University of Minnesota Athletics
Game Preview: Minnesota vs. Western Carolina
12/4/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| Minnesota (5-2) vs. Western Carolina (3-5) | |
| Date / Time | Friday, December 5 | 6:00 p.m. |
| Location | Williams Arena - Directions |
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com |
| Travel | Local Weather | Parking | Preferred Hotels |
| Live Video | ESPN3 |
| Radio | 1500 ESPN | Listen Online |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | WCU |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | WCU |
| Social Media | @GopherMBB | Facebook |
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Friday, December 5, 2014
Time: 6:00 p.m. CT
Location: Minneapolis, Minn.
Arena: Williams Arena (14,625)
TV: ESPN3 - David Wilson (Play-by-Play); Homer Drew (Analyst)
Radio: Learfield/1500 ESPN Twin Cities -
Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 136/ XM 195
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: First Meeting*
Series (Home): First Meeting*
Current Streak: n/a
Richard Pitino vs. WCU: First Meeting
Minnesota vs. SoCon: 12-1 (see page 2)*
Richard Pitino vs. SoCon: 1-0
* - The teams met in 1993 and 1997, both seasons later vacated by the NCAA. Series records exclude vacated games.
GAME DAY TID-BITS
• Minnesota opens a six-game December homestand on Friday evening hosting Western Carolina University.
• The Gophers have won back-to-back games to close out their three-game road trip, including Tuesday's 15-point victory at Wake Forest as part of the ACC/B1G Challenge.
• WCU has dropped two straight, including its Southern Conference opener at East Tennessee State, 96-89, on Wednesday night.
• The Gophers have now won their fourth-straight ACC/B1G Challenge game, after defeating Virginia Tech (2011) and Florida State (2012, 2013).
• The Nov. 20 game saw the Gophers score 109 points, the most in 25 years since a 116-48 win over Rider on Jan. 3, 1990. The 52-point win Thursday night against the Ravens marked the third largest margin of victory in school history.
• Minnesota also shot 73.3 percent from behind the 3-point arc, the third-highest percentage in school history (11-15). The team's 28 assists tied the program's fourth-highest single-game total (28 vs. Indiana State, 12/29/82).
• Through seven games, the Gophers lead the Big Ten in steals (80, 11.4 spg) and assists (126, 18.0), total figures that rank third and ninth, respectively, in the country. Senior DeAndre Mathieu is fourth in steals (16, 2.7 spg) and fifth in assists (38, 5.4 apg). Senior Andre Hollins is fourth in 3-point field goal shooting (.514) while junior Carlos Morris is second in steals (21, 3.0 spg).
• Morris tallied eight steals on Tuesday at Wake, a career-high and one shy of the school record (9), set by Melvin Nebern vs. Rider on Jan. 3, 1990.
• On Nov. 18 against Western Kentucky, Minnesota swiped 17 steals, the most in seven years since recording 18 against Santa Clara (Dec. 22, 2007). The Gophers were just four shy of tying the school record of 21, set vs. Rider on Jan. 3, 1990.
