Gopher Ball

Updated: Minnesota Finishes Their 2011-2012 Season With Stanford

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 21:11:37 +0000

Expect a hard-fought game at Madison Square Garden on Thursday as the Cardinal play the Golden Gophers in a potential barnburner. We get started at 7:00 EST and you can catch it on ESPN. Stanford is ranked #74 in the RPI, and Minnesota may struggle considering its 10-12 record against RPI Top 100 teams. The Golden Gophers currently sport a record of 23-14. The Cardinal maintain a record of 25-11.

This one looks like it could go either way.

StatSmack! Minnesota is better than Stanford

Minnesota has a much lower out-of-state cost per year according to Kiplinger than Stanford ($25,277 vs $53,000).
The top ranking player between the two conferences for points, field goals made, three pointers, assists, and steals is in the Big Ten.
The Big Ten has had 7 more NCAA Tournament teams than the Pac 12 over the past 10 years.
The Minnesota blocks leader (Rodney Williams) has more blocks than the Stanford blocks leader (Josh Huestis).

Get more Stanford StatSmack

Updated: Minnesota (22-14) Faces Washington (24-10)

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 21:11:29 +0000

Tuesday is the date fans have been waiting for as Washington goes up against Minnesota in the NIT. Tip-off occurs at 9:00 EST and you can catch it on ESPN 2. Washington is #50 in the RPI, and Minnesota will need to ignore its 1-9 record against RPI Top 50 teams. The Golden Gophers boast a record of 22-14 overall. Meanwhile, the Huskies have a record of 24-10.

Minnesota will give Washington a run for their money.

In reviewing statistical differences between the teams, Washington comes out ahead in one area, scoring, where the Huskies outperform the Golden Gophers, 75 pts/game to 68 pts/game.

StatSmack! Minnesota is better than Washington

Diaper Dandies love us. Minnesota has recruited more McDonald's All-Americans out of high school than Washington (6 vs 3).
The worst team in the Big Ten has a much higher RPI than the worst team in the Pac 12 (153 vs 267).
Keep filling up on cupcakes. Minnesota has a stronger schedule than Washington this season (SOS Rank: #39 vs #83).
Minnesota has a much better Kiplinger Out-of-State Ranking than Washington (#9 vs #20).

Get more Washington StatSmack

On this day 14 years ago - Mar 18, 1998

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 21:11:21 +0000

Two players poured it on against Marquette in a 73-71 win at home. Quincy Lewis had 24 points and Sam Jacobson had 21 points in the winning effort.

Relevant StatSheet links:

Minnesota vs La Salle: Recap Notes

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 03:16:49 +0000

Minnesota Game Notes:

The last time Minnesota started the season 20-14 was 2007.
Minnesota beat the spread by 12.0 points. That makes the 17th time this season the Golden Gophers have beat the spread.
The Golden Gophers have won 100% of the time this season (6-0) after recording 28 or more field goals made.
Minnesota has won 100% of the time this season (8-0) when its had a field goal percentage of 51.9% or better.
Minnesota has won 100% of the time this season (7-0) when opponents record 8 or fewer free throws made.
This season Minnesota has won 100% of the time (4-0) when Austin Hollins has 3 steals or more and 73% of the time (11-4) when Julian Welch has 4 field goals made or more.
Minnesota set season lows for three point percentage and three pointers.
The Golden Gophers have recorded more rebounds than their opponents for the past 5 games.
Minnesota has recorded fewer steals than their opponents for the past 4 games.
This marks the 20th win for the season. Minnesota has 10 20-win seasons since 1980.
The top two scorers (Rodney Williams and Austin Hollins) accounted for 52.8% of the points.
Rodney Williams has led the team in scoring 7 times and in rebounding 13 times in 34 games this season.
This marks the 3rd 20-point game of Rodney Williams's career.
Rodney Williams has 5 straight double-digit point games.
Rodney Williams had a career high with 21 points and 9 field goals made.
Austin Hollins has 4 straight double-digit point games.
Austin Hollins had a career high with 7 field goals made.
Andre Hollins has 5 straight double-digit point games.

La Salle Game Notes:

La Salle lost and did not cover the spread.
Earl Pettis accounted for 31.1% of the team's points.
Jerrell Wright accounted for 30.4% of the team's rebounds.
Earl Pettis has led the team in scoring 11 times in 34 games this season.
Jerrell Wright has led the team in rebounding 16 times in 34 games this season.
Ramon Galloway has 3 straight double-digit point games.
Earl Pettis has 8 straight double-digit point games.

