University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Head to East Lansing to Battle Spartans
1/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Minnesota at Michigan State: The Minnesota Golden Gophers once again hit the road after a brief one-game homestand to take on the Michigan State Spartans on Wednesday, Jan. 13 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. The game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. (Central) and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
The Gophers have begun the 2010 conference schedule 3-1 for the second-consecutive season, but are still looking up at the Spartans. MSU is 3-0 in the conference, with wins over Northwestern, Wisconsin and Iowa.
Minnesota, 0-2 under Tubby Smith at the Breslin Center, has not returned home from East Lansing with a victory since the 1989-90 season (not counting vacated games). The Gophers were led in that game by Walter Bond with 15 points and Richard Coffey with nine rebounds. That team reached the NCAA Elite 8, eventually losing to Georgia Tech, 93-91.
About the Golden Gophers:
- Golden Gopher head coach Tubby Smith's all-time record stands at 441-174 (18th Season), while his Minnesota record is 54-29 (Third Season)
- The Gophers are among the nation's leaders in many statistical categories. As of the NCAA's most recent stats (Jan. 10), Minnesota is sixth in steals per game (11.2), sixth in turnover margin (6.1), eighth in assists per game (17.9), 14th in scoring margin (16.8), 15th in blocked shots (6.4) and 17th in assist-turnover ratio (1.38) Individually, Blake Hoffarber is second in the nation in 3-point FG percentage (.521), while Al Nolen is eighth in assist-turnover ratio (3.04) and 16th in steals per game (2.6).
- The Gophers are averaging 84.1 points over the last nine games, and 78.9 ppg overall.
- Minnesota leads the Big Ten Conference in defensive field goal percentage (.384), blocked shots (102: 6.4 bpg) and steals (179: 11.2 spg).
- Blake Hoffarber is averaging a career-high 12.2 ppg this season and is shooting .545 (66-121) from the field and .521 (49-94) from three-point land, also career highs.
- Hoffarber is averaging 17.6 ppg and is shooting .643 (54-84) from the field and .603 (38-63) from behind the arc over the last nine games. Lawrence Westbrook is close behind at 14.3 ppg, while shooting .516 from the field.
- Westbrook leads Minnesota in scoring for the season with a career-high 13.6 points per game. He enters the contest 32 points away from 1,000 for his career.
- Ralph Sampson III is the Gophers' leading rebounder at 5.9 boards per game. He played 17 minutes against Ohio State (1/9) after missing two games (Iowa & Purdue) with a sprained right ankle.
- 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 38-8 (.826) overall at Williams Arena during his two-plus seasons at Minnesota.
- Minnesota is allowing just 59.7 points per game at Williams Arena under Smith (46 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 46 games at the Barn (22% of the time).
About the Spartans:
- Tom Izzo is in his 15th season as the head coach at Michigan State. He has guided the Spartans to five NCAA Final Four's and the 2000 NCAA Championship.
- The Spartans have started 3-0 in conference play with wins over Northwestern, Wisconsin and Iowa.
- MSU boasts a starting lineup with three double-digit scorers, led by junior guard Kalin Lucas at 15.6 points per game. He is the reigning Big Ten Conference Player of the Year.
Series History:
- Minnesota is 53-49 against Michigan State all-time. The series dates back to 1943.
- The Gophers have lost the last six matchups with the Spartans. Minnesota's last win in the series was 69-55 on Feb. 11, 2006, at Williams Arena. The Gophers haven't been victorious in East Lansing since a 79-74 win on Feb. 1, 1990 (not counting vacated games).
- The Gophers are 32-17 against the Spartans in Minneapolis, 20-37 in East Lansing and 1-1 at a neutral site.
- Minnesota holds a record of 679-728 all-time within the Big Ten Conference.
- Tubby Smith is 2-9 against Michigan State as a head coach.
