Michigan
Minnesota
Wolverines Host Minnesota in Saturday Afternoon Tilt at Sold-Out Crisler Center
2/1/2018 12:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
» Saturday's game against Minnesota is sold out.
» U-M leads in the overall series, 92-66, against Minnesota. The Wolverines have won nine of the last 10 meetings and 14 of the last 16.
» In two of U-M's last three Big Ten games, the Wolverines have held their opponents to 50 points or fewer -- 47 vs. Rutgers and again vs. Northwestern.
» With his expected start, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman will become the 23rd Wolverine to start 100 career games.
THIS WEEK
Monday, Jan, 29 -- Northwestern (W, 58-47) [ Recap ]
Saturday, Feb. 3 -- Minnesota, 2:30 p.m. (Fox)
• TV: Fox | Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
• Satellite Radio: Sirius: 135 | XM: 195 | Internet: 957
• Complete Game Notes (PDF)
• Watch: Coach Beilein Media Roundtable
The University of Michigan men's basketball team (18-6; 7-4 B1G) opens its February schedule hosting Minnesota (14-10; 3-8 B1G) Saturday afternoon (Feb. 3) at Crisler Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. with the game broadcast on Fox.
THE SERIES WITH MINNESOTA
• Saturday night's game marks the 159th all-time meeting between Michigan and Minnesota.
• U-M leads, 92-76, in the overall series against Minnesota. The Wolverines have won nine of the last 10 meetings and 14 of the last 16.
• Today's game will be the only regular-season meeting. Last year, U-M suffered an 83-78 overtime decision at Williams Arena, snapping a nine-game win streak, in the lone regular-season matchup. U-M rebounded in March, using an 84-77 semifinal victory over the Gophers en route to the 2017 Big Ten Tournament title.
• Michigan has a 55-20 record against Minnesota in Ann Arbor and has won four consecutive home games in the all-time series. The last time the Gophers won in Ann Arbor was a 69-64 win on Jan. 22, 2011.
• U-M head coach John Beilein is 15-4 against Minnesota. Beilein had one prior meeting with the Gophers while with Richmond. With a 67-66 win at Williams Arena, Beilein's Spiders advanced to the 2002 NIT semifinal at Madison Square Garden, where they fell to Syracuse.
A LITTLE ABOUT THE GOPHERS
• Minnesota has a 14-10 overall record, including a 3-8 mark in Big Ten play following a 94-80 setback at Iowa on Tuesday night (Jan. 30). Minnesota is 2-5 on the road this season.
• Jordan Murphy leads Minnesota in scoring and rebounding with 17.7 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. Murphy leads the Big Ten in rebounding and is one of just two players in the conference, along with Penn State's Mike Watkins, averaging a double-double.
• Along with Murphy, Nate Mason is scoring in double figures at 15.4 points per contest, Amir Coffey adds 14.0 points per game and Dupree McBrayer is chipping in 10.2 points per game.
• Ten different players have started at least one game for Minnesota this season, with Jordan Murphy being the only player to start all 24 games for the Golden Gophers.
• Minnesota has attempted 555 free throws this season, the most of any Big Ten team. Murphy has gone to the free-throw line a team-high 151 times and is shooting 72.2 percent.
WOLVERINE TIDBITS
• Saturday's game is SOLD OUT.
• Michigan has only seven regular season games remaining -- three home, four away.
• In two of U-M's last three Big Ten games, the Wolverines held their opponents to 50 points or fewer -- 47 vs. Rutgers and again vs. Northwestern. U-M ranks 13th in the nation and is the best in the Big Ten in points allowed, holding its foes to 63.1 per game.
• U-M is 12-1 at Crisler Center this season. The Maize and Blue averages 74.0 points at Crisler, outscoring its foes by 16.9 points per game at home. The lone loss was a 70-69 setback to then-No. 5 Purdue, as the Boilermaker sank two free throws with less than three seconds left to secure the victory.
• With his expected start, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman will become the 23rd Wolverine to start 100 career games. For his career, he has played in 127 career games (t-15th all-time), including 122 consecutive games and 50 straight starts. Five games ago he became the 52nd Wolverine to reach 1,000 career points.
SOME INTERESTING MICHIGAN POINTS
• The Wolverines have held their foes to 65 points or fewer in 12 games. Those 12 contests include five games where the opponent was held below 50 -- including a season-low 42 by UC Riverside.
• As with most Beilein-coached teams, the three-pointer is a featured scoring component. So far this season nearly 43 percent of U-M's offense has come via the long-range shot, and Michigan is 24th nationally with 599 three-point attempts. U-M has made eight or more three-pointers in 18 games.
• The Wolverines have 12 games with 10 or more three-pointers made and carry a 9-3 record when reaching the mark. So far, U-M has a season-high 15, twice -- vs. Chaminade and Alabama A&M.
• Flipping the stat line, U-M's opponents are averaging just 5.6 three-pointers per game. In the first four games, the Wolverines gave up 32 triples (8.0 per game); however, they have buckled down on the perimeter and are allowing 5.1 per game since -- 103 total. U-M has held an opponent to five or fewer triples in 15 games, including a season-low two twice -- by Indiana and Rutgers.
• According to the latest Kem Pom stats, U-M ranks 45th in Offensive Efficiency and 25th in Defensive Efficiency.
• With more defensive intensity stressed this season, U-M has 156 steals -- 6.5 per game -- with eight Wolverines collecting 10 or more swipes. The highest team total under Beilein at U-M was 239 during the 2012-13 season (39 games, 6.1 spg).