Minnesota vs La Salle: Boxscore

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 03:15:49 +0000

Click on a heading in the table to sort the column.

	S	MIN	PTS	FG	FG%	2P	2P%	3P	3P%	FT	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
R. Williams	*	40	21	9-17	52	9-15	60	0-2	0	3-3	100	1	5	6	0	1	0	1	1
A. Hollins	*	36	16	7-11	63	7-9	77	0-2	0	2-3	66	1	1	2	3	3	0	3	1
J. Coleman	*	32	7	2-3	66	2-3	66	0-0		3-4	75	3	3	6	3	0	0	3	2
A. Hollins	*	22	13	5-8	62	4-5	80	1-3	33	2-3	66	0	5	5	1	1	1	3	4
E. Eliason	*	14	1	0-0		0-0	0	0-0		1-2	50	1	1	2	3	1	1	2	3
J. Welch		25	8	4-8	50	4-6	66	0-2	0	0-0		0	3	3	2	0	0	2	0
O. Osenieks		21	4	1-4	25	1-2	50	0-2	0	2-3	66	3	3	6	2	2	1	1	2
M. Ahanmisi		5	0	0-2	0	0-2	0	0-0		0-0		0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
C. Armelin		3	0	0-0		0-0	0	0-0		0-0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
A. Ingram		2	0	0-1	0	0-1	0	0-0		0-0		0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
MINN		200	70	28-54	51	27-43	62	1-11	9	13-18	72	11	21	32	15	9	3	16	14
	S	MIN	PTS	FG	FG%	2P	2P%	3P	3P%	FT	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
SALLE		200	61	24-51	47	19-41	46	5-10	50	8-13	61	8	15	23	16	10	5	18	14
S. Mills	*	38	8	3-5	60	1-2	50	2-3	66	0-0		0	2	2	4	1	0	0	2
R. Galloway	*	38	13	4-9	44	3-8	37	1-1	100	4-4	100	1	4	5	3	2	2	3	1
E. Pettis	*	37	19	8-17	47	7-14	50	1-3	33	2-2	100	1	2	3	2	3	0	3	3
J. Wright	*	26	12	5-10	50	5-10	50	0-0		2-6	33	4	3	7	3	2	1	3	1
T. Duren	*	26	6	3-7	42	3-5	60	0-2	0	0-0		0	0	0	4	1	0	5	4
D. Peterson		25	3	1-1	100	0-0	0	1-1	100	0-0		0	1	1	0	1	1	1	2
D. White		6	0	0-2	0	0-2	0	0-0		0-1	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	2	0
S. Zack		4	0	0-0		0-0	0	0-0		0-0		1	0	1	0	0	0	1	1
	S	MIN	PTS	FG	FG%	2P	2P%	3P	3P%	FT	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF

Referees

	Since 1996				2011-2012
	Gms	FPG	Techs	DQs	Gms	FPG	Techs	DQs	Primary Confs
Jim Burr	1283	35.7	386	1020	66	33.7	20	47	Big East, Big Ten, ACC
Bryan Kersey	1262	36.7	364	986	91	34.2	15	57	ACC, MAAC, Big East
Clarence Armstrong	206	36.1	55	147	57	36.5	24	50	Big East, CAA, MAAC

Fouls: Minnesota 14, La Salle 14, Total 28
DQs: Minnesota 0, La Salle 0, Total 0
Technical Fouls: Minnesota 0, La Salle 0, Total 0

On this day 4 years ago - Mar 13, 2008

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 21:15:55 +0000

Minnesota came back from a 13 point deficit at half-time to beat Northwestern, 55-52. Lawrence Westbrook led the team in scoring. He had 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 three pointers. Craig Moore led Northwestern with 15 points, 3 three pointers, and 3 rebounds.

Relevant StatSheet links:

Andre Hollins Receives Honorable Mention for the StatSheet NCAA Freshman of the Week - March 12th, 2012

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 22:19:44 +0000

With a solid performance that included going up against the #8 team in the nation, Jared Sullinger, a 6-9 sophomore from Ohio State, has earned the StatSheet NCAA Player of the Week. StatSheet's NCAA Freshman of the Week is Bradley Beal from Florida and StatSheet's NCAA 6th Man of the Week is Colorado State's Jesse Carr. Sullinger put up an impressive 24 points per game, 60% shooting, and 9 rebounds per game in victories against Purdue and 10th ranked Michigan and a loss to Michigan State.

