University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Travel to State College to Face Nittany Lions
2/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| Minnesota (17-8, 6-7) at Penn State (13-11, 6-7) | |
| Date | Thursday, February 17, 2011 |
| Time | 6 p.m. CT |
| Location | Bryce Jordan Center - 15,261 (University Park, Pa.) |
| Series Record | Minnesota leads 19-4 |
| Last Meeting | Minnesota 76, Penn State 55 (3/11/10 - Big Ten Tournament) |
| Television | ESPN (Bob Wischusen and Stephen Bardo) |
| Radio | Gopher Radio Network (Listen) | Sirius 113/XM 196 |
| Live Stats | Click Here |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Penn State |
| Season Statistics | Minnesota | Penn State |
| Social Media | Facebook | @MNGopherHoops | @CoachTubbySmith |
Minnesota at Penn State:
• The Golden Gophers will travel to State College, Pa. to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions in what is the team’s only game of the week.
• The game, scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 17 at 6:00 p.m. Central, will be broadcast by ESPN with Bob Wischusen and former University of Illinois guard Stephen Bardo on the call.
• Minnesota went 3-0 last season against Penn State. The Gophers swept the regular season series by scores of 75-70 (Dec.29 at Williams Arena) and 66-64 (Feb. 6 in Happy Valley). The third meeting came in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, a 76-55 victory.
• Minnesota has won six of the seven matchups with Penn State in the Tubby Smith era.
• The Gophers had won eight straight over the Lions prior to a 63-68 PSU win during the 2009 conference season at the Bryce Jordan Center.
About the Golden Gophers:
• Golden Gopher Head Coach Tubby Smith’s all-time record stands at 467-192 (20th Season), while his record at Minnesota is 80-47 (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 14 double-doubles on the season.
• Mbakwe’s 14 double-doubles are tied for 10th 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. He has four 16-rebound games this season.
• Mbakwe leads the team and the Big Ten Conference in rebounding at 10.4 rebounds a game to go along with 13.6 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.
• Mbakwe’s 10.4 rebound average is 14th best in the country.
• Sophomore Rodney Williams contributed the first double-double of his career with 12 points and 10 rebounds against Akron (12/15).
• Williams led the team with seven rebounds and five assists at Iowa (2/13).
• Senior Blake Hoffarber leads the team lead in scoring with a career-high 13.9 points per game and is also dishing out a career and team-high 3.8 assists per game.
• Hoffarber has played the most career games against Penn State with seven and is averaging 9.3 ppg in those games and shooting .529 (18-34) from the three-point line, also team-highs.
• 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 1,191 points.
• Sampson III is third on the team in scoring at 10.7 points per game, leads the team with 2.12 blocks per game and is second in rebounding at 5.6 rebounds per game.
• Sampson put together seven straight double-digit scoring games earlier this season (1/16-2/10), the longest streak in his Gopher career.
• Sampson contributed his fourth career double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds against Illinois (2/10). It was his second of the season.
• Sampson tied a career-high with seven blocks against Iowa (1/16). He comes into the game against Penn State with 156 career blocks, sixth all-time on the Gophers’ list. He is second in the Big Ten Conference this season with a 2.12 blocks per game average.
• The Gophers lead the Big Ten Conference in blocked shots and are second in the league in steals through 25 games. They have swatted 144 shots for an average of 5.76 bpg and swiped 181 balls for an average of 7.24 spg. Minnesota has led the conference in both categories the last two seasons.
• The Gophers also lead the conference in Rebounding Offense (39.0), Offensive Rebounds per game (13.48), Defensive Rebounds per game (25.48) and Rebounding Margin (+5.3).
About Nittany Lions:
• Ed DeChellis is in his eighth season as the head coach at Penn State University, his alma mater. He holds a career record of 213-227 in this his 15th season.
• The Nittany Lions come into the game following a 65-41 victory on Sunday at home against Northwestern.
• PSU’s lineup boasts a trio of double-digit scoring averages in guard Talor Battle (20.4 ppg) and forwards Jeff Brooks (13.6 ppg) and David Jackson (10.4). Battle’s average is just shy of JaJuan Johnson for the Big Ten lead.
• Brooks leads the team in rebounding at 7.0 rpg and Tim Frazier is the team’s assist leader at 4.8 apg.
Series History:
• Minnesota holds a 19-4 record against Penn State all-time. The season series dates back to 1993 when PSU became the 11 Big Ten school.
• Minnesota and Penn State did meet once prior to that, an 86-70 Gopher victory on Dec. 26, 1975 at Williams Arena.
• Minnesota went 3-0 last season against Penn State. They swept the regular season series by scores of 75-70 on Dec.29 at Williams Arena and 66-64 on Feb. 6 in Happy Valley. Lawrence Westbrook tied a career-high with 29 points in the game at the Barn and hit a buzzer-beater at the Bryce Jordan Center for the two-point win on Feb. 6.
• The third meeting came in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament. Minnesota was able to secure a 76-55 victory.
• Tubby Smith is 6-2 against Penn State as a head coach, including 6-1 while at Minnesota.
• Minnesota holds a record of 695-744 all-time within the Big Ten Conference.
