University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers take No. 8 Seed into Big Ten Tourney
3/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Gophers take No. 8 Seed into Big Ten Tournament
Minnesota will be the No. 8 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and face No. 9 Northwestern on Thursday afternoon at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Minnesota is the No. 8 seed for the second time (1998).
The Gophers have never reached the Big Ten championship game but have reached the semifinals three times, including last season.
The Gophers are 5-5 all-time in Big Ten Tournament first round games and 8-11 overall.
Minnesota is facing Northwestern for the fourth time in the Big Ten Tournament, making the Wildcats the most-played opponent for the Gophers with Illinois at four total meetings. This is also the second straight year the two will face each other in the first round of the Tournament. Minnesota is 2-1 against the Wildcats in Big Ten Tournament action, including a 54-50 win in the 6-11 game last year.
About the Golden Gophers:
The Gophers are led by junior guard Lawrence Westbrook, who is averaging a career-high 12.4 ppg. Westbrook has scored in double-figures in 22 of the 29 games he has played this season. Minnesota is 16-5 this season when Westbrook reaches double-figures and 9-2 when he leads the team in scoring.
Junior Damian Johnson is averaging 13.7 points, 3.7 steals and 1.7 blocks per game over the last three games entering the Big Ten Tournament. Johnson is also shooting .529 (18-34) over the three games. Johnson had 12 points, four steals and two blocks in the regular season finale against Michigan.
For the season, Johnson leads the team in blocks (56, 2.1 bpg) and minutes played (27.0), is second in scoring (9.4) and steals (55, 2.0 spg) and is third on the team in rebounding average (4.1).
Gopher sophomore Al Nolen leads the team with 132 assists and is currently 20 dimes short of 10th on Minnesota’s career all-time assists list. He comes into the regular-season finale game with 248 career assists (4.0 apg).
Nolen has 30 career games with one turnover or less, and Minnesota is 24-6 in those games. Nolen is fifth in the Big Ten Conference with 4.5 apg and is fourth in the conference with a 2.36 assist/turnover ratio.
Minnesota has 11 players averaging at least 10 minutes per game. Those 11 players are also averaging at least 3.6 points per game.
Minnesota vs. Northwestern, Series History:
Minnesota leads the all-time series 87-57.
Minnesota is 2-1 against the Wildcats in Big Ten Tournament play.
The teams split the season series with each winning on their home courts. The Gophers won 72-45 at home and lost 74-65 in Evanston.
Tubby’s Tourneys
Head Coach Tubby Smith has had great success in conference tournament action. He holds a 30-11 (.732) all-time mark in tourney play. He has won five conference tournaments, all at Kentucky (1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004). He has won at least one game in 13 of 15 conference tournaments. His Kentucky Wildcats did not win a game in 2000 and 2002. Smith guided the Gophers into the Big Ten Tournament semifinals in his first season in Minneapolis, picking up wins over #11 Northwestern and #3 Indiana.
Twenty for Tubby
With the win over Northwestern on Feb. 22, Tubby Smith secured his 16th straight 20-win season, the longest active streak in the nation and the third-longest streak in NCAA history. Smith’s streak began in 1994 and has stretched across four institutions (Tulsa, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota). Smith has never had a losing season and his teams have reached the postseason every year since 1994.
Winning and more Winning
Minnesota has posted consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time in school history (not including vacated games). (Clem Haskins won 20 or more games for six straight seasons from 1992-1998).
Minnesota’s 41 combined victories between 2007-08 and 2008-09 is the most in back-to-back seasons since compiling a school record 42 between 1988-89 and 1989-90 (42 also recorded from 1980-82).
Minnesota’s 21 regular season wins is the second-most in school history behind the 24 victories in 1976-77.
Minnesota reached 20 total wins for just the ninth time in school history.
Steady Improvement
Minnesota is one of only three Big Ten teams to improve in the win column each of the last two years, joining Penn State and Michigan State.
Team 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09
Minnesota 3-13 8-10 9-9
Penn State 2-14 7-11 10-8
Michigan State 8-8 12-6 15-3
