again during the 1965-66 season in the Quaker City Tournament in Philly. The Hawks won that game 91-66.
About the Golden Gophers:
- Golden Gopher head coach Tubby Smith's all-time record stands at 435-173 (18th Season), while his Minnesota record is 48-28 (Third Season)
- Minnesota is led by senior co-captain Lawrence Westbrook, who is averaging a team-high 12.6 ppg. He enters the contest 135 points away from 1,000 for his career.
- Fellow senior co-captain Damian Johnson leads the team in minutes played (26.0) and blocks (2.0 bpg).
- Sophomore Ralph Sampson III is the team's leading rebounder at 6.1 rpg.
- Colton Iverson recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds Nov. 26 against Butler and followed that up with a 14 point, 12 rebound performance against Texas A&M on Nov. 29. The 12 boards are a career-high for the Yankton, S.D. native.
- Junior Blake Hoffarber collected his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds Dec. 5 against Brown. He followed that with a season-high 18 points against Morgan State on Dec. 8.
- Minnesota has a combined record of 30-7 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 22-0 in regular season non-conference games at Williams Arena. Dating back to the 2006-07 season under Jim Molinari, Minnesota has won 23 consecutive non-conference regular season home games.
- Smith is 33-8 (.800) 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 (41 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 41 games at the Barn (19.5% of the time).
- 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 Hawks:
- The Hawks are coached by Phil Martelli (15th Season).
- St. Joseph's is a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
- The Hawks are coming off a 97-89 loss Dec. 9 to fellow Philly natives Villanova at the Palestra.
- Senior guard Darrin Govens is averaging a team-high 13.0 points per game.
- Sophomore center Todd O'Brian is leading the Hawks in rebounding at 5.9 rebounds per game.
Series History:
- Third meeting: Gophers won 69-63 during the 1963-64 season and St. Joe's defeated the Gophers 91-66 during the 1965-66 season. Minnesota was ranked ninth and the Hawks were eighth heading in to the '65 matchup.
- The Gophers are 12-7 all-time against teams from the A-10. Minnesota hasn't faced an A-10 team since the 2003-04 season. That year, the Gophers defeated Duquesne 74-69 at Williams Arena.
- Tubby Smith has never faced St. Joseph's as a head coach.
- Smith is 4-2 all-time versus teams in the Atlantic 10.
(0-1 vs. Dayton, 1-0 vs. George Washington, 1-1 vs. UMass, 1-0 vs. St. Bonaventure, 1-0 vs. St. Louis)
