University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Back Home to Face Spartans
2/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| Michigan State (15-11, 7-7) at Minnesota (17-9, 6-8) | |
| Date | Tuesday, February 22, 2011 |
| Time | 8 p.m. CT |
| Location | Williams Arena - 14,625 (Minneapolis, Minn.) |
| Series Record | Minnesota leads 54-52 |
| Last Meeting | Michigan State 71, Minnesota 62 (12/31/10) |
| Television | Big Ten Network (Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson) |
| Radio | Gopher Radio Network (Listen) | Sirius 122/XM 143 |
| | (Mike Grimm and Spencer Tollackson |
| Live Stats | Click Here |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Michigan State |
| Season Statistics | Minnesota | Michigan State |
| Social Media | Facebook | @MNGopherHoops | @CoachTubbySmith |
Minnesota vs Michigan State:
• The Golden Gophers will be at the friendly confines of Williams Arena all week against the two teams from the State of Michigan. Up first are the Michigan State Spartans.
• The game, scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 22 at 8:00 p.m. Central, will be broadcast by the Big Ten Network with Gus Johnson and former Ohio State All-American Jim Jackson on the call.
• Minnesota dropped the first meeting against Michigan State this season 71-62 on New Years Eve Day. Trevor Mbakwe led the Gophers with 17 points and nine rebounds. Durrell Summers had 19 for MSU.
• The Gophers last regular-season win in the series occurred at Williams Arena on Feb. 11, 2006. Minnesota’s last win over MSU was a 72-67 (OT) victory in the second round of the 2010 Big Ten Tournament.
• Senior guard Blake Hoffarber comes into the game against Michigan State with 1,209 career points, 20th on Minnesota’s Career Scoring list. He passed his former teammate Lawrence Westbrook (1,199 points) at Penn State and will have an opportunity to surpass Jim McIntyre (1,223 points) and Melvin Newbern (1,224 points).
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 15 double-doubles on the season.
• Mbakwe’s 15 double-doubles are tied for 11th 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 13.7 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 14.0 points per game and is also dishing out a career and team-high 4.0 assists per game.
• Hoffarber has played the most career games against Michigan State with nine and is averaging 7.0 ppg in those games.
• 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 1,209 points.
• Sampson III is third on the team in scoring at 10.6 points per game, leads the team with 2.04 blocks per game and is second in rebounding at 5.5 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 2.04 blocks per game average.
• The Gophers lead the Big Ten Conference in blocked shots and are third in the league in steals through 26 games. They have swatted 145 shots for an average of 5.58 bpg and swiped 181 balls for an average of 6.96 spg. Minnesota has led the conference in both categories the last two seasons.
• The Gophers also lead the conference in Field Goal Percent Defense (.396), Rebounding Offense (38.8), Offensive Rebounds per game (13.31), Defensive Rebounds per game (25.46) and Rebounding Margin (+5.6).
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 are coming off a 61-57 victory over Illinois on Feb. 19 in East Lansing. Kalin Lucas scored a game-high 25 points in the win.
• Lucas, a senior guard and 2009 Big Ten Player of the Year, leds the team in scoring at 16.2 ppg. Forward Draymond Green averages a team-high 8.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists to go along with 12.8 ppg. The lineup also boasts senior guard Durrell Summers. He is third on the team in scoring at 12.5 ppg.
Series History:
• Minnesota is 54-52 against Michigan State all-time. The series dates back to 1943.
• The Gophers are 32-18 all-time against the Spartans in Minneapolis.
• Michigan State won the first meeting 71-62 back on Dec. 31. Trevor Mbakwe led Minnesota with 17 points and nine rebounds. Durell Summers paced the Spartans with a game-high 19 points.
• The Gophers’ last win in the series came in the 2010 Big Ten Tournament, 72-67 in overtime.
• Minnesota’s last regular-season win in the series was 69-55 on Feb. 11, 2006 at Williams Arena.
• Tubby Smith is 3-12 against Michigan State as a head coach.
• Minnesota holds a record of 695-745 all-time within the Big Ten Conference.
