University of Minnesota Athletics

Elliott Eliason and the Golden Gophers welcome #11/9 Ohio State on Thursday night on ESPN2.

Game Preview: Minnesota vs. Ohio State

1/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Minnesota (13-4, 2-2) vs. #11 Ohio State (15-2, 2-2)
Date / TimeThursday, January 16 | 8 p.m.
LocationWilliams Arena - Directions
TicketsMyGopherSports.com
TravelLocal Weather | Parking | Preferred Hotels
TVESPN2 | WatchESPN
Radio1500 ESPN | Gopher Radio Network
Free AudioClick Here
Live BlogGame Day Live
Live Stats
Official SitesMinnesota | Ohio State
Social Media@GopherBBall | Facebook
Game Notes

Minnesota Get Acrobat Reader| Ohio State Get Acrobat Reader

Jan. 15, 2014

GAME INFORMATION

Date: Thursday, January 16, 2014
Time: 8:00 p.m. CT
Location: Minneapolis, Minn.
Arena: Williams Arena (14,625)
TV: ESPN2 - Joe Tessitore (Play-by-Play); Sean Farnham (Analyst)
Radio: Learfield/1500 ESPN Twin Cities - Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 85/XM 85

SERIES INFORMATION

Series: 132nd meeting (49-82)
Series (Home): 65th meeting (33-31)
Current Streak: L-6
Richard Pitino vs. Ohio State: First meeting
Minnesota vs. Big Ten: 719-763
Richard Pitino vs. Big Ten: 2-2

GAME DAY TID-BITS

• Minnesota returns home on Thursday night, continuing a stretch of Big Ten games against ranked opponents as the Gophers host Ohio State.
• The Gophers are 2-2 in Big Ten action, snapping a two-game win streak with the overtime defeat at Michigan State on Saturday.
• Minnesota is looking to stop a six-game winless skid against the Buckeyes, with the last Gopher win coming at home in 2010. Against their longtime conference rivals, Minnesota holds a 33-31 advantage at the Barn over the Buckeyes.
• Thursday's game is the third this year against a nationally-ranked opponent for the Gophers. Since last season, the Gophers are 5-8 against Top-25 opponents.
• Minnesota leads the league in steals per game (8.2) and free throw percentage (.755), while ranking fourth in three-pointers made per game (8.0), assists (14.5) and assist/turnover ratio (1.3).
• Minnesota's 3-point shooting effort against the Boilermakers on Jan. 5 was its best of the season, as the Gophers connected on 11-of-24 attempts, a season-best 45.8 percent mark and tying a season-high for made treys.
• Junior center Elliott Eliason has played well of late, as the Chadron, Neb., native posted his fourth double-double of the season and his career (10 pts., 10 rbs.) while blocking two shots and dishing an assist against Michigan. He added eight points, seven rebounds, and six blocks (one shy of his career high) against Purdue, and a 12-rebound, 11-point, four-block outing at Penn State. Eliason had game highs of 11 rebounds and four blocks along with seven points at Michigan State.
• Before this year, the Golden Gopher program had not seen a pair of players reach the 1,000-point plateau in the same season since the trio of Randy Carter, Voshon Lenard and Arriel McDonald did so during the 1993-94 season.

Cinematic Recap: Gophers Top Rutgers
Monday, February 23
Highlights: Gophers 80, Rutgers 61
Saturday, February 21
Cinematic Recap: Gophers at Oregon
Thursday, February 19
Highlights: Gophers 61, Oregon 44
Tuesday, February 17