University of Minnesota Athletics
Preview: Gophers vs. Arkansas
11/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| Minnesota (4-0) vs. Arkansas (3-0) | |
| Date / Time | Tuesday, Nov. 22 | 7 p.m. |
| Location | Williams Arena - Directions |
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com |
| Travel | Local Weather | Parking | Preferred Hotels |
| TV/Live Video | ESPN3 |
| Radio | 1500 ESPN |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Arkansas |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Arkansas |
| Social Media | @GopherMBB | Facebook |
Goldy's Toy Box
- Free admission with donation of an unwrapped toy
- Free admission if your legal name is Andy
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Friday, November 18, 2016
Time: 7:00 p.m. CT
Location: Minneapolis, Minn.
Arena: Williams Arena (14,625)
TV: ESPN3 - Clay Matvick (Play-by-Play);
Rich Zvosac (Analyst)
Radio: Learfield/1500 ESPN Twin Cities -
Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: Fifth Meeting (1-3)
Series (Home): Second Meeting (1-0)
Current Streak: L-2
Richard Pitino vs. Arkansas: First Meeting
Minnesota vs. SEC: 15-11*
Richard Pitino vs. SEC: 1-1
* - excludes vacated games
STARTING FIVE
• The Gophers open a challenging stretch in which three of their next four opponents come from a Power Five conference, hosting Arkansas on Tuesday night at Williams Arena. After Tuesday's game against the SEC-member Razorbacks, Minnesota hosts Southern Illinois Friday before visiting Florida State (Nov. 27) and meeting Vanderbilt (Dec. 3) on a neutral court in Sioux Falls.
• Amir Coffey has reached double-figures in all four starts he's made for the Gophers, but Friday he accomplished the feat before halftime, as he led all players with 17-points at the break on the way to his first career 30-point game. Coffey led the Gophers with 30 points, making 9-of-14 field goals and 11-of-12 free throws.
Coffey is the first Minnesota player with 30 or more points in a game since Andre Hollins scored 31 against Rutgers on Jan. 17, 2015. More impressively, he is the first Minnesota freshman to torch the nets for 30 points since Kris Humphries in 2003-04. Coffey added four rebounds, two steals and an assist, while logging a team-high 36 minutes.
• He was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Monday.
• Reggie Lynch blocked nine shots in the St. John's game, third among all-time Gopher single-game performances, part of an 11-block team effort by the Gophers. They have not had double-digit blocks since Nov. 21, 2013 (12 vs. Wofford), and rank second in the Big Ten in blocks per game (6.8). Lynch is 11th nationally.
• Minnesota topped 80 points for the fourth-straight game to open the season. The last time a Gophers team started a season with four-straight 80-point games was 1992-93, when Clem Haskins' team opened the season with six-straight games over 80. It's the first time the Gophers tallied 80-plus in four-consecutive games since a seven-game stretch in December 2014.
SCOUTING THE RAZORBACKS
• Arkansas is 3-0 on the season, including a win over UT Arlington, 71-67, on Friday night in Fayetteville.
• The Razorbacks have four players averaging double-digit scoring, led by Dusty Hannahs who chips in 17.7 points per game.
• Arkansas finished last season wtih a 16-16 record, and head coach Mike Anderson has never had a losing season in his 14-plus seasons as a Division I head coach.
GOPHERS VS. THE SEC
• Minnesota has amassed a record of 15-11 against the current membership of the Southeastern Conference.
• That total includes the following individual opponent records: Alabama (0-2), Florida (1-1), Georgia (4-1), Kentucky (1-3), Ole Miss (2-0), Missouri (2-0), South Carolina (0-2), Tennessee (0-1), Texas A&M (1-1), Vanderbilt (4-0). Games that were later vacated are excluded from that list.
• The Gophers will face two SEC opponents this year in the Razorbacks (Nov. 22) and Vanderbilt (Dec. 3). They haven't played two SEC schools in the same year since 1997 (Alabama & Kentucky), results that were later vacated. Officially, the last time it happened was also the last time Minnesota played two SEC schools in the regular season (Vanderbilt & Kentucky), in 1957.
• Head coach Richard Pitino is facing a SEC opponent for the second time, following the matchup with Arkansas in 2013 at the Maui Invitational. He is no stranger to the conference, however, spending two seasons on Billy Donovan's staff at Florida.
