University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Takes On Oregon in Second Round
3/17/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
| RV/RV Minnesota (24-8, 11-5 B1G) at 6/5 Oregon (31-4, 16-2 Pac-12) | |
| Date / Time | Sunday, March 18 // 9:30 p.m. CT |
| Location | Matthew Knight Arena // Eugene, Ore. |
| TV / Stream | ESPN2 // WatchESPN |
| Radio | 93.3 ALT FM // Listen Online // iHeart Radio App |
| Live Stats | Gamecenter |
| Tournament Central | NCAA Tournament |
| Game Notes | Minnesota // Oregon |
| Official Sites | Minnesota // Oregon |
| Social Media | @GopherWBB | Facebook | Instagram |
Winners of seven of its last nine and 10 of its last 13, 10th-seeded Minnesota posted its first NCAA Tournament win in nine years with an 89-77 win over No. 7 Green Bay in Friday's opening round. Now the Golden Gophers continue play Sunday against No. 2 seed Oregon in Eugene, Ore., at 9:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
Here are five things you need to know before tipoff:
1. Minnesota is 12-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, which includes a magical run to the Final Four in 2004. The Gophers have advanced to the Sweet 16 three times (2003, 2004, 2005) in program history, while also competing in one Elite Eight (2004). Minnesota, which made its first NCAA Appearance in 1994, has earned the No. 10 seed for the third time (1994 and 2009) in program history. Each previous time the Golden Gophers were No. 10 they won their opening round game. Overall, Minnesota is 3-3 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. With 24 wins on the season, the Gophers have their highest win total in 13 years.
2. The teams have only met once before, in the 1979 National Women's Invitational Tournament where Oregon prevailed 85-74. But Minnesota head coach Marlene Stollings was the associate head coach at Ole Miss in 2010-11 when it beat Kelly Graves' Gonzaga team.
3. Entering the tournament, Minnesota's scoring average of 85.2 points per game led the Big Ten and ranked third nationally behind only Connecticut (88.8) and Baylor (86.6). The number was also on pace to be the highest scoring average in team history, which currently stands at 83.6 set in 2015-16. Junior Kenisha Bell, an All-Big Ten First Team selection, leads the Gophers with 20.2 points per game, while senior Carlie Wagner, also a First Team All-Big Ten honoree, is not far behind at 18.7.
4. The Golden Gophers have won four of their last five games against Top-25 teams, beating then-No. 20 Iowa on Jan. 21 and taking down then-No. 23 Michigan and No. 10 Maryland in a span of five days in mid-February. They fell to top-seeded and 13th-ranked Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, but beat No. 22 Green Bay in the NCAA Tournament's first round. For those wins over the Wolverines and Terrapins, Minnesota was named the National Team of the Week by NCAA.com.
5. Headlining the Gophers' award winners, Destiny Pitts was named the unanimous Big Ten Freshman of the Year, while senior Carlie Wagner and junior Kenisha Bell were each named to the All-Big Ten First Team. Known for developing players, in just four seasons head coach Marlene Stollings has produced two Big Ten Player of the Year winners, three WNBA Draft Picks (including two in the Top 5) and five All-Big Ten First Team honorees.
SCOUTING THE DUCKS
• Oregon enters the game with a 31-4 record on the season and went 16-2 in Pac-12 play, capturing both the regular season and tournament crowns. All four of the team's losses have come to teams seeded sixth or better in this year's NCAA Tournament. The Ducks have won 10 straight games and 14 of their past 15 contests, including an 88-45 win over Seattle in the first round Friday.
• Sabrina Ionescu is a first-team All-American, the Pac-12 Player of the Year and a finalist for the Wooden Award, Wade Trophy, Naismith Trophy, Dawn Staley Award and Lieberman Award. She leads the conference in scoring (19.3) and holds the NCAA record with 10 career triple-doubles, including 19 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds against Seattle.
• Satou Sabally was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, while Ruthy Hebard entered the tournament ranked third in the country with a 65.9 field goal percentage. She set the NCAA record earlier this year by making 33 straight field goals. Lexi Bando is second in the country by making 47.3 of her 3-pointers entering the tournament.
• Oregon entered the NCAAs as the nation's second-ranked team in 3-point shooting (40.6 percent) and was fourth in field goal percentage (49.8), seventh in assists/game (19.0), eighth in scoring margin (+18.8) and ninth in 3-pointers made (305) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.45).
SECOND HALF SURGE SENDS GOPHERS PAST PHOENIX
• No. 10 Minnesota outscored No. 7 Green Bay, 57-35, in the second half en route to an 89-77 win over the Phoenix in the opening round.
• Green Bay entered with the nation's top-ranked scoring defense (46.1 ppg), but the 89 points were the most surrendered by the Phoenix since also allowing 89 to Connecticut on Nov. 30, 2014.
• As a team, the Gophers made 10 3-pointers on 18 attempts, both of which are Gopher records for the NCAA Tournament.
• Minnesota was led by Kenisha Bell, who scored 24 of her game-high 26 points in the second half. She scored 11 points in the third quarter and 13 in the fourth. She set program tournament game records for free throws made (14) and attempted (17) and added five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
• Destiny Pitts scored 20 points in her NCAA Tournament debut, going 5-of-7 at the 3-point line to tie a Minnesota tournament record for 3-pointers made.
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