University of Minnesota Athletics
Preview: Gophers vs. LIU Brooklyn
12/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| Minnesota (10-1) vs. LIU Brooklyn (7-3) | |
| Date / Time | Wednesday, Dec. 14 | 7 p.m. |
| Location | Williams Arena - Directions |
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com |
| Travel | Local Weather | Parking | Preferred Hotels |
| TV/Live Video | BTN Plus |
| Radio | 1500 ESPN |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | LIU Brooklyn |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | LIU Brooklyn |
| Social Media | @GopherMBB | Facebook |
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Time: 7:00 p.m. CT
Location: Minneapolis, Minn.
Arena: Williams Arena (14,625)
TV/Live Video: BTN Plus
Radio: Learfield/1500 ESPN -
Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: Third Meeting* (2-0)
Series (Home): Second Meeting (1-0)*
Current Streak: W-2
Richard Pitino vs. LIU: First Meeting
Minnesota vs. NEC: 8-0*
Richard Pitino vs. NEC: Second Meeting (1-0)
* - excludes vacated games
STARTING FIVE
• The Minnesota men's basketball team will take the court once more before final exams, hosting LIU Brooklyn on Wednesday evening.
• The Gophers have won four straight and, with 10 wins and one loss, are off to their best start in four years. Minnesota received six votes in the Associated Press poll, marking their third consecutive appearance there. In the latest edition of the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), the Gophers stand in 13th place.
• Redshirt junior Reggie Lynch has blocked 18 shots in his last four games, helping his continued ascent up the national rankings among shot blockers. The Edina, Minn. native now has 37 blocks on the season, leading both the team and the Big Ten Conference and ranking sixth nationally with an average of 3.7 blocks per game. He is spearheading the Minnesota team blocking effort which leads the Big Ten and ranks sixth in Division I at 6.8 blocks per game.
• During the Gophers' 10-1 start, seven of the Minnesota victories have been by double-digits. That figure matches the number of double-digit wins recorded by the 2012-13 team, which also stood at 10-1 through its first 11 games on its way to Minnesota's most recent NCAA Tournament appearance. Minnesota's average margin of victory in its seven double-figure wins this season is 19.4 points, with the largest margin being the 37-point win against Georgia Southern.
• The Gophers have been able to hang their hat on defense this season thus far. Minnesota is allowing opponents to connect on just 35.4 percent of their field goal attempts, leading the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense and ranking sixth nationally in that category. In addition to ranking in the top-10 in that category and blocks per game, Minnesota is also eighth in defensive rebounds per game (31.1) in the NCAA rankings (as of Dec. 13).
SCOUTING THE BLACKBIRDS
• LIU Brooklyn is 7-3 on the season, including a 74-73 win over crosstown rival St. John's on Sunday afternoon in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It snapped a two-game losing streak with defeats at Incarnate Word and N.C. Central.
• Leading the way for the Blackbirds is Jerome Frink, who is averaging team highs of 17.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.
• Frink, a redshirt senior from Jersey City, N.J., is in his third season in Brooklyn after two seasons at Florida International, where he was recruited and signed by current Gophers head coach Richard Pitino.
• Current Gopher assistant coach Kimani Young, a New York native, played his freshman collegiate season at LIU. Young (then known as Kimani Jones), averaged 8.7 points per game while tallying 50 rebounds, 51 assists and 29 steals during his lone season with the Blackbirds.
• Brooklyn, N.Y., where LIU Brooklyn is located, is one of the five boroughs of New York City. With a population of 2.6 million, it would be the third most populous city in the United States as a stand-alone city.
GOPHERS VS. THE NEC
• Minnesota has amassed a record of 8-0 against the current membership of the Northeast Conference.
• That total includes the following individual opponent records: Central Connecticut State (0-0), Fairleigh Dickinson (1-0), LIU Brooklyn (2-0), Mount St. Mary's (2-0), Robert Morris (1-0), Sacred Heart (1-0), St. Francis (Pa.) (1-0). Several games against NEC schools were later vacated.
• Head coach Richard Pitino is facing an NEC opponent for the second time Wednesday night.
• LIU Brooklyn is the second of two NEC opponents the Gophers will face this season, after defeating Mount St. Mary's, 80-56, on November 16 at the Barn.
