Men’s Basketball | 1/5/2021 11:13:00 AM
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: BTN –Kevin Kugler (Play-by-Play); Stephen Bardo (Analyst)
Tip Time: 7:37 p.m. CT
Radio: Learfield IMG College/KFAN 100.3 FM (joined in progress)
Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
Sirius XM: 196 Sirius: 108 Internet: 958
SERIES INFORMATION
153rd Meeting (61-91 all-time record)*
At Michigan: 20-55*
Current Streak: W-1
Richard Pitino vs. Michigan: 2-10
Minnesota vs. Big Ten: 777-855*
Richard Pitino vs. Big Ten: 56-87
* – excludes vacated games
STARTING FIVE
• Minnesota will play No. 10 Michigan twice in the next 10 days, the first coming Wednesday in Ann Arbor, Mich. Minnesota is 61-91 all-time against the Wolverines. The Gophers won their last competition against Michigan, Jan. 12, 2020 at Williams Arena. That win snapped a five-game Michigan win streak from March 11, 2017 to March 16, 2019. Daniel Oturu scored a career-high 30 points and Minnesota went on a late 11-0 run to beat then-No. 19 Michigan 75-67.
• Minnesota leads the conference in wins over teams currently ranked in the January 4 poll with three. Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois have two apiece. Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin each have three wins over teams ranked on the date of the game.
• Minnesota is coming off a 77-60 victory over then-No. 25 Ohio State on Sunday. Liam Robbins had 27 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks, while Marcus Carr added 15 points and Gabe Kalscheur scored 13. Both Gach and Jamal Mashburn, Jr., also added 10 points each.
• Liam Robbins is averaging 2.8 blocked shots per game. That average tops the Big Ten and ranks 14th nationally. He also is third nationally in total blocks at 34. Against Wisconsin and Michigan State, Robbins had three each game, while he tied his Minnesota best of five against Ohio State. Overall, he averages 3.2 against league opponents.
• Marcus Carr continues to rank high nationally and within the Big Ten. Carr averages 22.1 ppg, which ranks 16th nationally and fourth in the Big Ten. His 5.9 assists per game ranks first in the league and 28th nationally. He also averages 36 minutes played, which also tops the Big Ten and 48th nationally, while his 430 total minutes ranks second in Division I. Carr also averages 2.5 three-pointers per game, good for fifth in the league.
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
• No. 10 Michigan enters the Minnesota game with a 9-0 overall record and a perfect 4-0 mark against Big Ten teams. The Wolverines opened conference play with a home win over Penn State (62-58), followed with road wins at Nebraska (80-69) and Maryland (84-73) and a home win Sunday against Northwestern (84-73).
• Michigan remains the only undefeated team left in the Big Ten in either conference or nonconference action.
• Hunter Dickinson leads the team in points per game (16.9), rebounds per game (8.1) and blocks per game (1.5). He is shooting 71.8 percent from the field, which leads the Big Ten and is sixth nationally. Following him in scoring is Isaiah Livers (13.9) and Franz Wagner (12.2).
• As a team, the Wolverines are averaging 82.6 points per game, shooting 52 percent from the field, averaging 8.0 three-pointers per game and 39.9 rebounds per game.
GOPHERS RANKED NO. 16/17 in POLLS
• Minnesota is currently No. 16 in the Associated Press poll and No. 17 in USA Today poll, both released Monday. It marks the second-straight week the Gophers have been ranked. Last week’s poll marked the first time since Dec. 10, 2017 that the Golden Gophers have been ranked.
• The Big Ten has seven teams in the Associated Press Top-25 poll and six teams in the USA TODAY coaches poll. Three Big Ten teams appear in the top 10 of both polls: No. 5/No.7 Iowa, No. 8/No. 10 Wisconsin and No. 10/No. 9 Michigan. In total, the Big Ten boasts six teams in the top 16 of the AP Poll. In addition to the seven teams appearing in the polls, three other teams — Indiana, Northwestern and Ohio State — received votes in either one or both polls.
• Overall, Minnesota is 10-6 under head coach Richard Pitino when ranked and 3-4 in Big Ten play.
ROBBINS BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Liam Robbins has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week, announced Monday by the conference office.
• It is Robbins’ first Big Ten honor and Minnesota’s second-straight weekly award. Marcus Carr was awarded the honor last week.
• Robbins averaged 19.0 points per game and 10.7 rebounds per game last week as the Golden Gophers won two-of-three games against ranked opponents. In the win over Michigan State, Robbins had 18 points and added nine rebounds. After a 12-point game at Wisconsin, Robbins scored 27 points Sunday against Ohio State, which tied a Minnesota best for him. He also produced his first double double of his Gopher career when he had a career-high 14 rebounds.
• Robbins contributed 11 blocks this week, had six assists and went 18-for-35 from the field (51.4 %). Robbins leads the Big Ten in blocked shots, averaging 2.8 per game.
UP NEXT
• Minnesota is back in action on Jan. 10 when the Gophers travel to No. 5 Iowa.
• Tip off is set for 1:30 p.m., on BTN while KFAN 100.3 FM will carry the Gopher Radio Network broadcast in the Twin Cities.