University of Minnesota Athletics
Preview: Gophers vs. Arkansas State
12/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2016
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Friday, December 23, 2016
Time: 6:00 p.m. CT
Location: Minneapolis, Minn.
Arena: Williams Arena (14,625)
TV/Live Video: BTN - Cory Provus (Play-by-Play); Shon Morris (Analyst)
Radio: Learfield/1500 ESPN -
Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: First Meeting
Series (Home): First Meeting
Current Streak: n/a
Richard Pitino vs. ASU: 2-0
Minnesota vs. Sun Belt: 9-1
Richard Pitino vs. Sun Belt: 13-4
STARTING FIVE
• The Minnesota men's basketball team host Arkansas State on Friday evening, wrapping up their non-conference schedule against the Red Wolves.
• The Gophers have won five straight and, with 11 wins and one loss, are off to their best start in four years. Minnesota received six votes in the Associated Press poll, marking their fourth 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 21 shots in his last five games, helping his continued ascent up the national rankings among shot blockers. The Edina, Minn. native now has 40 blocks on the season, leading both the team and the Big Ten Conference and ranking fourth nationally with an average of 3.6 blocks per game. He is spearheading the Minnesota team blocking effort which is second in the Big Ten and ranks ninth in Division I at 6.7 blocks per game.
• Minnesota's youth has been a big factor in its success thus far this season. The Gophers, who rank 305th out of 351 teams according to KenPom.com in youth, have seen major contributions from their freshmen and sophomores. Sophomore Jordan Murphy is the team's leading rebounder and ranks fourth in scoring, classmate Dupree McBrayer is third in scoring, while freshman Amir Coffey is third in scoring and freshman Eric Curry ranks third on the team in rebounding. The Gophers roster features eight underclassmen.
• The Gophers have been able to hang their hat on defense this season thus far. Minnesota is allowing opponents to connect on just 36.2 percent of their field goal attempts, leading the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense and ranking eighth nationally in that category. In addition to ranking in the top-10 in that category and blocks per game, Minnesota is also ninth in defensive rebounds per game (30.25) in the NCAA rankings (as of Dec. 21).
SCOUTING THE RED WOLVES
• Arkansas State comes to Minneapolis with a 9-3 record, suffering their third loss of the year on Wednesday night against Alabama in Huntsville.
• A-State, which ranks among the nation's top-50 RPI teams according to the NCAA, features two double-figure scorers led by Devin Carter. The senior guard was a Preseason All-Sun Belt first team selection.
• First-year head coach Grant McCasland came to Jonesboro following five seasons as an assistant coach at Baylor, his alma mater.
GOPHERS VS. THE SUN BELT
• Minnesota has amassed a record of 9-1 against the current membership of the Sun Belt Conference.
• That total includes the following individual opponent records: Arkansas-Little Rock (1-1), Appalachian State (1-0), Georgia Southern (1-0), Georgia State (1-0), Louisiana Lafayette (2-0), Louisiana Monroe (1-0), Texas Arlington (2-0).
• Head coach Richard Pitino is no stranger to the Sun Belt, as he spent one season as the head coach at Florida International when they were members of the conference. His win-loss record against current Sun Belt members stands at 13-4., including a 2-0 mark against the Red Wolves during his time at Florida International.
• Arkansas State is the last of four Sun Belt opponents the Gophers will have faced this season, joined by UL-Lafayette (Nov. 11 / W, 86-74), UT Arlington (Nov. 14 / W, 84-67) and Georgia Southern (Dec. 9 / W, 86-49).
| Minnesota (11-1) vs. Arkansas State (9-3) | |
| Date / Time | Friday, Dec. 23 | 6 p.m. |
| Location | Williams Arena - Directions |
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com |
| Travel | Local Weather | Parking | Preferred Hotels |
| TV/Live Video | BTN/BTN2Go |
| Radio | 1500 ESPN |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Arkansas State |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Arkansas State |
| Social Media | @GopherMBB | Facebook |
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Friday, December 23, 2016
Time: 6:00 p.m. CT
Location: Minneapolis, Minn.
Arena: Williams Arena (14,625)
TV/Live Video: BTN - Cory Provus (Play-by-Play); Shon Morris (Analyst)
Radio: Learfield/1500 ESPN -
Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: First Meeting
Series (Home): First Meeting
Current Streak: n/a
Richard Pitino vs. ASU: 2-0
Minnesota vs. Sun Belt: 9-1
Richard Pitino vs. Sun Belt: 13-4
STARTING FIVE
• The Minnesota men's basketball team host Arkansas State on Friday evening, wrapping up their non-conference schedule against the Red Wolves.
• The Gophers have won five straight and, with 11 wins and one loss, are off to their best start in four years. Minnesota received six votes in the Associated Press poll, marking their fourth 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 21 shots in his last five games, helping his continued ascent up the national rankings among shot blockers. The Edina, Minn. native now has 40 blocks on the season, leading both the team and the Big Ten Conference and ranking fourth nationally with an average of 3.6 blocks per game. He is spearheading the Minnesota team blocking effort which is second in the Big Ten and ranks ninth in Division I at 6.7 blocks per game.
• Minnesota's youth has been a big factor in its success thus far this season. The Gophers, who rank 305th out of 351 teams according to KenPom.com in youth, have seen major contributions from their freshmen and sophomores. Sophomore Jordan Murphy is the team's leading rebounder and ranks fourth in scoring, classmate Dupree McBrayer is third in scoring, while freshman Amir Coffey is third in scoring and freshman Eric Curry ranks third on the team in rebounding. The Gophers roster features eight underclassmen.
• The Gophers have been able to hang their hat on defense this season thus far. Minnesota is allowing opponents to connect on just 36.2 percent of their field goal attempts, leading the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense and ranking eighth nationally in that category. In addition to ranking in the top-10 in that category and blocks per game, Minnesota is also ninth in defensive rebounds per game (30.25) in the NCAA rankings (as of Dec. 21).
SCOUTING THE RED WOLVES
• Arkansas State comes to Minneapolis with a 9-3 record, suffering their third loss of the year on Wednesday night against Alabama in Huntsville.
• A-State, which ranks among the nation's top-50 RPI teams according to the NCAA, features two double-figure scorers led by Devin Carter. The senior guard was a Preseason All-Sun Belt first team selection.
• First-year head coach Grant McCasland came to Jonesboro following five seasons as an assistant coach at Baylor, his alma mater.
GOPHERS VS. THE SUN BELT
• Minnesota has amassed a record of 9-1 against the current membership of the Sun Belt Conference.
• That total includes the following individual opponent records: Arkansas-Little Rock (1-1), Appalachian State (1-0), Georgia Southern (1-0), Georgia State (1-0), Louisiana Lafayette (2-0), Louisiana Monroe (1-0), Texas Arlington (2-0).
• Head coach Richard Pitino is no stranger to the Sun Belt, as he spent one season as the head coach at Florida International when they were members of the conference. His win-loss record against current Sun Belt members stands at 13-4., including a 2-0 mark against the Red Wolves during his time at Florida International.
• Arkansas State is the last of four Sun Belt opponents the Gophers will have faced this season, joined by UL-Lafayette (Nov. 11 / W, 86-74), UT Arlington (Nov. 14 / W, 84-67) and Georgia Southern (Dec. 9 / W, 86-49).
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Center
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
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