University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Look to Tame Wildcats at Williams
1/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Minnesota vs. Northwestern: The Minnesota Golden Gophers and Northwestern Wildcats meet for the first time this season on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at Williams Arena. The game is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network with Dave Revsine and Bob Ford on the call.
The Gophers lost to the Wildcats by nine points last season (Jan. 18) at Welsh-Ryan Arena, but have won the last two matchups, 72-45 on Feb. 22, 2009 at Williams Arena and 66-53 on March 12, 2009 at the Big Ten Tournament.
Northwestern comes to the Twin Cities fresh off of a 73-68 victory over Illinois in Evanston on Jan. 23.
About the Golden Gophers:
- Golden Gopher head coach Tubby Smith's all-time record stands at 441-177 (18th Season), while his Minnesota record is 54-32 (Third Season)
- The Gophers are among the nation's leaders in many statistical categories. As of the NCAA's most recent stats (Jan. 24), Minnesota is seventh in turnover margin (5.1), eighth in steals per game (10.2), eighth in assists per game (17.6), 12th in blocked shots (6.4), 14th in assist turnover ratio (1.37), 18th in defensive field goal percentage (38.5), and 19th in scoring margin (13.6).
- Individually, Blake Hoffarber is second in the nation in 3-point FG percentage (.486), while Al Nolen is 10th in assist turnover ratio (2.96) and 23rd in steals per game (2.4). Also, Damian Johnson joins Nolen on the steals list, as he sits 28th nationally with 2.3 spg.
- Minnesota leads the Big Ten Conference in defensive field goal percentage (.385), blocked shots (122: 6.4 bpg) and steals (194: 10.2 spg).
- Blake Hoffarber is averaging a career-high 11.1 ppg this season and is shooting .522 (72-138) from the field and .486 (51-105) from three-point land, also career highs.
- Hoffarber is averaging 14.4 ppg and is shooting .594 (60-101) from the field and .541 (40-74) from behind the arc over the last 12 games. Lawrence Westbrook is close behind at 13.9 ppg, while shooting .516 from the field.
- Westbrook leads Minnesota in scoring for the season with a career-high 13.4 points per game. He joined the Gophers' 1,000 point club with a pair of free throws in the second half against Michigan State on Jan. 23. He enters the Northwestern game with 1,006 career points.
- Ralph Sampson III is the Gophers' leading rebounder at 6.0 boards per game. He missed two Big Ten Conference games (at Iowa & at 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 38-9 (.809) 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 (47 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 47 games at the Barn (21% of the time).About the Wildcats:
- Bill Carmody is in his 10th season as the head coach at Northwestern.
- Northwestern split its games last week, losing to Ohio State, 76-56, in Columbus, and defeating the University of Illinois, 73-68, in Evanston.
- The Wildcats boast a starting lineup with three double-digit scorers, led by sophomore forward John Shurna at 17.2 points per game. Shurna also leads the team in rebounding at 6.7 rebounds per game.Series History:
- Minnesota is 88-57 against Northwestern all-time. The series dates back to 1909.
- The Gophers and Wildcats have played six times in the Tubby Smith era, three times each in 2008 & 2009. The third matchup each season took place during the Big Ten Tournament.
- The Gophers are 52-17 against the Wildcats in Minneapolis.
- Minnesota holds a record of 679-731 all-time within the Big Ten Conference.
- Tubby Smith is 5-1 against Northwestern as a head coach.
