University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Face Dayton for Old Spice Classic Title
11/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2011
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Sunday, November 27, 2011
Time: 5:30 p.m. CT
Location: Orlando, Fla.
Arena: HP Fieldhouse
Television: ESPN2
Mark Jones (Play-by-Play)
Len Elmore (Analyst)
Radio: Learfield/1500 ESPN Twin Cities
Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play)
Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: Third meeting (2-0)
Series Home/Away: 1-0/1-0
Current Streak: W-2
Last Meeting: 12/16/82 - W, 71-65 at Dayton
Tubby Smith vs. Dayton: 0-1
Minnesota vs. A10: 14-8
Tubby Smith vs. A10: 6-3
GAME DAY TID-BITS:
• The Gophers and Dayton Flyers will be meeting for the third time and the first since the 1982-83 season.
• Tubby Smith is 0-1 all-time against Dayton, a 66-68 loss during the 1999-2000 season.
• Gopher associate head coach Ron Jirsa spent four seasons (1999-2003) at Dayton as the senior assistant coach for current DePaul head coach Oliver Purnell.
• Dayton head coach Archie Miller is in his first season at the hem of the Flyers. He most recently was an assistant at Arizona under his brother, Sean. he also spent two seasons as an assistant at Ohio State.
• Trevor Mbakwe won the MVP at the 2010 Puerto Rico Tipoff with tourney averages of 15.3 points & 8.7 rebounds per game. Minnesota went 3-0 in the tournament with wins over Western Kentucky, #8 North Carolina and West Virginia. Mbakwe was later named the Big Ten Conference's Player of the Week for his efforts.
• Minnesota has led the Big Ten Conference in blocked shots during the last three seasons, including three of the top four season block totals in the history of the Gopher program: a program leading 201 in 2008-09, 199 in 2009-10 and 169 last season. Senior Ralph Sampson III led the team in blocked shots last season and is currently fourth all-time in program history with 172 career swats. Minnesota has blocked 32 shots already this season, led by Trevor Mbakwe with 10.
MINNESOTA/INDIANA STATE NOTES:
• The Gophers defeated Indiana State in the semifinals in what was just the fourth meeting in the history of the two schools.
• The Gophers overcame a nine point ISU lead with just 9:18 remaining to take the victory.
• Minnesota outrebounded the Sycamores 21-8 in the second half and 38-21 for the game. The Gophers have won the rebound battle in five of their six games.
• Minnesota finished the game 8-of-15 from behind the arc. The eight makes are a season high for the Gophers as is the .533 percentage.
• Julian Welch led the team in scoring with 17, his season high, and also leads the team in scoring average in the two Old Spice Classic games (14.0 ppg).
• Freshman Andre Hollins scored a career-high 16 points against Indiana State. He also made a career-high four trey's in the game.
MINNESOTA/DEPAUL NOTES:
• The Gophers came back from 12 points down to defeat DePaul 86-85 in the opening round of the Old Spice Classic. It was the biggest comeback of the season for Minnesota.
• Junior Rodney Williams contributed a career-high 18 points in the victory. His previous career-high was 17 against Western Kentucky in the first round of the 2010 Puerto Rico Tipoff.
• Senior Trevor Mbakwe contributed his fourth double-double in five games with 16 points and 12 rebounds. The 12 rebounds gives him 51 for the season pushing his average up to 10.2 on the season. He averaged a double-double last year with 13.9 points & 10.5 rebounds.
• Junior Julian Welch contributed his first double-digit game as a Gopher with 11 points, nine of which came in the second half.
• Sophomore Chip Armelin scored six points and snatched a career-high six rebounds to provide a spark off the bench.
• Minnesota's bench outscored DePaul's bench 43-19, led by Welch's 11.
GOPHERS AND IN-SEASON TOURNAMENTS:
• The Gophers have a combined record of 72-40 in in-season tournaments, dating back to the Chicago District Olympic Tournament during the 1935-36 season.
• Minnesota went 3-0 to capture the Puerto Rico Tipoff title last season. The Gophers' wins came against Western Kentucky, No. 8 North Carolina and West Virginia in the championship. Trevor Mbakwe was named the MVP of the tournament.
• Minnesota is 11-3 under Tubby Smith during in-season tournament play including a pair of victories over top-10 teams; the aforementioned victory last season over #8 UNC and a 82-73 win over #10 Butler in the 2009 ESPN 76 Classic in Anaheim.
• The most success in the history of the program in in-season tournaments came during the eight seasons in which the Gophers hosted the Pillsbury Classic from 1974-82. Minnesota never dropped a game in the history of the event, finishing 16-0.
