University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Face Purdue in Semifinal
3/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Gophers Face #2 Purdue in Semifinal:
- Minnesota, the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, will face No. 2 seed and sixth-ranked Purdue in a semifinal matchup at the Big Ten Tournament on March 13 at approximately 3:15 p.m. (CT) at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
- Minnesota is a No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament for the third time (1999-2002-2008) and holds a 5-3 record.
- The Gophers are now 8-5 all-time in Big Ten Tournament first round games and 11-12 overall following wins over 11th-seeded Penn State (76-55) and third-seeded Michigan State (72-67 in OT).
- Tubby Smith is 33-12 in conference tournament action as a head coach and is 5-2 at Minnesota. He has won at least one game in 16 of 18 conference tournaments.
- The Gophers are facing the Boilermakers for the third time in the history of the Big Ten Tournament. Minnesota lost to Purdue, 91-77, on March 8, 2001, and defeated the Boilers, 63-52, on March 11, 2004.
- This will be the third meeting of the season between the Gophers and Boilermakers. Minnesota lost both matchups during the regular season, 79-60 on Jan. 5 at the Mackey Arena, and 59-58 on Feb. 24 in Minneapolis. About the Golden Gophers:
- Golden Gopher Head Coach Tubby Smith's all-time record stands at 449-182 (18th Season), while his record at Minnesota is 62-37 (Third Season)
- The Gophers are among the nation's leaders in many statistical categories. As of the NCAA's most recent stats (Through games of March 11), Minnesota is 5th in assists per game (17.1), 8th in three-point FG percentage (.404), 15th in assist turnover ratio (1.37), 19th in blocked shots (5.6), 21st in field goal percentage (.477), 37th in both field goal percentage defense (.400) and scoring margin (+9.6), and 38th in steals per game (8.1).
- Individually, Blake Hoffarber leads the nation in 3-point FG percentage (.481) and 70th in three-point field goals per game (2.5). Also, Damian Johnson is first in the Big Ten Conference and sits 59th nationally with 1.9 steals per game.
- Through last night's games, Minnesota leads the Big Ten Conference in blocked shots (178: 5.6 bpg), steals (258: 8.1 spg), assists (544: 17.0 apg), three-point field goal percentage (.405), and scoring offense (73.4 ppg), while ranking second in the league for field goal percentage (.475) and defensive field goal percentage (.401) and third in offensive rebounds per game (10.9).
- Lawrence Westbrook leads Minnesota in scoring for the season with a career-high 12.7 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 Big Ten Tournament game against Purdue with 1,158 career points, which is 24th on the Gophers' all-time scoring list and just 10 points behind Michael Bauer (1,168 points during 2000-04).
- Westbrook has scored 20 or more points seven times in his Gopher career, all Minnesota wins, including a career-high 29 points in a win over Wisconsin last season and against Penn State this season at Williams Arena.
- Hoffarber is averaging a career-high 10.7 ppg this season and is shooting .513 (116-of-226) from the field and .480 (82-of-171) from three-point land, both also career highs. His 82 treys for the season is a new single-season record at Minnesota, breaking the previous mark of 79 set by Lawrence McKenzie during 2007-08.
- Hoffarber, a junior, hit two treys against Penn State in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament, and added four more against Michigan State to give him 197 for his career, which is also a Minnesota record. He passed Michael Bauer's record of 191 in the win over the Nittany Lions.
- Ralph Sampson III is the Gophers' leading rebounder with a career-high 6.1 boards per game. He has led the team in rebounding in 13 of the team's 32 games.
- Al Nolen is out for the rest of the season after being declared academically ineligible by the NCAA.
- Minnesota finished 9-9 in Big Ten Conference play for the second-consecutive season, its first back-to-back .500 or better conference seasons since 2001-02 & 2002-03.About the Boilermakers:
- Matt Painter is in his fifth season as the head coach at Purdue. He guided the Boilers to last season's Big Ten Tournament championship and a share of this season's regular season title.
- The Boilers shared the 2010 Big Ten title with Ohio State and Michigan State and come into the game ranked sixth nationally with a 27-4 record.
- Purdue is led by guard E'Twaun Moore's 17.0 ppg, while JaJuan Johnson adds 15.1 ppg and a team-high 7.2 rpg. Moore was recently named First Team All-Big Ten, while Johnson was named to the second team.
Series History:
- Minnesota is 73-86 all-time against Purdue in a series that dates back to January 25, 1904.
- The Gophers have lost the last five matchups with the Boilermakers, including a 59-58 loss on Feb. 24 at Williams Arena, and a 79-60 setback on Jan. 5 in West Lafayette.
- Minnesota's most recent win in the series was a 65-59 decision on Jan. 3, 2007 at Williams Arena.
- The Gophers are 48-29 against the Boilers in Minneapolis, 24-56 in West Lafayette, and 1-1 at a neutral site.
- Minnesota holds a record of 687-736 all-time within the Big Ten Conference.
- Tubby Smith is 2-4 against Purdue as a head coach, including 0-4 while at Minnesota. Minnesota 72, Michigan State 67 - Big Ten Tournament:
- The Gophers advance to their fourth Big Ten Tournament semifinal round, including their second in the last three seasons. Minnesota has never reached the final.
- Blake Hoffarber's second three-pointer established a new single-season Minnesota record for three-pointers. He now has 81. On Thursday, Hoffarber became Minnesota's career leader in three-pointers. Including tonight's effort, he now has 196.
- Damian Johnson's two blocks give him 61 for the season, moving him into eighth on the Minnesota single-season list in that category.
- Johnson played in his 124th career game, tying Ernest Nzigamasabo for fifth on Minnesota's games played list.
- This is the fourth year that Minnesota has been a No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The Gophers upset the No. 3 seed for the second time in the last three years, having also defeated No. 3 Indiana, 59-58, in 2008.
- Minnesota has now won six of its last eight games. The Gophers, who were second in the Big Ten in field-goal percentage defense, have held opponents to a combined .357 field goal percentage (120-for-336) in those wins.
- Lawrence Westbrook extended his streak of made free throws to 31 before missing one in overtime.
- Minnesota improved its record under Tubby Smith to 53-5 when leading at half and 56-6 with five minutes to go.
- Minnesota won for the first time in three overtime games this season.