Sullinger led scoring (30) and rebounding (12) for the Buckeyes in an 88-71 win against Purdue. He then led the team in scoring (24) and rebounding (6) in a huge 77-55 victory over Michigan. Lastly, Sullinger led scoring (18) and rebounding (9) in a 68-64 loss to Michigan State.

This is the first StatSheet NCAA Player of the Week award for Jared Sullinger. However, he has been named a runner-up once and received an honorable mention. The runner-up this week is Kansas State junior Jordan Henriquez-Roberts. Honorable mention goes to Saint Mary's senior Rob Jones. The highest ranking player from Minnesota was Rodney Williams who finished 16th.

StatSheet NCAA Freshman of the Week: Florida's Bradley Beal

Bradley Beal played an average of 37 minutes starting both games for the Gators. In a hard-fought 66-63 win over Alabama, Beal led scoring and rebounding with 16 and 7, respectively. In a 74-71 loss to Kentucky, he led rebounding with 8 and also had 5 assists.

Beal has won the StatSheet NCAA Freshman of the Week an astounding 3 times. The runner-up is Anthony Davis from Kentucky. Honorable mention goes to our own Andre Hollins.

StatSheet NCAA 6th Man of the Week: Colorado State's Jesse Carr

Junior Jesse Carr averaged 31 minutes over two games for the Rams. In a big 81-60 win over TCU, Carr chalked up 7 rebounds and 9 assists. Then in a 79-69 loss to San Diego State, he contributed 17 points and 2 assists.

This is the first time this season Carr has won the StatSheet NCAA 6th Man of the Week award. David Pellom, a junior forward from George Washington, is runner-up. Dave Barnett, a senior guard/forward from Buffalo, wins honorable mention.

Weekly Leaders

Scoring: Mitchell Watt, Buffalo: 32 PPG
Rebounding: Omondi Amoke, Cal State Fullerton: 21 RPG
Assists: Jeremiah Ostrowski, Hawaii: 11 APG
Blocked Shots: Jake Cohen, Davidson: 7 BPG
Free Throws: Steven Idlet, Tulsa: 14 PPG
Three Pointers: Akeem Ellis, Coppin State: 6 TPG
Steals: Arsalan Kazemi, Rice: 5 SPG

Michigan State Leads Five Big Ten Teams at #5 in AP Poll: Mar 12th, 2012

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Five Big Ten teams show up in this week's AP Top 25 poll. They are Michigan State at #5, Ohio State (#7), Michigan (#13), Wisconsin (#14), and Indiana (#16).

Michigan State moves up three spots in the poll following a week that began with a win on the road over Iowa, 92-75. After that came another win on the road against 14th ranked Wisconsin, 65-52. Finally, they put up an upset win on the road against 7th ranked Ohio State, 68-64.

Ohio State holds steady at #7 after wins against then-10th ranked Michigan, 77-55 and Purdue, 88-71 and a loss to then-8th ranked Michigan State. Michigan moves down three spots after a win against Minnesota, 73-69 and a loss to 7th ranked Ohio State. Wisconsin holds steady at #14 after a win against then-15th ranked Indiana, 79-71 and a loss to then-8th ranked Michigan State. Indiana moves down one spot after a win against Penn State, 75-58 and a loss to 14th ranked Wisconsin.

Kentucky stays number one for the seventh week in a row. Louisville breaks into the Top 25 at #17 with a win on the road over Seton Hall, 61-55, an upset win on the road over then-9th ranked Marquette, 84-71, and an upset win on the road over then-23rd ranked Notre Dame, 64-50. Vanderbilt comes in at #20 with wins against 1st ranked Kentucky, 71-64, Ole Miss, 65-53, and Georgia, 63-41. New Mexico also enters the Top 25 at #21, along with Saint Mary's at #24. Temple falls out of the rankings this week with an upset loss on the road to Massachusetts, 77-71. Notre Dame, Gonzaga, and Iowa State also drop out this week.

