University of Minnesota Athletics
Game Preview: Minnesota vs. Furman
12/21/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| Minnesota (9-2) vs. Furman (2-7) | |
| Date / Time | Monday, December 22 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Location | Williams Arena - Directions |
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com |
| Travel | Local Weather | Parking | Preferred Hotels |
| TV/Live Video | ESPN3 | WatchESPN |
| Radio | 1500 ESPN | Listen Online |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Furman |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Furman |
| Social Media | @GopherMBB | Facebook |
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Monday, December 22, 2014
Time: 7:00 p.m. CT
Location: Minneapolis, Minn.
Arena: Williams Arena (14,625)
TV: ESPN3 - Clay Matvick (Play-by-Play); Homer Drew (Analyst)
Radio: Learfield/1500 ESPN Twin Cities - Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: 6th Meeting (4-1)
Series (Home): 4th Meeting (3-0)
Current Streak: W-3
Richard Pitino vs. Furman: First Meeting
Minnesota vs. SoCon: 13-1 (see page 2)*
Richard Pitino vs. SoCon: 2-0
GAME DAY TID-BITS
• Minnesota continues its December homestand Monday night with a pre-holiday tilt against Furman.
• The Gophers have six straight games, the last five by double-digits including a 35-point win over Seattle on Friday. Their average margin of victory in that span is 23.
• Furman dropped a five-point decision, 83-78, at Florida Gulf Coast on Friday, their third straight loss.
• The Gophers earned back-to-back Big Ten Player of the Week awards: Andre Hollins (12/8) and Maurice Walker (12/15).
• The Gophers have now scored 80+ points for the fifth straight game. Minnesota last accomplished the feat in December 2009, a stretch of five straight 80+ point games. Minnesota has posted six straight 80+ games twice before, the first six of the 1992 season and seven games in Feb.-Mar. 1966.
• As of Dec. 20, the Gophers lead the nation in assists per game (20.1) and are second in steals per game (12.1) and third in turnover margin (+7.0). Senior DeAndre Mathieu is ninth in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (4.0) and 14th in assists per game (6.2).
• Minnesota leads the Big Ten Conference in all three of those categories, and is third in scoring margin (+18.9) and fourth in 3-point shooting (.412) .
• Senior DeAndre Mathieu is second in assists (59, 5.9 apg), third in assist/turnover radtio (3.7) and fifth in steals (21, 2.1 spg). Junior Carlos Morris is second in steals (26, 2.6 spg) among B1G players, while senior Maurice Walker is fifth in field goal shooting (.635). Senior Andre Hollins ranks fourth in 3-point shooting (.509) and 15th in scoring (14.6 ppg).
• The Gophers are 9-2 on the season, reaching that mark in back-to-back years under second-year head coach Richard Pitino, who earned his 50th career victory on Dec. 8 against North Dakota.
