University of Minnesota Athletics
Game Preview: Minnesota vs. Florida State
3/31/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| Minnesota (23-13, 8-10 B1G) vs. Florida State (22-13, 9-9 ACC) | |
| Date / Time | Tuesday, April 1 | 8:00 p.m. CT |
| Location | Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y. |
| NIT Home | Tournament Central |
| TV | ESPN2 | WatchESPN |
| Radio | 1500 ESPN | Gopher Radio Network |
| Free Audio | Click Here |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Florida State |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Florida State |
| Social Media | @GopherBBall | Facebook |
| Video Series | Raise the Barn |
| Fans in NYC | Official Meeting Place: The Thirsty Fan |
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. CT
Location: New York, N.Y.
Arena: Madison Square Garden (18,200)
TV: ESPN2 - John Saunders (Play-by-Play); Fran Fraschilla and Bob Knight (Analysts)
Radio: Learfield/1500 ESPN Twin Cities - Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: 10th meeting (5-4)
Series (Neutral): Second meeting (0-1)
(Minn. 70, FSU 56-1972 NCAA Mideast Regional; Dayton, Ohio)
Current Streak: W-2
Richard Pitino vs. FSU: 1-0
Minnesota vs. ACC: 18-25
Richard Pitino vs. ACC: 1-1
GAME DAY TID-BITS
• The top-seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers continue play in the 2014 National Invitational Tournament, facing fellow #1 seed Florida State on Tuesday in the semifinals.
• This is the 13th appearance in program history at the NIT, not including 1996 and 1998 appearances that were later vacated. The Gophers have amassed a 25-12 record (.676) in NIT games, excluding vacated seasons.
• Minnesota is making its sixth trip to Madison Square Garden for the NIT, excluding vacated seasons. The Gophers won the 1993 NIT, finished second in 1980 and 2012, and won the third-place game in 2003. Minnesota won the 1998 NIT but later vacated the title. The 1972 NIT, in which Minnesota fell in the quarterfinals, was played entirely at MSG.
• The Gophers finished the season 8-10 in Big Ten action, standing alone in seventh place. They fell to No. 2-seed Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
• This is Minnesota's first-ever number-one seed in the NIT, dating back to 2006 when the tournament was first fully seeded. In that time, the Gophers have been seeded #4 in 2006 and 2008, and #6 in 2012.
• Minnesota has followed its last two NIT trips with berths in the NCAA Tournament in the very next season.
• The Gophers defeated Florida State, 81-71, in Minneapolis earlier this year as part of the B1G/ACC Challenge. This is the fifth time since 1971-72 (including two vacated seasons) that Minnesota has played a non-conference foe twice in a season, last coming in 2001-02 when the Gophers faced Texas Tech twice.
• Senior guard Austin Hollins broke Rodney Williams's school record last week when he took the court, Hollins's 135th career appearance in the Maroon and Gold. Hollins' school record now stands at 139 games. Hollins also needs just six steals to tie the school record held by Melvin Newbern (215).
