University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Set to Face Ohio State
2/6/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Gophers Head to Columbus to Face the Buckeyes
The Gophers head back out on the road, as they travel to Columbus, Ohio to face the Ohio State Buckeyes at Value City Arena. Minnesota won the series opener over the Buckeyes at Williams Arena this season on Jan.3 but have had trouble in Columbus. Not counting vacated games, the Gophers are 2-8 in their last 10 trips to Columbus. Minnesota’s last win over the Buckeyes on their home court came on Jan. 19, 2005 60-56 in overtime.
The matchup is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT and can be seen on the Big Ten Network with Craig Coshun and former OSU great Jim Jackson on the call. Charissa Thompson is the third member of the BTN crew and will handle sideline duties.
About the Golden Gophers:
- The Gophers are led by junior guard Lawrence Westbrook, who is averaging a career-high 13.5 ppg. Westbrook scored a game-high 15 points against Illinois (1/29) and has now scored in double-figures in 18 of the 20 games he has played this season, including a career-high 29 points in the overtime victory at Wisconsin on Jan. 15. Minnesota is 15-3 this season when Westbrook reaches double-figures and 8-1 when he leads the team in scoring.
- Gopher sophomore Al Nolen leads the team with 110 assists and is currently 42 dimes short of 10th on Minnesota’s career all-time assists list. He comes into the OSU game with 226 career assists (4.1 apg).
- Nolen has 27 career games with one turnover or less, and Minnesota is 22-5 in those games. Nolen is fourth in the Big Ten Conference with 5.0 apg and is second in the conference, and 10th in the nation with a 2.89 assist/turnover ratio.
- Freshman Ralph Sampson established career-highs with eight rebounds, six blocks and 30 minutes played to go along with 13 points against Indiana (1/25). He added 10 points, seven rebounds and tied a career-high with three assists while playing a career-high 31 minutes against Illinois (1/29). He has started the last 14 games.
About the Buckeyes:
- Ohio State is coached by Thad Matta (8th Season).
- The Buckeyes are 16-5 this season and 6-4 in Big Ten Conference play.
- The Buckeyes are coming off a 82-70 overtime victory over Purdue in Columbus on Feb. 3.
- Ohio State has defeated four ranked teams this season (Miami, Notre Dame, Michigan, Purdue) and has won six of their last 10 against ranked foes.
- The reigning NIT Champions are led by sophomore guard/forward Evan Turner (17.0 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and freshman guard Williams Buford (11.9 ppg).
Series History:
- Ohio State leads the all-time series 75-48.
- The Gophers won the first game of the 2008-09 series 68-59 at Williams Arena, thanks to 15 points by Lawrence Westbrook and 12 points, six rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocks from Damian Johnson. OSU’s Evan Turner led all scorers with 21.
- Minnesota and Ohio State split the season series in 2007-08 with both teams holding court at home.
-Tubby Smith is 2-1 all-time against OSU.
- Tubby Smith is 31-23 all-time against teams that belong to the Big Ten Conference.
- The Gophers have a 673-721 all-time record against teams that belong or have belonged to the Big Ten Conference.
Gophers in the Polls
- The 18-3 Gophers are nationally-ranked for the seventh-straight week, as they sit 19th and 19th, respectively, in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls.
- The Gophers haven’t been ranked for seventh 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 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 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 four ranked teams from the Big Ten Conference, joining Michigan State (AP 13, ESPN 14), Purdue (12/13) and Illinois (23/21).
Gophers Big Ten Conference Start
- Minnesota is 6-4 in the Big Ten for the first time since 2004-05.
- Minnesota started Big Ten Conference play 4-1 and have only done so 15 times since the Big Ten began basketball in 1905-06. However, this was just the Gophers fourth 4-1 start since 1948-49.
- Minnesota won four straight Big Ten games for the first time since 2004-05 when Dan Monson's Gophers won the final four games of the regular season. The Gophers also won four consecutive conference games during the 2002-03 and 2001-02 seasons.
