University of Minnesota Athletics
Preview: Gophers at Northwestern
1/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 4, 2017
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Thursday, January 5, 2017
Time: 8:00 p.m. CT
Location: Evanston, Ill.
Arena: Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
TV: ESPNU - Kevin Brown (Play-by-Play); Dalen Cuff (Analyst)
Radio: Learfield/1500 ESPN -
Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 81/XM 81
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: 161st Meeting (94-66)*
Series (Away): 79th Meeting (35-43)*
Current Streak: L-3
Richard Pitino vs. Northwestern: 1-4
Minnesota vs. Big Ten: 736-804
Richard Pitino vs. Big Ten: 19-42
* - excludes vacated games
STARTING FIVE
• The Minnesota men's basketball team continues its first Big Ten road trip on Thursday, traveling to Northwestern for the two teams' lone meeting this season.
• The Gophers are coming off a 91-82 overtime victory at then-No. 15 Purdue on Sunday afternoon. The win marked Minnesota's first win at Mackey Arena since 2005 (spanning eight trips to West Lafayette) and first Big Ten road victory since Feb. 26, 2015 when the Gophers upended #25 Michigan State. That was also Minnesota's last road win over a Top-25 foe.
• Minnesota received 56 votes in the Associated Press poll and nine in the USA Today Coaches Poll, occupying the highest spot outside the Top 25 in the former. In the latest edition of the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), the Gophers stand in 10th place. The Gophers are off to a 13-2 start, marking the 13th time in school history that Minnesota has two or fewer losses through the first 15 games.
• Redshirt junior Reggie Lynch sits among the nation's leaders in blocked shots. The Edina, Minn. native now has 47 blocks on the season, leading both the team and the Big Ten Conference and fifth nationally with an average of 3.4 blocks per game. He is spearheading the Minnesota team blocking effort which leads the Big Ten and ranks seventh in Division I at 6.5 blocks per game.
• The Gophers have been able to hang their hat on defense this season thus far. Minnesota is allowing opponents to connect on just 37.9 percent of their field goal attempts, ranking second in the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense and 16th nationally in that category. In addition, Minnesota is also third in total blocks (97), 10th in defensive rebounds per game (29.8), and 16th in 3-point field goal defense (28.4 percent - 1st in B1G) in the NCAA rankings (as of Jan. 4).
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
• Northwestern is 1-1 on the nascent Big Ten season after falling to Michigan State, 61-52, in East Lansing on Friday.
• That loss snapped a nine-game winning streak for the Wildcats.
• Scottie Lindsey is leading the NU offense and ranked seventh among Big Ten scorers, averaging 15.7 points per game.
• Sanjay Lumpkin is the top Wildcat rebounder and he is ninth in the conference, pulling down 7.3 boards per game.
| Minnesota (13-2, 1-1) at Northwestern (12-3, 1-1) | |
| Date / Time | Thursday, Jan. 5 | 8 p.m. |
| Location | Evanston, Ill. - Welsh-Ryan Arena |
| Tickets | Click Here |
| TV/Live Video | ESPNU/WatchESPN |
| Radio | 1500 ESPN |
| Live Stats | NUSports.com |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | NU |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | NU |
| Social Media | @GopherMBB | Facebook |
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Thursday, January 5, 2017
Time: 8:00 p.m. CT
Location: Evanston, Ill.
Arena: Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
TV: ESPNU - Kevin Brown (Play-by-Play); Dalen Cuff (Analyst)
Radio: Learfield/1500 ESPN -
Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 81/XM 81
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: 161st Meeting (94-66)*
Series (Away): 79th Meeting (35-43)*
Current Streak: L-3
Richard Pitino vs. Northwestern: 1-4
Minnesota vs. Big Ten: 736-804
Richard Pitino vs. Big Ten: 19-42
* - excludes vacated games
STARTING FIVE
• The Minnesota men's basketball team continues its first Big Ten road trip on Thursday, traveling to Northwestern for the two teams' lone meeting this season.
• The Gophers are coming off a 91-82 overtime victory at then-No. 15 Purdue on Sunday afternoon. The win marked Minnesota's first win at Mackey Arena since 2005 (spanning eight trips to West Lafayette) and first Big Ten road victory since Feb. 26, 2015 when the Gophers upended #25 Michigan State. That was also Minnesota's last road win over a Top-25 foe.
• Minnesota received 56 votes in the Associated Press poll and nine in the USA Today Coaches Poll, occupying the highest spot outside the Top 25 in the former. In the latest edition of the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), the Gophers stand in 10th place. The Gophers are off to a 13-2 start, marking the 13th time in school history that Minnesota has two or fewer losses through the first 15 games.
• Redshirt junior Reggie Lynch sits among the nation's leaders in blocked shots. The Edina, Minn. native now has 47 blocks on the season, leading both the team and the Big Ten Conference and fifth nationally with an average of 3.4 blocks per game. He is spearheading the Minnesota team blocking effort which leads the Big Ten and ranks seventh in Division I at 6.5 blocks per game.
• The Gophers have been able to hang their hat on defense this season thus far. Minnesota is allowing opponents to connect on just 37.9 percent of their field goal attempts, ranking second in the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense and 16th nationally in that category. In addition, Minnesota is also third in total blocks (97), 10th in defensive rebounds per game (29.8), and 16th in 3-point field goal defense (28.4 percent - 1st in B1G) in the NCAA rankings (as of Jan. 4).
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
• Northwestern is 1-1 on the nascent Big Ten season after falling to Michigan State, 61-52, in East Lansing on Friday.
• That loss snapped a nine-game winning streak for the Wildcats.
• Scottie Lindsey is leading the NU offense and ranked seventh among Big Ten scorers, averaging 15.7 points per game.
• Sanjay Lumpkin is the top Wildcat rebounder and he is ninth in the conference, pulling down 7.3 boards per game.
Players Mentioned
Center
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