University of Minnesota Athletics
Game Preview: Minnesota vs. Purdue
1/3/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| Minnesota (11-3, 0-1) vs. Purdue (8-4, 0-0) | |
| Date / Time | Sunday, January 5 | 1:30 p.m. |
| Location | Williams Arena - Directions |
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com |
| Travel | Local Weather | Parking | Preferred Hotels |
| TV | BTN |
| Radio | 1500 ESPN | Gopher Radio Network |
| Free Audio | Click Here |
| Live Blog | Game Day Live |
| Live Stats | |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Purdue |
| Social Media | @GopherBBall | Facebook |
| Game Notes | Minnesota |
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Sunday, January 5, 2014
Time: 1:30 p.m. CT
Location: Minneapolis, Minn.
Arena: Williams Arena (14,625)
TV: BTN - Cory Provus (Play-by-Play); Stephen Bardo (Analyst)
Radio: Learfield/1500 ESPN Twin Cities - Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 92/XM 190
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: 165th meeting (75-89)
Series (Home): 80th meeting (49-30)
Current Streak: L-3
Richard Pitino vs. Purdue: First meeting
Minnesota vs. Big Ten: 717-762
Richard Pitino vs. Big Ten: 0-1
GAME DAY TID-BITS
• Minnesota closes out a seven-game homestand on Sunday afternoon as it hosts Big Ten foe Purdue.
• The Gophers snapped a six-game winning streak on Thursday night falling to Michigan, 63-60, in both teams' Big Ten opener. It was also the first loss at home of the year, ending a nine-game win streak at Williams Arena.
• Minnesota leads the league in steals per game (8.8) and free throw percentage (.755), while ranking third in turnover margin (+3.2).
• Thursday's loss to the Wolverines dropped the Gophers' record in Big Ten openers to 11-17 since the 1980-81 season (not counting vacated years.)
• Richard Pitino is now 1-1 in conference openers as a head coach, with his FIU squad defeating Arkansas State, 80-61, last season in the Golden Panthers' Sun Belt Conference opener.
• Junior center Elliott Eliason is coming off one of his best performances of the year, 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. Eliason was 5-of-6 (.833) from the field against the Wolverines.
• Minnesota held a 15-5 advantage off the offensive glass against Michigan, the eighth time this season the Gophers gathered more offensive rebounds than their opponents. Minnesota ranks fourth in the Big Ten in offensive boards per game (13.3).
• On Dec. 10 against the Jackrabbits, Minnesota saw two players post double-doubles for the first time in more than three years. Austin Hollins had 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Elliott Eliason added 10 points and 12 rebounds. The last time two Gophers had double-doubles in the same game was Nov. 12, 2010 against Wofford (Ralph Sampson III - 20 pts., 13 rbs.; Trevor Mbakwe - 14 pts., 10 rbs.).
• 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.