StatSheet.com Links:

AP Top 25
1.	Kentucky	32-2
2.	Syracuse	31-2
3.	Missouri	30-4
4.	UNC	29-5
5.	MSU	27-7
6.	Kansas	27-6
7.	OSU	27-7
8.	Duke	27-6
9.	Baylor	27-7
10.	FSU	24-9
11.	MARQ	25-7
12.	MURRAY	30-1
13.	Michigan	24-9
14.	WISC	24-9
15.	GTOWN	23-8
16.	Indiana	25-8
17.	Lville	26-9
18.	WSU	26-5
19.	CREI	28-5
20.	Vandy	24-10
21.	Lobos	27-6
22.	SDSU	26-7
23.	UNLV	26-8
24.	SMC	27-5
25.	Florida	23-10
Poll in Motion

AP Top 25 By Conference

Conf	Top 25 Teams	Conf Teams	Pct in Top 25
Big Ten	5	12	41.7%
Big East	4	16	25.0%
SEC	3	12	25.0%
ACC	3	12	25.0%
Big 12	3	10	30.0%
Mountain West	3	8	37.5%
Missouri Valley	2	10	20.0%
Ohio Valley	1	11	9.1%
West Coast	1	9	11.1%

StatSheet Projects Minnesota as NIT Four Seed: 03/11/2012

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 12:56:41 +0000

StatSeed is StatSheet's postseason projections for all of Division I, including the NCAA Tournament, National Invitation Tournament (NIT), College Basketball Invitational (CBI), and the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). Read more about how StatSeed is calculated.

StatSheet now projects Minnesota to go to the NIT as a four seed. The Golden Gophers are #97 in the StatSheet StatRank with a 19-14 overall record and a 6-12 record in the Big Ten.

During the last four games, Minnesota picked up wins against Northwestern and Nebraska but also took a step backwards with losses to AP #10 Michigan and AP #14 Wisconsin.

Minnesota is not that good against top competition, with a 6-12 record against the RPI Top 100 that includes a 1-9 record against the RPI Top 50 and a 1-8 record against AP ranked teams. While the Golden Gophers have two quality wins including AP #15 Indiana and RPI #49 South Dakota State, they're also hampered by two bad losses including RPI #131 Iowa (2 losses).

The last four teams into the NCAA Tournament with at-large bids are Miami (FL) (19-12, 9-7 ACC, StatRank #59), Virginia (22-9, 9-7 ACC, StatRank #54), Ole Miss (20-13, 8-8 SEC, StatRank #57), and Northwestern (18-13, 8-10 Big Ten, StatRank #52).

The first four teams out are Brigham Young (25-8, 12-4 West Coast, StatRank #49), Marshall (21-13, 9-7 C-USA, StatRank #45), Oregon (22-9, 13-5 Pac 12, StatRank #62), and Seton Hall (20-12, 8-10 Big East, StatRank #71).

The next four out are Iona (25-7, 15-3 MAAC, StatRank #47), LSU (18-14, 7-9 SEC, StatRank #76), Mississippi State (21-11, 8-8 SEC, StatRank #73), and Washington (21-10, 14-4 Pac 12, StatRank #70).

Regional 1

#1	Kansas
#2	Duke
#3	Baylor
#4	Florida State
#5	Florida
#6	Iowa State
#7	Connecticut
#8	Alabama
#9	California
#10	Purdue
#11	NC State
#12	Long Beach State
#13	Colorado
#14	Belmont
#15	Long Island
#16	Detroit
#17	MVSU

Regional 2

#1	Kentucky
#2	Michigan State
#3	Louisville
#4	Georgetown
#5	Memphis
#6	UNLV
#7	San Diego State
#8	Colorado State
#9	Cincinnati
#10	Saint Louis
#11	Northwestern
#12	Ole Miss
#13	Harvard
#14	Davidson
#15	Loyola (MD)
#16	Lamar
#17	Norfolk State

Regional 3

#1	North Carolina
#2	Missouri
#3	Marquette
#4	Indiana
#5	Murray State
#6	Notre Dame
#7	Southern Miss
#8	Creighton
#9	Kansas State
#10	Saint Mary's
#11	Texas
#12	Virginia
#13	Miami (FL)
#14	Ohio
#15	Montana
#16	Lehigh
#17	Vermont

