University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Look to Break Losing Streak at Michigan State
12/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Minnesota at Michigan State:
- The Minnesota Golden Gophers are back on the road to take on the Michigan State Spartans on Friday, Dec. 31 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. The game is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. (Central) and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
- Minnesota, 0-3 under Tubby Smith at the Breslin Center, have not returned home from East Lansing with a victory since the 1989-90 season (not counting vacated games). The Gophers won 79-74 and were led by Walter Bond with 15 points and Richard Coffey with nine rebounds. That team reached the NCAA Elite 8, eventually losing to Georgia Tech 91-93.
- Minnesota had lost eight straight contests to the Spartans prior to outlasting MSU 72-67 in overtime in the second round of the 2010 Big Ten Tournament. Devoe Joseph led the Gophers in that contest with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
- Minnesota Lost both matchups during the 2010 conference season, 53-60 on Jan. 13 at the Breslin Center and 64-65 on Jan. 23 in Minneapolis. Kalin Lucas hit a jumper with second remaining to win the Jan. 23 contest.
- The Gophers dropped their Big Ten opener 68-60 in Madison on Tuesday. Minnesota has not started Big Ten play with two consecutive losses in the Tubby Smith era.
- Golden Gopher Head Coach Tubby Smith's all-time record stands at 461-186 (20th Season), while his record at Minnesota is 74-41 (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 eight double-doubles on the season: 11 pts & 11 rbs at Wisconsin (12/28); 13 pts & 13 rbs vs. Akron (12/15); 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 eight 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 is second in the Big Ten Conference in rebounding at 9.9 rebounds a game to go along with 13.1 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 12.1 points per game and 25.7 minutes in six games played. He lead the team with 14 points and seven assists in the Big Ten opener at Wisconsin.
- Senior Blake Hoffarber leads the team in scoring at 13.8 points per game and is also dishing out a team-high 4.7 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 1,023 points.
- Sampson III is fourth on the team in scoring at 11.7 points per game, leads the team with 2.0 blocks per game and is second in rebounding at 6.1 rebounds per game.
- Sampson comes into the game against Michigan State with 129 career blocks. That is good for ninth all-time on the Gophers' list.
- The Gophers are tied for the Big Ten Conference lead in blocked shots and are fourth in the league in steals through 13 games. They have swatted 72 shots for an average of 5.54 bpg and swiped 107 balls for an average of 8.23 spg. Minnesota has led the conference in both categories the last two seasons.
About the Spartans:
- Tom Izzo is in his 16th season as the head coach at Michigan State. He has guided the Spartans to six NCAA Final Four's and the 2000 NCAA Championship. MSU lost to Butler in the 2010 NCAA National Semifinals.
- The Spartans have been off since dropping a game to Texas on Dec. 22 in East Lansing.
- This is the Big Ten opener for the Spartans.
- Guard Durrell Summers leads the team in scoring at 15.5 ppg while forward Draymond Green averages a team-high 9.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists. The lineup also boasts the 2009 Big Ten Player of the Year Kalin Lucas, a senior guard.
Series History:
- Minnesota is 54-51 against Michigan State all-time. The series dates back to 1943.
- The Gophers won the last matchup, 72-67 in overtime at the 2010 Big Ten Tournament.
- Minnesota's last regular-season win in the series was 69-55 on Feb. 11, 2006 at Williams Arena.
- The Gophers are 32-18 against the Spartans in Minneapolis, 20-32 in East Lansing and 2-1 at a neutral site.
- Minnesota holds a record of 689-738 all-time within the Big Ten Conference.
- Tubby Smith is 3-11 against Michigan State as a head coach.
Players Mentioned
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