Gophers Host South Dakota State on Thursday

Minnesota vs. South Dakota State: 
Minnesota will play host to the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Thursday, Dec. 23 at 7:00 p.m. at Williams Arena. The game will be the final non-conference contest for both teams.

The Gophers will open the Big Ten season on Dec. 28 against the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison.
Minnesota and South Dakota State have met a total of 12 times in each school's history, dating back to a 59-21 Gopher victory during the 1930-31 season.
The Gophers lead the all-time series 12-0, including a 92-62 victory last season. Hoffarber paced Minnesota with 16 points.
The matchup is the final game of a three-game roadtrip for the Jackrabbits, who come into the game with a record of 8-3. SDSU defeated Central Michigan 72-69 on Dec. 20.

About the Golden Gophers:

Golden Gopher Head Coach Tubby Smith's all-time record stands at 460-185 (20th Season), while his record at Minnesota is 73-40 (Fourth Season).
Ralph Sampson III & Trevor Mbakwe both collected a double-double on Nov. 12 against Wofford. It was the first time since 2005 that a pair of Gophers finished with a double-double in the same game (Jonathan Williams - 11 points, 10 rebounds; Vincent Grier - 15 points, 10 rebounds vs. Iowa)
Mbakwe has a total of seven double-doubles on the season: 12 pts & 16 rbs at St. Joseph's; 12 pts & 16 rbs vs. Cornell; 18 pts & 11 rbs vs. Virginia on Nov. 29; 10 pts & 11 rbs vs. Siena on Nov. 15; 18 pts & 10 rbs vs. Western Kentucky on Nov. 18; 14 pts & 10 rbs vs. Wofford on Nov. 12.
Mbakwe's seven double-doubles are tied for sixth nationally.
Mbakwe contributed back-to-back 16 rebound games this season against Cornell and St. Joseph's. His 16 boards against Cornell (12/4) were the most by a Gopher since Zack Puchtel pulled down 15 against Michigan in the first round of the 2006 Big Ten Tournament.
Mbakwe leads the team and the Big Ten Conference in rebounding at 10.5 rebounds a game to go along with 13.7 points per game. Mbakwe was named the Most Outstanding Player at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off and Big Ten Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 15-21.
Sophomore Rodney Williams contributed the first double-double of his career with 12 points and 10 rebounds against Akron (12/15).
Junior guard Devoe Joseph made is 2010-11 debut against Virginia and started his first game of the season at St. Joseph's. He is averaging 11.7 points per game and 26.0 minutes in five games played.
Senior Blake Hoffarber leads the team in scoring at 14.8 points per game and is also dishing out a team-high 4.9 assists per game.
Hoffarber became the 36th Gopher player to reach the 1,000 point plateau with his sixth point against Akron (12/15). He currently sits at 1,007 points.
Sampson III is fourth on the team in scoring at 11.2 points per game, leads the team with 2.1 blocks per game and is second in rebounding at 6.0 rebounds per game.
Sampson comes into the game against SDSU with 126 career blocks. That is good for ninth all-time on the Gophers' list.
The Gophers lead the Big Ten Conference in blocked shots and steals through 11 games. They have swatted 65 shots for an average of 5.90 bpg and swiped 100 balls for an average of 9.10 spg. Minnesota has led the conference in both categories the last two seasons.

About the Jackrabbits:

Scott Nagy is in his 16th season as the head coach of the Jackrabbits and owns a 278-181 record.
South Dakota State is coming off of a two-game trip to Michigan. The Jackrabbits dropped a game to Western Michigan 77-74 on Dec. 18 and defeated Central Michigan 72-69 on Dec. 20.
SDSU went 14-16 in 2009-10 and finished 10-8 in Summit League action.
Nate Wolters leads the team in scoring at 18.9 ppg while Clint Sargent is contributing 13.5 points per game. Sargent has 1,183 points, 19th most in the history of the SDSU program.
The Jackrabbits opened the season with six-straight wins, including a victory over Iowa, 79-69, in Iowa City.

Series History:

Minnesota is 13-0 against South Dakota State all-time.
The border rivals are meeting for the sixth-straight year with each game falling in December.
The Gophers and Jackrabbits also played on December 23 in 2005 and 2009.
The Gophers are 68-1 all-time against teams currently in the Summit League.
(1-0 vs. Centenary; 2-0 vs. Chicago State; 1-0 vs. Missouri-Kansas City; 25-1 vs. North Dakota State; 3-0 vs. Oral Roberts; 14-0 vs. South Dakota; 13-0 vs. South Dakota State; 1-0 vs. Valparaiso; 4-0 vs. Western Illinois; 4-0 vs. Youngstown State)
Tubby Smith is 4-0 against SDSU as a head coach.
Smith is 12-0 all-time versus teams in the Summit.
(1-0 vs. IUPUI, 3-0 vs. North Dakota State, 5-0 vs. Oral Roberts, 3-0 vs. South Dakota State)

Upcoming Events

Players Mentioned

Blake Hoffarber

Devoe Joseph

Trevor Mbakwe

Ralph Sampson III

Rodney Williams