University of Minnesota Athletics
Preview: Gophers vs. Georgia Southern
12/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 8, 2016
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Friday, December 9, 2016
Time: 8:00 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/MyTalk 107.1 - Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 81/XM 81
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: First Meeting
Series (Home): First Meeting
Current Streak: --
Richard Pitino vs. Georgia Southern: First Meeting
Minnesota vs. Sun Belt: 8-1
Richard Pitino vs. Sun Belt: 12-4
STARTING FIVE
• The University of Minnesota continues its December homestand on Friday evening, hosting Georgia Southern in the first-ever matchup between the two squads.
• The Gophers have won two straight and, with eight wins and one loss, are off to their best start in four years. Minnesota received a vote in the Associated Press poll for the second consecutive week. In the latest edition of the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), the Gophers stand in eighth place.
• Redshirt junior Reggie Lynch blocked six shots in Sioux Falls Saturday against the Commodores and five versus NJIT on Tuesday, helping his continued ascent up the national rankings among shot blockers. The Edina, Minn. native now has 30 blocks on the season, leading both the team and the Big Ten Conference and ranking fifth nationally with an average of 3.8 blocks per game. He is spearheading the Minnesota team blocking effort which leads the Big Ten and ranks eighth in Division I at 6.9 blocks per game.
• Several individual stat milestones were reached in Tuesday's win over the Highlanders. Junior Nate Mason scored his 800th career point, while sophomore Dupree McBrayer scored his 250th career point. Sophomore Jordan Murphy made his 100th career free throw and junior Bakary Konate blocked his 50th career shot.
• The Gophers have been able to hang their hat on defense this season thus far. Minnesota is allowing opponents to connect on just 35.8 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 10th in defensive rebounds per game (30.56) in the NCAA rankings (as of Dec. 8).
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
• Georgia Southern comes to Minneapolis with a .500 record at 4-4, including an 85-82 home defeat against Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday.
• Ike Smith and Tookie Brown pace the Eagle offense, averaging 21.4 and 14.9 points per game, respectively.
• Georgia Southern, which joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2014, is located in Statesboro, Ga., about three hours from Atlanta.
GOPHERS VS. THE SUN BELT
• Minnesota has amassed a record of 8-1 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 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 12-4.
• Georgia Southern is the third of four Sun Belt opponents the Gophers will face this season, joined by UL-Lafayette (Nov. 11 / W, 86-74), UT Arlington (Nov. 14 / W, 84-67) and Arkansas State (Dec. 23).
| Minnesota (8-1) vs. Georgia Southern (4-4) | |
| Date / Time | Friday, Dec. 9 | 8 p.m. |
| Location | Williams Arena - Directions |
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com |
| Travel | Local Weather | Parking | Preferred Hotels |
| TV/Live Video | BTN/BTN2Go |
| Radio | MyTalk 107.1 FM |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Georgia Southern |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Georgia Southern |
| Social Media | @GopherMBB | Facebook |
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Friday, December 9, 2016
Time: 8:00 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/MyTalk 107.1 - Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 81/XM 81
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: First Meeting
Series (Home): First Meeting
Current Streak: --
Richard Pitino vs. Georgia Southern: First Meeting
Minnesota vs. Sun Belt: 8-1
Richard Pitino vs. Sun Belt: 12-4
STARTING FIVE
• The University of Minnesota continues its December homestand on Friday evening, hosting Georgia Southern in the first-ever matchup between the two squads.
• The Gophers have won two straight and, with eight wins and one loss, are off to their best start in four years. Minnesota received a vote in the Associated Press poll for the second consecutive week. In the latest edition of the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), the Gophers stand in eighth place.
• Redshirt junior Reggie Lynch blocked six shots in Sioux Falls Saturday against the Commodores and five versus NJIT on Tuesday, helping his continued ascent up the national rankings among shot blockers. The Edina, Minn. native now has 30 blocks on the season, leading both the team and the Big Ten Conference and ranking fifth nationally with an average of 3.8 blocks per game. He is spearheading the Minnesota team blocking effort which leads the Big Ten and ranks eighth in Division I at 6.9 blocks per game.
• Several individual stat milestones were reached in Tuesday's win over the Highlanders. Junior Nate Mason scored his 800th career point, while sophomore Dupree McBrayer scored his 250th career point. Sophomore Jordan Murphy made his 100th career free throw and junior Bakary Konate blocked his 50th career shot.
• The Gophers have been able to hang their hat on defense this season thus far. Minnesota is allowing opponents to connect on just 35.8 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 10th in defensive rebounds per game (30.56) in the NCAA rankings (as of Dec. 8).
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
• Georgia Southern comes to Minneapolis with a .500 record at 4-4, including an 85-82 home defeat against Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday.
• Ike Smith and Tookie Brown pace the Eagle offense, averaging 21.4 and 14.9 points per game, respectively.
• Georgia Southern, which joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2014, is located in Statesboro, Ga., about three hours from Atlanta.
GOPHERS VS. THE SUN BELT
• Minnesota has amassed a record of 8-1 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 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 12-4.
• Georgia Southern is the third of four Sun Belt opponents the Gophers will face this season, joined by UL-Lafayette (Nov. 11 / W, 86-74), UT Arlington (Nov. 14 / W, 84-67) and Arkansas State (Dec. 23).
Players Mentioned
Center
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
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