University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers are Back Home Against Indiana
1/3/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Minnesota vs. Indiana:
- Following a two-game road trip to start the Big Ten season, the Minnesota Golden Gophers are back home and will play host to the Indiana Hoosiers on Tuesday, Jan. 4 at Williams Arena. The game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN2 with Dave O'Brien and Dan Dakich on the call.
- The Gophers and Hoosiers split the season series last year, with both teams winning in their home building.
- Minnesota was down by as many as 15 points on Jan. 17 in Bloomington and needed a Devoe Joseph 10-footer with seconds remaining to put the game into overtime. Indiana outscored the Gophers 11-8 in the extra session to gain the 81-78 victory. Joseph led the Gophers with 19 points and Ralph Sampson III chipped in with 17. Indiana's Verdell Jones III played 40 of the game's 45 minutes and finished with a game-high 24 points.
- The Gophers won game two of the series 81-58 on Feb. 20 at Williams Arena. Minnesota shot a red-hot 55.4 percent (31-for-56) overall and 9-for-20 (.450) from beyond the arc, led by Lawrence Westbrook with 20 points. Ralph Sampson III chipped in with 11 points, eight rebounds and five assistsIndiana's Devin Dumes matched Westbrook's 20 to lead the Hoosiers.
- Golden Gopher Head Coach Tubby Smith's all-time record stands at 461-187 (20th Season), while his record at Minnesota is 74-42 (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 13.4 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 11.2 points per game and 25.1 minutes in eight 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 13.6 points per game and is also dishing out a team-high 4.6 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 1,035 points.
- Sampson III is third on the team in scoring at 11.4 points per game, leads the team with 2.0 blocks per game and is second in rebounding at 5.9 rebounds per game.
- Sampson comes into the game against Indiana with 131 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 fifth in the league in steals through 14 games. They have swatted 76 shots for an average of 5.43 bpg and swiped 110 balls for an average of 7.86 spg. Minnesota has led the conference in both categories the last two seasons.
About the Hoosiers:
- Tom Crean is in his third season as the head coach at Indiana. He came to Bloomington after nine seasons at the helm of the Marquette program. He went 190-96 at Marquette, taking the Golden Eagles to five NCAA Tournaments and the 2003 Final Four.
- The Hoosiers have also begun the Big Ten Conference season with back-to-back losses.
- This is the first Big Ten Conference road game for the Hoosiers.
- Sophomore forward Christian Watford leads the team in scoring and rebounding at 17.2 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game. Junior guard Verdell Jones III is second on the team with a 12.2 points per game average.
Series History:
- Minnesota is 61-87 against Indiana all-time. The series dates back to a 34-7 Gopher victory in1912.
- The Gophers and Hoosiers split the season series in 2009-10, both holding court at home. Indiana won 81-78 on Jan. 17 in Bloomington while Minnesota won 81-58 Feb. 20 at Williams Arena.
- The Gophers are 43-62 all-time against Indiana in Minneapolis.
- Minnesota holds a record of 689-739 all-time within the Big Ten Conference.
- Tubby Smith is 12-5 against Indiana as a head coach, 4-3 since coming to Minnesota.
Players Mentioned
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