Gophers Back at Williams Arena Thursday vs. New Orleans

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Broadcast: BTN (Cory Provus (play-by-play), Shon Morris (color)
Tip Time: 6:01 p.m.
Radio: KTLK 1130 AM/103.5 FM (Mike Grimm, Al Nolen)
Sirius: SiriusXM 372

SERIES INFORMATION*
Second All-Time Meeting (MN 1-0)
Last Game Against New Orleans: Dec. 7, 2013
Last Southland Team MN Faced: 2021-22 Season
(Texas A&M CC)
* - excludes vacated games

STARTING FIVE
• The University of Minnesota men's basketball team returns to Williams Arena confines Thursday night when the Golden Gophers host New Orleans at 6 p.m. The game will be televised on Big Ten Network and broadcast through Gopher Radio Network.
• The game marks the second all-time meeting between these two teams and the first time since 2013. Minnesota hosted New Orleans on Dec. 7, 2013 where the Gophers won, 80-65. In that game, Andre Hollins led six Golden Gophers in double figures with 18 points. Mo Walker scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Minnesota.
• Minnesota is 7-0 all-time against Southland Conference teams, including a 1-0 mark against New Orleans. The Gophers' last Southland opponent came in 2021 when Minnesota defeated Texas A&M Corpus Christi, 79-71, also at Williams Arena on Dec. 14, 2021. Head coach Ben Johnson is also 1-0 against Southland Conference members. Minnesota was receiving votes at that time.
• On Sunday against San Francisco, Dawson Garcia established his 1,000th collegiate point. He scored 351 points in his first year with Marquette and 179 rebounds. Garcia added 144 points and 88 rebounds with North Carolina. Now with Minnesota, Garcia has 511 points and 224 rebounds. His 1,006 points have come through 75 collegiate games played, including 71 career starts. Garcia is also nine rebounds away from establishing his 500th collegiate rebound, currently sitting at 491. In his career, Garcia has averaged 13.4 ppg and 16.0 as a Gopher.
• Minnesota currently ranks 39th nationally in rebounds per game and third within the Big Ten. The Gophers average 41.2 rebounds per game, trailing Illinois (48.3 rbg) and Nebraska (42.9) this season. The Gophers rank 37th nationally in rebounding margin (9.0) and 29th in defensive rebounds per game (29.6)
• Showing its depth, the Gophers rank first in the Big Ten in bench points and 31st nationally. Minnesota has trailed just once this season in bench points, which came 26-20 during the Missouri game. The Gophers have scored 166 of their 461 points coming off the bench.

LAST GAME RECAP
• Dawson Garcia reached 1,000 career points, leading the Gophers with 19 points and six rebounds, and Pharrel Payne came off the bench to finish with season-highs of 15 points and six boards, but San Francisco (5-2) led from start to finish and pulled away down the stretch for a 76-58 win at Chase Center.
• Payne was 6-of-11 from the field, reaching double-figures for the second time this season in 26 minutes played. Mike Mitchell Jr. had nine points, six rebounds, and four assists, and Cam Christie finished with seven points
• Minnesota got off to a slow start, as it made just one of its first nine field goal attempts and trailed 10-1 early, and the Dons led by 11 points three separate times in the first half. The Gophers cut the lead to 34-29 late in the first half, but USF hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to take an eight-point halftime lead. The Gophers pulled within 47-46 on a three by Christie with 13:07 left, and were within five at 55-50 on another jumper by Christie at the 9:04 mark, but USF outscored the Gophers 21-8 down the stretch.

ABOUT NEW ORLEANS
• New Orleans is 3-3 this season and broke a three-game losing streak with a win over Central Arkansas on Sunday. UNO opened the season with back-to-back wins over Millsaps (100-70) and Southern New Orleans (106-69). However, the Privateers dropped three-straight at Loyola Chicago (70-73), Oklahoma State (68-96) and an overtime loss to North Dakota (69-71).
• Jordan Johnson leads UNO averaging 23.3 points per game and has scored 140 points this season. He ranks fourth nationally in ppg and 12th in three-pointers per game. The Southland player of the week has also added a team-best 25 assists. Khaleb Wilson-Rouse and Tyson Jackson follow averaging 10.3 and 8.0 points respectively. Jamond Vincent averages a team-best 6.0 rebounds this season.
• As a team, New Orleans averages 82 points and 38 rebounds while shooting 43.3 field and 29.7 from three. UNO allows 75.5 ppg and 42.7 rebounds this year. They have turned the ball over 79 times this year. The Privateers also rank 30th nationally in fast break points.

ON THE DOCKET
• Minnesota opens the Big Ten season Sunday when it travels to Ohio State, Dec. 3. The game is set for 5:30 p.m. CT and televised on Big Ten Network.
• Mike Grimm and Al Nolen will provide the radio broadcast on Gopher Radio Network and KTLK 1130 AM/103.5 FM.

Upcoming Events

Players Mentioned

Cam Christie

Dawson Garcia

Mike Mitchell Jr.

Pharrel Payne