GAME NOTES
https://gophersports.com/documents/2023/1/10/17_OSU.pdf
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: FS1 (Brandon Gaudin – play by play, Casey Jacobsen – color)
Tip Time: 5:31 p.m. CT
Radio: Learfield IMG: KTLK 1130 AM, 103.5 FM
Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play), Spencer Tollackson (Color)
Sirius: 380 SXM App: 970
SERIES INFORMATION
147th Meeting (54-92 all time)
Minnesota at Ohio State: 17-55
Gophers All-Time vs. Big Ten: 784-887
* – excludes vacated games
STARTING FIVE
• The University of Minnesota men’s basketball team is back on the road when it travels to Ohio State, Thursday, Jan. 12. The Golden Gophers and Ohio State Buckeyes tangle at 5:30 p.m., CT. Minnesota is 54-92 all-time against the Buckeyes, dating back to 1904. Minnesota is 17-55 in Columbus, Ohio.
• The Gophers are coming off an 81-79 overtime loss to Nebraska last Saturday at Williams Arena. Dawson Garcia had 19 points and 15 rebounds. Jamison Battle scored 20, while Ta’Lon Cooper and Joshua Ola-Joseph added 12. Minnesota had 10 three-pointers in the game, the second time this season to reach that mark and first against a conference opponent. The 79 points for the Gophers were also a season high. Minnesota also scored 39 in the first half, another season high.
• Dawson Garcia registered his first double double of his Gopher career Saturday and fifth collegiately. It was Minnesota’s first 15-point, 15-rebound game from a Gopher since Daniel Oturu, March 4, 2020 at Indiana. In the past two games, Garcia has scored 33 points and 24 rebounds against conference opponents. Garcia’s 15 rebounds marked a career-high and was also Minnesota’s third double double of the season, second in points/rebounds. The first was Pharrel Payne’s vs. California Baptist with 15 pts, 13 rebs.
• Guard Ta’Lon Cooper is three assists away from reaching his 500th career assist. The junior from Roebuck, S.C., established 407 during his Morehead State tenure, including 202 in 2021-22. With the Gophers, Cooper has established 90 assists this season and ranks nationally in assists per game (6.4).
• Minnesota has three freshmen that average nearly 20 minutes played this season in Braeden Carrington (23.0), Pharrel Payne (21.1) and Joshua Ola-Joseph (19.1). In fact, Minnesota has four freshmen who average over 18 minutes with Jaden Henley (18.5). No Big Ten team has more than two freshman playing 20+ minutes per game and Minnesota is the only team that has four freshmen average over 18.
Purdue (Smith/Loyer), Ohio State (Sensabaugh/Thornton) and Illinois (Clark/Epps) also have two freshmen over 20 minutes. In fact, within the Big Ten, only six schools have a single freshman that averages over 20 minutes played this season.
ABOUT OHIO STATE
• Ohio State holds a 10-5 overall record and a 2-2 mark in conference play entering the Minnesota game. The Buckeyes fell out of the top 25 this week after an 80-73 road loss to Maryland Sunday. Prior to that, the Buckeyes also dropped a two-point decision to Purdue, 71-69 in Columbus on Jan. 5. The Buckeyes were without their rebound leader, Zed Key for the Maryland game.
• Key leads the team averaging 6.8 rebounds and third on the team in points (12.4). Brice Sensabaugh leads the Buckeyes in scoring averaging 16.7 per game, followed by Justice Sueing at 14.1. Bruce Thornton also averages double digits at 10 per game.
• As a team, Ohio State averages 79.7 points per contest, and allows just 65.9 per game as their scoring margin ranks third in the league. Shooting 48.9 percent, that ranks second in the Big Ten, while OSU’s 38.4 percent past the arc is a league best. They average 38.9 rebounds, which ranks fourth in the Big Ten.
THE LAST TIME
• Minnesota fell in both contests to the Buckeyes in 2021-22, the last also coming at Columbus, Ohio on Feb. 15, 2022.
• Despite leading at the half, 25-23, Ohio State scored 47 points in the second to Minnesota’s 20 for a 70-45 win. Luke Loewe scored 12 points to lead Minnesota as Jamison Battle added 11 points.
ON THE DOCKET
• Minnesota is back at home on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 16 at 5 p.m., when Illinois comes to town. The game will be televised on Big Ten Network.
• Mike Grimm and Spencer Tollackson will also be on the radio call on KTLK 1130 AM, 103.5 FM.
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