University of Minnesota Athletics
Preview: Gophers vs. Harvard
12/29/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2017
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, December 30, 2017
Time: 1 p.m. CT
Location: Minneapolis, Minn.
Arena: Williams Arena (14,625)
TV/Live Video: BTN - Wayne Randazzo (Play-by-Play); Shon Morris (Analyst)
Radio: Learfield/KFAN 100.3 FM
Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 135/XM 195
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: First Meeting
Series (Home): n/a
Current Streak: n/a
Richard Pitino vs. Harvard: First Meeting
Minnesota vs. Ivy: 18-2-1
Richard Pitino vs. Ivy: First Meeting
STARTING FIVE
• Fresh off a one week holiday break, the Minnesota men's basketball team looks to close out non-conference play on Saturday hosting Harvard. Extremely limited tickets remain for the contest, the first meeting between the two schools.
• Steadily climbing up the career charts, junior Jordan Murphy recently crossed the 1,000-point mark and is approaching the Minnesota top-10 list for rebounds. Murphy has pulled down 726 boards in his two and a half years in Maroon and Gold, needing just four more to tie Randy Breuer for 10th place all-time.
• Murphy is leading the team and Big Ten Conference averaging 19.6 points and 12.6 rebounds per game through the first 14 games - the latter statistic atop the national leaders as well. The three-time Big Ten Player of the Week became the first Gopher to win the award in back-to-back weeks. Murphy is also just the second Gopher to win it three times in the same season. He also leads the country in offensive rebounds (5.1) per game, as of Dec. 28.
• Reggie Lynch is fourth in the country and leading the Big Ten with 3.9 blocks per game. Lynch passed Joel Przybilla on the Gophers' career list and now sits alone in fifth with 169 career blocks. As a team the Gophers are third in the country with 7.3 blocks per game.
• Murphy has posted 14 double-doubles (highest in the country) thus far this season, doing so in each of the first 14 games of the season. His 12 to start the season was a feat that hadn't been accomplished in 10 years nationwide, when Michael Beasley did so at Kansas State in the 2007-08 season, and his current run is the most since Tim Duncan had 17 at Wake Forest during the 1996-97 season.
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON
• Harvard is looking for just its third win away from Cambridge this season, as their 5-7 season mark includes just one road win (at Fordham, 47-45) and one neutral site victory (vs. Saint Joseph's, 77-71) at the Wooden Legacy tournament in Fullerton, Calif.
• While the two schools have never met, Harvard head mentor Tommy Amaker is 8-6 against Minnesota dating back to his time at the helm of Seton Hall and Michigan.
• Bryce Aiken paces the Harvard offense, scoring 17.6 points per game while Chris Lewis is among the Ivy's top shotblockers (1.3 bpg).
• Harvard, considered the oldest academic institution in the United States, is one of the eight schools in the prestigious Ivy League, while Minnesota is among the "Public Ivies" of outstanding public universities nationally.
GOPHERS VS. THE IVY LEAGUE
• Minnesota has amassed a record of 18-2-1 against the eight-team Ivy League.
• Series records are as follows: Brown (1-0); Columbia (2-1); Cornell (6-0); Dartmouth (3-1-1); Princeton (3-0); Yale (3-0).
• The only two Ivies to have never faced the Gophers are Harvard and Penn.
• Minnesota last played a team from the Ivy League in the 2010-11 season, a home win over Cornell on Dec. 4.
| Minnesota (11-3) vs. Harvard (5-7) | |
| Date / Time | Saturday, Dec. 30 | 1 p.m. |
| Location | Williams Arena - Directions |
| Tickets | Limited Tickets Remain - MyGopherSports.com |
| Travel | Local Weather | Parking | Preferred Hotels |
| TV | Big Ten Network |
| Watch Online | BTN2Go |
| Radio | KFAN 100.3 FM |
| Live Stats | |
| Live Updates | Click Here |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Harvard |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Harvard |
| Social Media | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram |
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, December 30, 2017
Time: 1 p.m. CT
Location: Minneapolis, Minn.
Arena: Williams Arena (14,625)
TV/Live Video: BTN - Wayne Randazzo (Play-by-Play); Shon Morris (Analyst)
Radio: Learfield/KFAN 100.3 FM
Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 135/XM 195
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: First Meeting
Series (Home): n/a
Current Streak: n/a
Richard Pitino vs. Harvard: First Meeting
Minnesota vs. Ivy: 18-2-1
Richard Pitino vs. Ivy: First Meeting
STARTING FIVE
• Fresh off a one week holiday break, the Minnesota men's basketball team looks to close out non-conference play on Saturday hosting Harvard. Extremely limited tickets remain for the contest, the first meeting between the two schools.
• Steadily climbing up the career charts, junior Jordan Murphy recently crossed the 1,000-point mark and is approaching the Minnesota top-10 list for rebounds. Murphy has pulled down 726 boards in his two and a half years in Maroon and Gold, needing just four more to tie Randy Breuer for 10th place all-time.
• Murphy is leading the team and Big Ten Conference averaging 19.6 points and 12.6 rebounds per game through the first 14 games - the latter statistic atop the national leaders as well. The three-time Big Ten Player of the Week became the first Gopher to win the award in back-to-back weeks. Murphy is also just the second Gopher to win it three times in the same season. He also leads the country in offensive rebounds (5.1) per game, as of Dec. 28.
• Reggie Lynch is fourth in the country and leading the Big Ten with 3.9 blocks per game. Lynch passed Joel Przybilla on the Gophers' career list and now sits alone in fifth with 169 career blocks. As a team the Gophers are third in the country with 7.3 blocks per game.
• Murphy has posted 14 double-doubles (highest in the country) thus far this season, doing so in each of the first 14 games of the season. His 12 to start the season was a feat that hadn't been accomplished in 10 years nationwide, when Michael Beasley did so at Kansas State in the 2007-08 season, and his current run is the most since Tim Duncan had 17 at Wake Forest during the 1996-97 season.
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON
• Harvard is looking for just its third win away from Cambridge this season, as their 5-7 season mark includes just one road win (at Fordham, 47-45) and one neutral site victory (vs. Saint Joseph's, 77-71) at the Wooden Legacy tournament in Fullerton, Calif.
• While the two schools have never met, Harvard head mentor Tommy Amaker is 8-6 against Minnesota dating back to his time at the helm of Seton Hall and Michigan.
• Bryce Aiken paces the Harvard offense, scoring 17.6 points per game while Chris Lewis is among the Ivy's top shotblockers (1.3 bpg).
• Harvard, considered the oldest academic institution in the United States, is one of the eight schools in the prestigious Ivy League, while Minnesota is among the "Public Ivies" of outstanding public universities nationally.
GOPHERS VS. THE IVY LEAGUE
• Minnesota has amassed a record of 18-2-1 against the eight-team Ivy League.
• Series records are as follows: Brown (1-0); Columbia (2-1); Cornell (6-0); Dartmouth (3-1-1); Princeton (3-0); Yale (3-0).
• The only two Ivies to have never faced the Gophers are Harvard and Penn.
• Minnesota last played a team from the Ivy League in the 2010-11 season, a home win over Cornell on Dec. 4.
Players Mentioned
Center
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
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