University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Ready for Big Ten Road Test
1/1/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Minnesota at Iowa: The Minnesota Golden Gophers will take to the road for the first time in a month, as they enter the New Year with a matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Jan. 2. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network with Mike Crispino and Tim Doyle on the call. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
The Gophers are in the midst of a six-game win streak, all coming at the friendly confines of Williams Arena. Minnesota took the streak to six games with a 75-70 victory over Penn State in the Big Ten opener at The Barn. The Hawkeyes (5-8, 0-1) are coming off of a close loss to #4 Purdue, 67-56, in their Big Ten opener on Dec. 29 in Iowa City.
The Gophers and Hawkeyes have met only twice since the the end of the 2006-07 season. Minnesota won both of those contests, 63-50 at Williams Arena during the 2008 conference schedule and 52-49 last season at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
About the Golden Gophers:
- Golden Gopher Head Coach Tubby Smith's all-time record stands at 439-173 (18th Season), while his Minnesota record is 52-28 (Third Season)
- The Gophers are currently sixth in the country in assists (18.3 apg), seventh in turnover margin (6.38), 10th in scoring margin (20.4), 11th in steals (10.8 spg) and 13th in blocks (6.9 bpg)
- The Gophers enter the contest against the Hawkeyes having won six in a row by an average of 27.5 points per game.
- The Gophers are averaging 89.7 points during the six-game win streak.
- Blake Hoffarber is averaging a career-high10.9 ppg this season and is shooting .521 (50-96) from the field and .486 (36-74) from three-point land, also career highs.
- Hoffarber is averaging 17.3 ppg and is shooting .581 (25-43) from behind the arc during the six-game win streak. Lawrence Westbrook is close behind with 16.0 ppg, while shooting .587 from the field.
- Westbrook leads Minnesota in scoring for the season with a career-high 14.2 points per game. He is coming off a 29-point effort in the Gophers' Big Ten opening win over Penn State. Westbrook enters the contest 65 points away from 1,000 for his career
- Ralph Sampson III is the Gophers' leading rebounder at 5.9 boards per game.
- The Gophers went 8-0 this season at Williams Arena during the non-conference schedule. Under Smith, Minnesota is 25-0 in regular season non-conference games at the Barn. Dating back to the 2006-07 season under Jim Molinari, Minnesota has won 27 consecutive non-conference regular season home games.
- Smith is 37-8 (.822) overall at Williams Arena during his two seasons at Minnesota.
- Minnesota is allowing just 59.6 points per game at Williams Arena under Smith (45 games). The Gophers allowed just 58.4 ppg at the Barn in 2008-09 in 19 games and 62.2 in 17 games during the 2007-08 season. Under Smith, opponents have only reached 70 points 10 times in 45 games at the Barn (22% of the time).
About the Hawkeyes:
- Todd Lickliter is in his 3rd season as the head coach at Iowa.
- Sophomore guard Matt Gatens leads the team in scoring at 12.8 ppg.
- Junior forward Jarryd Cole leads the team in rebounding at 5.8 rpg.
- The Hawkeyes are coming off of a 67-56 loss to Purdue in their Big Ten opener on Dec. 29.
Series History:
- Minnesota is 91-81 against Iowa all-time. The series dates back to 1902.
- The teams will play a home-and-home series this season for the first time since the 2006-07 season.
- The Gophers have won the last two games against the Hawkeyes. Prior to that, Iowa went on a three-game win streak against the locals.
- The Gophers are 36-47 against the Hawkeyes away from Williams Arena.
- Minnesota holds a record of 678-727 all-time within the Big Ten Conference.
- Tubby Smith is 3-1 against Iowa as a head coach, 2-0 while at Minnesota.
