University of Minnesota Athletics
Preview: Gophers vs. Vanderbilt
12/2/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2016
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, December 3, 2016
Time: 7:00 p.m. CT
Location: Sioux Falls, S.D.
Arena: Sanford Pentagon (3,250)
TV/Live Video: ESPN3 - Wayne Randazzo (Play-by-Play); Mac McFarland (Analyst)
Radio: Learfield/1500 ESPN - Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 132/XM 202
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: Fifth Meeting (4-0)
Series (Neutral): First Meeting
Current Streak: W-4
Richard Pitino vs. Vanderbilt: First Meeting
Minnesota vs. SEC: 17-14*
Richard Pitino vs. SEC: 2-1
* - excludes vacated games
STARTING FIVE
• The Minnesota men's basketball team continues a stretch of games away from home as it travels to Sioux Falls for a neutral-site matchup with Vanderbilt on Saturday. The game against the Commodores marks the final non-conference game of the season that will be played away from Minneapolis.
• This is Minnesota's second trip to the Sanford Pentagon and third trip to South Dakota overall. The Gophers were edged by Oklahoma State, 62-60, last December at the arena and also Minnesota defeated the University of South Dakota Coyotes on Dec. 8, 1941, 56-35, in the program's only other trip to the state.
• With graduate student Akeem Springs tying for the team high of 11 points on Monday evening in Tallahassee, the Gophers have now seen six different players be their leading scorer. Along with Coffey (three times) and Mason (twice), Dupree McBrayer, Reggie Lynch, Jordan Murphy and Springs have all held or shared the top scorer title.
• Amir Coffey was named the Big Ten's Freshman of the Week on Nov. 21 after a scoring barrage in his first full week as a Gopher, and he continued the trend against Arkansas and SIU. Coffey led the team in both games with 19 and 13 points, respectively, and is leading the team and second among Big Ten freshmen, and ranked 10th in the Big Ten (as of Nov. 26) at 15.8 points per game.
• Saturday's game concludes a stretch of four out of five games coming against a power-conference opponent. Beginning with the wins over St. John's (BIG EAST) and Arkansas (SEC), then bridged by a game against Missouri Valley member Southern Illinois, and continuing with tilts against Florida State (ACC) and Vanderbilt (SEC).
SCOUTING THE COMMODORES
• Vanderbilt enters Saturday's game with a record of 4-3 on the year following wins over Santa Clara and Tennessee State, the latter a 83-59 decision at home.
• Matthew Fisher-Davis paces the Commodore offense scoring 15.3 points per game, a figure which ranks eighth in the SEC. Jeff Roberson's team-high 6.9 rebounds per game also ranks eighth in the SEC.
• VU is under the tutelage of Bryce Drew, who is in his first season in Nashville after five years at Valparaiso.
• Vanderbilt (Memorial Gymnasium) and Minnesota (Williams Arena) share a unique trait among college basketball programs in that their home arenas both feature raised courts.
GOPHERS VS. THE SEC
• Minnesota has amassed a record of 17-14 against the current membership of the Southeastern Conference.
• That total includes the following individual opponent records: Alabama (0-2), Arkansas (2-3), 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 third 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.
| Minnesota (6-1) vs. Vanderbilt (4-3) | |
| Date / Time | Saturday, Dec. 3 | 7 p.m. |
| Location | Sanford Pentagon - Sioux Falls, S.D. |
| Tickets | Click Here |
| TV/Live Video | ESPN3 |
| Radio | 1500 ESPN |
| Live Stats | Click Here |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Vanderbilt |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Vanderbilt |
| Social Media | @GopherMBB | Facebook |
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, December 3, 2016
Time: 7:00 p.m. CT
Location: Sioux Falls, S.D.
Arena: Sanford Pentagon (3,250)
TV/Live Video: ESPN3 - Wayne Randazzo (Play-by-Play); Mac McFarland (Analyst)
Radio: Learfield/1500 ESPN - Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 132/XM 202
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: Fifth Meeting (4-0)
Series (Neutral): First Meeting
Current Streak: W-4
Richard Pitino vs. Vanderbilt: First Meeting
Minnesota vs. SEC: 17-14*
Richard Pitino vs. SEC: 2-1
* - excludes vacated games
STARTING FIVE
• The Minnesota men's basketball team continues a stretch of games away from home as it travels to Sioux Falls for a neutral-site matchup with Vanderbilt on Saturday. The game against the Commodores marks the final non-conference game of the season that will be played away from Minneapolis.
• This is Minnesota's second trip to the Sanford Pentagon and third trip to South Dakota overall. The Gophers were edged by Oklahoma State, 62-60, last December at the arena and also Minnesota defeated the University of South Dakota Coyotes on Dec. 8, 1941, 56-35, in the program's only other trip to the state.
• With graduate student Akeem Springs tying for the team high of 11 points on Monday evening in Tallahassee, the Gophers have now seen six different players be their leading scorer. Along with Coffey (three times) and Mason (twice), Dupree McBrayer, Reggie Lynch, Jordan Murphy and Springs have all held or shared the top scorer title.
• Amir Coffey was named the Big Ten's Freshman of the Week on Nov. 21 after a scoring barrage in his first full week as a Gopher, and he continued the trend against Arkansas and SIU. Coffey led the team in both games with 19 and 13 points, respectively, and is leading the team and second among Big Ten freshmen, and ranked 10th in the Big Ten (as of Nov. 26) at 15.8 points per game.
• Saturday's game concludes a stretch of four out of five games coming against a power-conference opponent. Beginning with the wins over St. John's (BIG EAST) and Arkansas (SEC), then bridged by a game against Missouri Valley member Southern Illinois, and continuing with tilts against Florida State (ACC) and Vanderbilt (SEC).
SCOUTING THE COMMODORES
• Vanderbilt enters Saturday's game with a record of 4-3 on the year following wins over Santa Clara and Tennessee State, the latter a 83-59 decision at home.
• Matthew Fisher-Davis paces the Commodore offense scoring 15.3 points per game, a figure which ranks eighth in the SEC. Jeff Roberson's team-high 6.9 rebounds per game also ranks eighth in the SEC.
• VU is under the tutelage of Bryce Drew, who is in his first season in Nashville after five years at Valparaiso.
• Vanderbilt (Memorial Gymnasium) and Minnesota (Williams Arena) share a unique trait among college basketball programs in that their home arenas both feature raised courts.
GOPHERS VS. THE SEC
• Minnesota has amassed a record of 17-14 against the current membership of the Southeastern Conference.
• That total includes the following individual opponent records: Alabama (0-2), Arkansas (2-3), 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 third 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.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
Center
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Forward
/ Men's Basketball
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