University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, March 6
11:00 AM
University of Minnesota
vs
Rutgers
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Center
/ Men's Basketball
Game 27: Rutgers at Minnesota
3/4/2021 11:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Gophers close out regular season at 11 a.m. on Saturday against Rutgers on FOX and KFAN
SERIES INFORMATION
14th Meeting (8-5 all-time record)
Home: 5-0 // Road: 1-4 // Neutral 2-1
Current Streak: L-3
Richard Pitino vs. Rutgers: 6-5
Minnesota vs. Big Ten: 780-866*
Pitino vs. Big Ten regular season games: 54-95
Pitino vs. Big Ten (includes postseason games): 60-102
* - excludes vacated games
STARTING FIVE
1. Minnesota closes out the regular season at home on Saturday against Rutgers. The Gophers are 8-5 all-time against the Scarlet Knights and are a perfect 5-0 at home. Minnesota recorded home wins against Rutgers in 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 1979. Minnesota's average margin of victory in those five wins was 22 points.
Minnesota is 13-3 at Williams Arena this season and averages 78.2 points, while allowing 69.8. Minnesota also holds advantages in blocks (79-38), steals (102-87) and assists (260-220). The two teams met earlier this year, with Rutgers winning 76-72 in New Jersey on Feb. 4.
2. Minnesota will honor seniors Hunt Conroy, Eric Curry and Brandon Johnson on Saturday. The NCAA has granted all participating players this year an extra year of eligibility because of Covid-19, but it is not yet known what players will return for next season.
3. Minnesota has used six different starting lineups this year and nine different players have started. Many of these changes were because of injuries, as Liam Robbins (second leading scorer, leading rebounder and shot blocker has missed last three games), Gabe Kalscheur (third leading scorer and best defensive player has missed last five games) and Brandon Johnson (fourth leading scorer played only 8:57 at Penn State) have all missed time this season. The only Gopher to start all 26 games is Marcus Carr.
4. Marcus Carr scored a career-high 41 points at Nebraska, which was just one shy of Minnesota's school record. Carr is the fifth Gopher to score at least 40 points in a game, and just the second since 1972. Carr's 41 points ties for third all-time with Andre Hollins, who also had 41 points versus Memphis (11/23/12). The school record of 42 points is held by Eric Magdanz at Michigan (3/5/62) and Oliver Shannon versus Wisconsin (3/6/71). Carr (20 points in the first half, 21 in the second) is the second Gopher ever to score at least 40 on the road (Magdanz). Carr made 11-of-27 field goals, including 6-of-15 three-pointers (15 attempts is a school record), and was 13-of-16 at the free throw line. He added four rebounds, four steals and three assists in 40 minutes. Carr has scored in double-figures 48 times in his career, including doing so in 24 of 26 games this season. Carr has 11 games with 20-plus points this season, four games with 30 or more points and one 40-point game.
5. Marcus Carr played in his 57th game as a Gopher against Northwestern. Carr averages 17.5 points per game and 5.92 assists per game as a Gopher. At this point in his career, his 17.5 points per game would rank ninth in school history (minimum 40 games played) and would be the best career scoring average since Mychal Thompson averaged 20.8 points from 1975-78. His average of 5.89 assists per game would rank first in school history (minimum 40 games played) ahead of Ray Williams who averaged 5.7 from 1976-77.
You can read Minnesota's complete game notes here.
14th Meeting (8-5 all-time record)
Home: 5-0 // Road: 1-4 // Neutral 2-1
Current Streak: L-3
Richard Pitino vs. Rutgers: 6-5
Minnesota vs. Big Ten: 780-866*
Pitino vs. Big Ten regular season games: 54-95
Pitino vs. Big Ten (includes postseason games): 60-102
* - excludes vacated games
STARTING FIVE
1. Minnesota closes out the regular season at home on Saturday against Rutgers. The Gophers are 8-5 all-time against the Scarlet Knights and are a perfect 5-0 at home. Minnesota recorded home wins against Rutgers in 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 1979. Minnesota's average margin of victory in those five wins was 22 points.
Minnesota is 13-3 at Williams Arena this season and averages 78.2 points, while allowing 69.8. Minnesota also holds advantages in blocks (79-38), steals (102-87) and assists (260-220). The two teams met earlier this year, with Rutgers winning 76-72 in New Jersey on Feb. 4.
2. Minnesota will honor seniors Hunt Conroy, Eric Curry and Brandon Johnson on Saturday. The NCAA has granted all participating players this year an extra year of eligibility because of Covid-19, but it is not yet known what players will return for next season.
3. Minnesota has used six different starting lineups this year and nine different players have started. Many of these changes were because of injuries, as Liam Robbins (second leading scorer, leading rebounder and shot blocker has missed last three games), Gabe Kalscheur (third leading scorer and best defensive player has missed last five games) and Brandon Johnson (fourth leading scorer played only 8:57 at Penn State) have all missed time this season. The only Gopher to start all 26 games is Marcus Carr.
4. Marcus Carr scored a career-high 41 points at Nebraska, which was just one shy of Minnesota's school record. Carr is the fifth Gopher to score at least 40 points in a game, and just the second since 1972. Carr's 41 points ties for third all-time with Andre Hollins, who also had 41 points versus Memphis (11/23/12). The school record of 42 points is held by Eric Magdanz at Michigan (3/5/62) and Oliver Shannon versus Wisconsin (3/6/71). Carr (20 points in the first half, 21 in the second) is the second Gopher ever to score at least 40 on the road (Magdanz). Carr made 11-of-27 field goals, including 6-of-15 three-pointers (15 attempts is a school record), and was 13-of-16 at the free throw line. He added four rebounds, four steals and three assists in 40 minutes. Carr has scored in double-figures 48 times in his career, including doing so in 24 of 26 games this season. Carr has 11 games with 20-plus points this season, four games with 30 or more points and one 40-point game.
5. Marcus Carr played in his 57th game as a Gopher against Northwestern. Carr averages 17.5 points per game and 5.92 assists per game as a Gopher. At this point in his career, his 17.5 points per game would rank ninth in school history (minimum 40 games played) and would be the best career scoring average since Mychal Thompson averaged 20.8 points from 1975-78. His average of 5.89 assists per game would rank first in school history (minimum 40 games played) ahead of Ray Williams who averaged 5.7 from 1976-77.
You can read Minnesota's complete game notes here.
Cinematic Recap: Gophers Top Rutgers
Monday, February 23
Highlights: Gophers 80, Rutgers 61
Saturday, February 21
Cinematic Recap: Gophers at Oregon
Thursday, February 19
Highlights: Gophers 61, Oregon 44
Tuesday, February 17