No. 13/17 Michigan to Visit Williams Arena Sunday

MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota (9-11, 2-7 B1G) returns home for the first time since Jan. 15, when No. 13/17 Michigan (16-5, 6-4 B1G) comes to Williams Arena on Sunday afternoon. The game is scheduled to tip at 2 p.m. CT on B1G+ and can be heard on the iHeartRadio app or on KFAN+ with Justin Gaard and Lynnette Sjoquist on the call.

ABOUT THE MICHIGAN GAME

Minnesota's matchup with Michigan is the 67th all-time meeting between the two programs. Last year the Gophers dropped a 73-61 contest in Ann Arbor after leading the Wolverines at halftime 33-29. In that game Alanna 'Rose' Micheaux was the only current Gopher who played. In that game she made her first career start, scoring eight points in 23 minutes.
Minnesota is 35-31 all-time against Michigan.
Minnesota's last win at home against Michigan was on Feb. 14, 2018, when the Gophers defeated No. 23 Michigan 93-87. Minnesota is 1-6 in their last seven games agasint the Wolverines dating back to 2016.
Michigan has lost two straight against top-10 nationally ranked teams in No. 6 Indiana and No. 10 Maryland.
Michigan is 3-3 against common opponents with the Gophers.
Michigan was picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches' Poll and was not picked in the Big Ten's Preseason Media Poll.
This season Michigan is led by graduate student Emily Kiser who averages 17.1 points per game this season, up from 9.3 points per game last season. Kiser's improvement of 7.8 points per game from last season is the fifth-most in the Big Ten this season.
Michigan is the only team in the Big Ten to have three different players average over 16 points per game with Kiser (17.1), Laila Phelia (16.8) and Leigha Brown (16.6) all above that mark this season.
As a team Michigan is one of the best free throw shooting teams in the nation at 78.7 percent as a team which is No. 1 in the conference and ninth in the NCAA. The Wolverines are also a strong defensive team, allowing just 62.5 points per game, which is the third-fewest in the Big Ten this season while the team's offense scores at a 47.8 percent rate which is the third-best in the Big Ten and the ninth-best in the country.

GOPHER NOTABLES

Last time out the Maroon and Gold dropped a road matchup with Purdue (13-6, 4-5 B1G) in West Lafayette, Ind. The Gophers led for just one minute during a game in which Purdue hit 10-of-30 threes and shot 45.5 percent from the floor. The Gophers struggled from the floor, hitting just 27.5 percent from the floor as a team and scored just 20 points in the paint.
Despite snapping her nine-game streak of double figure scoring against Purdue, forward Alanna 'Rose' Micheaux still found a way to be impactful. The sophomore grabbed 15 rebounds, a new career high, in the loss and moved herself into a tie for the most offensive rebounds per game in the conference this season (3.3). On the boards in her last five games Micheaux has averaged 12.2 rebounds and 4.8 offensive rebounds per game all against Big Ten opponents.
Micheaux's latest double double vs. Illinois was her seventh of the season which is tied for the fifth most in the Big Ten this season, and is just two behind the Big Ten's leaders. Three of her seven double doubles are against Big Ten opponents and four of them have been against Power 5 opponent.
Mallory Heyer has posted four double doubles this season as a freshman - the most for Minnesota since Destiny Pitts had six during her freshman campaign in 2017-18. She's been steady for the Gophers in the past six games with an average of 13.3 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game.
Mallory Heyer has posted four double doubles this season as a freshman - the most since Destiny Pitts had six during her freshman campaign in 2017-18. She's been steady for the Gophers in the past four games with an average of 13.8 points per game, 10.0 rebounds per game and 2.3 assists.
Through 20 games this season Minnesota continues to prove itself a quality team on the boards with an average rate of 43.2 per game as a team which is No. 1 in the Big Ten conference and No. 17 in the nation. The team has been one of the best on the offensive glass at 14.1 per game, No. 2 in the Big Ten and 44th in the country.
Lindsay Whalen announced on Jan. 6, the signing of center Sophie Hart to the Gophers' program. Hart is a 6-5 graduate of Farmington High School, who played two seasons at NC State, and will join Minnesota with two years of eligibility. Coming out of high school Hart was the No. 64 ranked overall recruit in the class of 2021 and the No. 5 ranked player at her position by ESPN.
Minnesota head coach Lindsay Whalen announced the addition of five student-athletes on Nov. 16, who have signed National Letters of Intent or an Acceptance of Admission to join the Minnesota women's basketball program for the 2023-24 season. Signing NLIs with the Golden Gophers are Kennedy Klick, MyKynnlie Dalan, Ajok Madol and Dominika Paurová while Brynn Senden signed an Acceptance of Admission.

BY THE NUMBERS
9.6 - Alanna 'Rose' Micheaux has improved her points per game average by 9.6 from last season (4.7 to 14.3).
42 - Minnesota averages 42.2 paint points in its nine wins this season.
87 - Freshman guard Amaya Battle is at 87 assists this season and is just 19 assists away from the freshman single-season record.
2 - The Gophers now have two scorers that are ranked in the top 20 in the Big Ten this season (Braun and Micheaux).
62 - This season Minnesota gets 61.8 percent of its points per game from freshmen or redshirt freshmen.

The University of Minnesota will have a quick turnaround when No. 6/6 Indiana comes to Williams Arena on Feb. 1. That game is set for a 7 p.m. tip.

For more information on the Gophers, continue to check back with GopherSports.com. Keep up with the University of Minnesota women's basketball on Twitter and Instagram (@GopherWBB) and on Facebook, so you do not miss any content during the 2022-23 season.

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Mallory Heyer