Sunday Slate Sees Minnesota Host Air Force

MINNEAPOLIS -- No. 20 (AP) Minnesota (6-0) continues its six-game homestand Sunday afternoon against Air Force (4-3) at 3 p.m. It's the fifth game of the team's longest stretch of games at home since also playing six in a row at The Barn during December of the 2013-14 season.

Sunday's game will be available to stream on BTN Plus and can be heard on the Gophers' new radio home this season, 96.7 FM KFAN Plus.

PROMOTIONS

• Tickets are just $6 for service members and their families as part of the team's Salute to Service.

• In addition, it's also Alumni Sunday as tickets are available for just $6 for Minnesota alums.

• Another ticket option for Sunday is the Cub Family 4-Pack where fans can get four tickets, four hot dogs, four popcorns and four drinks for $50.

• After the game, the Gophers will be signing autographs.

THE OPENING TIP-OFF

• The Golden Gophers are looking to start 7-0 for the second straight season and the fourth time in program history. Lindsay Whalen is just one of two coaches in program history to win her first six games. The other to do it was her former coach, Pam Borton, who won her first 12 games during the 2002-03 season, Whalen's junior year.

• Now 6-0 on the season, Minnesota enters Sunday's game ranked No. 20 in the AP Poll. It's the team's highest ranking since also being ranked 20th on Feb. 27, 2006. After coming in at No. 23 last week and No. 25 the week prior, this is the first time the Gophers have been ranked for three consecutive weeks since Jan. 5 (23), Jan. 12 (23), Jan. 19 (21) of 2015. It's just the sixth time overall the team has appeared in the AP Poll since the 2005-06 season. The Gophers are 108-39 all-time when ranked 20th or better in the AP Poll.

• Junior forward Taiye Bello recorded a double-double in each of the first three games of the season, and though she didn't have one in game four against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, she did produce a career-high 19 rebounds. Two games later, she set a career-high with 20 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in a win over No. 12 Syracuse. Through Thursday's games, Bello was second nationally in rebounds per game (14.3) and third offensive rebounds per game (6), and was leading the Big Ten in both categories. She was also seventh in the NCAA in total rebounds (86), 15th in double-doubles (4) and 17th in defensive rebounds per game (8).

• Minnesota has allowed just 235 points in five games (47.0 ppg) so far this year. That's the lowest point total allowed in the first five games of the season for the Gophers since the 1973-74 season, the first year where program game-by-game records exist. That season, they held their first four opponents to a combined 230 points (46.0).

• Minnesota has allowed just 303 points in five games (50.5 ppg) so far this year. That's the lowest point total allowed in the first six games of the season for the Gophers since the 1973-74 season, the first year where program game-by-game records exist. That season, they held their first four opponents to a combined 267 points (44.5).

SERIES WITH AIR FORCE

• Minnesota has won both previous meetings with Air Force, winning by an average score of 85-61.

• The first matchup came in 2002 with Minnesota recording an 88-75 win at Air Force. Gophers head coach Lindsay Whalen, then a junior, scored 14 points with nine assists in the victory.

• The last time the teams met was in 2011 when the Gophers posted an 81-46 victory in Minneapolis. Four scored in double figures for Minnesota, led by Rachel Banham's 18 points.

RECAPPING THE WIN OVER SYRACUSE

• Minnesota used a fourth-quarter rally to knock off No. 12 Syracuse and stay undefeated with a 72-68 victory Thursday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

• A 13-0 run in the fourth quarter gave Syracuse a 61-55 lead with 3:36 to play, but the Gophers immediately responded with a 12-0 run of their own to get the win.

• Kenisha Bell led all scorers with 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Eleven of her 24 points came in the fourth quarter alone.

• Taiye Bello notched her fourth double-double of the season as she posted a career-high 20 points and was one off her career high in rebounds with 18. Ten of her 18 rebounds came on the offensive end.

• Annalese Lamke was one point away from her first career double-double as she tallied nine points and a career-high 13 rebounds, while Destiny Pitts reached double figures with 10 points and tied a career high with five assists.

GOPHERS DEFENSE STRONG TO START SEASON

• Minnesota's scoring defense has been stellar so far this season and is a big reason the team is 6-0.

• The 303 points allowed by Minnesota through the first six games of the season is the second lowest opponent point total in program history.

• The Gophers held their first five opponents to 53 points or fewer, the longest stretch of such games since the 2004-05 season when they also did it in five straight.

• The Golden Gophers are second in the Big Ten and rank 11th in the country in scoring defense by allowing just 50.5 points per game. For comparison, last season Minnesota finished the year ranked 335th by allowing 74.8 points per game.

• Additionally, the Gophers are 10th in the country in rebound margin (14.3), 23rd in defensive rebounds per game (30), 31st in scoring margin (+19.8) and 43rd in opponent field goal percentage (34.6.

• Some of the advanced metrics, via HerHoopStats.com, also illustrate how strong the Gopher defense has been this year. Minnesota ranks seventh in the country in opponent points per scoring attempt (shots/FT trips) at 0.78, ninth in opponent points per play (shot/FT trip/turnover) at 0.61 and 13th in opponent points per 100 possessions at 72.4.

BELLO DOMINATING THE GLASS

• Junior Taiye Bello posted double-doubles in the first three games this season. She was the first Minnesota player to have three straight double-doubles since Amanda Zahui B. ended the 2014-15 season with four in a row. Bello now has eight in her career, with Minnesota going 8-0 in those games.

• Bello and Denver's Madison Nelson are the only players in the country to have three games this year with at least 18 rebounds.

• Bello finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds in the season opener vs. New Hampshire. She followed that up with 11 points and 16 rebounds at Xavier and had her double-double by halftime with 10 points and 13 rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Next game out against San Diego, she had 13 points and 18 rebounds.

• Though she didn't have a double-double against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, she did have a career-high 19 rebounds, which were the most by a Gopher since Zahui B. had 22 against DePaul in the NCAA Tournament on March 20, 2015.

• Arguably Bello's best performance came against No. 12 Syracuse when she went for a career-high 20 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, including 10 offensive.

• Through Thursday's games, she was leading the Big Ten in rebounds per game (14.3) and offensive rebounds per game (6), second in total rebounds (86) and third in double-doubles (4) and defensive rebounds per game (8).

GOPHERS PLAYING WITH THE LEAD

• The Golden Gophers have spent very little time playing from behind this season. Of the 240 minutes played through six games this year, Minnesota has played with the lead for 205:34 and trailed for just a total of 23:20.

• In four of the six games this year the Gophers have led wire-to-wire, and 20:13 of the time playing from behind came against San Diego. The other 3:07 was versus Syracuse.

Upcoming Events

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kenisha Bell

Taiye Bello

Annalese Lamke

Destiny Pitts