Regional 4

#1	Syracuse
#2	Ohio State
#3	Michigan
#4	Wisconsin
#5	Vanderbilt
#6	Wichita State
#7	Temple
#8	Gonzaga
#9	New Mexico
#10	South Florida
#11	West Virginia
#12	Xavier
#13	VCU
#14	SDSU
#15	New Mexico State
#16	UNCA
#17	Western Kentucky

NCAA Tourney Projections by Conference

Conf	NCAA Teams	Conf Teams	Pct in NCAA
Big East	9	16	56.2%
Big Ten	7	12	58.3%
ACC	6	12	50.0%
Big 12	6	10	60.0%
SEC	5	12	41.7%
Mountain West	4	8	50.0%
A-10	3	14	21.4%
West Coast	2	9	22.2%
Missouri Valley	2	10	20.0%
C-USA	2	12	16.7%
Pac 12	2	12	16.7%
MAC	1	12	8.3%
Big South	1	11	9.1%
MEAC	1	13	7.7%
Patriot	1	8	12.5%
Sun Belt	1	12	8.3%
Horizon	1	10	10.0%
WAC	1	8	12.5%
America East	1	9	11.1%
SWAC	1	10	10.0%
Ivy League	1	8	12.5%
Atlantic Sun	1	10	10.0%
Big Sky	1	9	11.1%
Summit League	1	10	10.0%
Ohio Valley	1	11	9.1%
CAA	1	12	8.3%
Southland	1	12	8.3%
MAAC	1	10	10.0%
SoCon	1	12	8.3%
NEC	1	12	8.3%
Big West	1	9	11.1%

#10 Ranked Michigan Gets Win Over Minnesota, 73-69

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 03:39:09 +0000

On March 9th at a neutral site, the Golden Gophers suffered a close loss to the 10th ranked Wolverines, 73-69 (OT), in the Big Ten Tourney.

A couple facts played into this pairing. The Minnesota RPI ranking was #84 and Michigan was a higher #10. The Golden Gophers lost to the Wolverines earlier this season 61-56.

Michigan battled tough and came out ahead in turnover margin and three-point shooting.

Three-pointers were a crushing factor, Michigan hit 47% from the three-point line to 39% from Minnesota. The Wolverines managed the game very well, registering only nine turnovers to 16 for the Golden Gophers.

Andre Hollins led the losing effort for the Golden Gophers with 21 points on 33% shooting in 44 minutes. Hollins also led everyone with six assists.

MICH Players		Mins	Pts	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO
A+	Trey Burke	45	30	2	3	2	2	2
A	Tim Hardaway Jr	40	20	5	2	1	0	2
B	Jordan Morgan	35	7	4	1	2	0	0
B-	Evan Smotrycz	12	3	5	1	0	0	2
C+	Stu Douglass	40	5	1	2	0	1	0
C+	Matt Vogrich	11	2	2	0	1	0	0
C-	Zack Novak	42	6	3	0	1	0	3

MINN Players		Mins	Pts	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO
A+	Rodney Williams	38	20	6	4	2	3	2
A+	Andre Hollins	44	21	4	6	2	0	4
B	Eliott Eliason	32	4	9	2	0	1	2
C+	Austin Hollins	28	11	3	1	0	0	2
C	Joe Coleman	32	4	4	2	0	0	3
C	Julian Welch	27	6	1	2	0	0	2
C	Chip Armelin	11	3	2	0	0	0	1
-	Andre Ingram	10	0	1	0	0	0	0
-	Oto Osenieks	3	0	1	0	0	0	0

The Golden Gophers now find themselves at 19-14. They're now 2-9 against the RPI Top 50 (Michigan #10).

Minnesota Game Notes:

Rodney Williams had a career high with 8 field goals made.
The bench recorded more rebounds (18) than the starters (13).
Andre Hollins has 4 straight double-digit point games.
Minnesota has played in 5 overtime games this season. Over the last 5 seasons the Golden Gophers have played in 10 overtime games with a record of 4-6.
In 75% of losses this season, the Golden Gophers have a field goal percentage of 45.3% or worse.

Michigan Game Notes:

Trey Burke accounted for 41.0% of the team's points.
Tim Hardaway Jr has 7 straight double-digit point games.
Trey Burke has led the team in scoring 11 times in 32 games this season.
Trey Burke has 11 straight double-digit point games.
This was the 5th foul out of the season for Evan Smotrycz.

Check out the complete Games Notes