SAMPSON III RETURNS
• Gopher senior co-captain Ralph Sampson III played 19 minutes off the bench against Appalachian State (12/6). He had missed the previous two games with a sprained left ankle. He has missed a total of three games this season with the injury.
• Coming into his senior campaign, Sampson had played in 53-straight games. He missed two games during his sophomore season with a sprained right ankle.
• Sampson returned to the starting lineup against Saint Peter’s (12/10) and led the Gophers in scoring (15), rebounding (8) and blocks (4) and tied for the team lead with four assists.

THE STREAK ENDS
• Minnesota junior guard Julian Welch went into the game against Saint Peter’s in the midst of a free throw streak He made his first two attempts to bring the streak to 25 straight but missed his next attempt.
• Welch’s streak of 25-straight was the longest Gopher free throw streak since Lawrence Westbrook hit 31 straight from the charity stripe.
• Welch is currently fourth in the Big Ten Conference in free throw percentage at .861 (31-36).
• Gopher freshman Andre Hollins is third in the conference at .875 (21-24).
• Terrance Woods (1986-87) holds the Gopher season free throw percentage record at .882 (45-51).
• The Gophers career free throw percentage leader is Voshon Lenard (.810).

WILLIAMS IS SHOWING HIS VERSATILITY
• Minnesota foward Rodney Williams has adapted well since being moved to the power forward position following the loss of Trevor Mbakwe.
• Williams tied a career high against Appalacian State with 18 points & five blocks.
• He has led the team, or tied for the team-lead, in blocks, rebounds & steals in three of the four games played since Mbakwe’s injury.
• In the four games Williams’ numbers have improved across the board:

[Read More...]

GopherSports: At the end of Last season, you said you felt the team was close to returning to form despite the disappointing end to the year. Is this year’s team where you thought it would be or have they exceeded your expectations?

Don Lucia: I just felt when the season ended last year that we had a good second half run and had been playing pretty good hockey. Had we not faltered in that first round we would have been an NCAA tournament team and been on to the Final Five and done many of the things we had hoped to do during the course of the season. That weekend kind of left a stain for everybody.

I thought we had a chance to be a good team this year. I can’t sit here and say that when the year began–looking at our schedule and knowing how young we were going to be in certain places–that we were going to be 11-3-0 in the WCHA. But that is a credit to our players and how hard they have worked and what a good team they have become.

GS: Coming into the season, a lot of people thought scoring would be a concern, but the Gophers have the second highest scoring offense in the nation. Were you as concerned as everyone else or did you think Minnesota would be able to score?

DL: It is always a concern and I think that is something that has held us back the last few years. We were not a high scoring team and could never get a timely goal or a separation goal when we needed it. I did not anticipate that we would be sitting here with Nick Bjugstad having 16 goals and Kyle Rau having 12 goals at the halfway point. Those two have gone a long way in helping alleviate some of our scoring concerns.

Then we did not have Zach Budish last year and I also think our freshmen have been complimentary pieces. Sophomores Nick Bjugstad, Erik Haula and Nate Condon have really taken another step forward in how they have played this year. It has also helped to get Taylor Matson back, who we did not have at the end of last year for the third straight year. That has made a difference. Then on the backend, a guy like Nate Schmidt has really emerged and played really well this year.

GS: You mentioned Nate Schmidt, who has 20 assists in 20 games this year. What do you attribute his breakout season to considering he played sparingly last year?

DL: He has shown a swagger this year that we never saw last year. I think last year probably in many ways was a humbling experience for him. He learned the value of how hard you have to work on and off the ice. Off the ice, he is in a lot better shape and leaned himself out. When the year began, we told him that he was going to be one of our top five defensemen and that we needed him to play with confidence. We told him that he was going to have to play himself out of a job and not into a job. He settled in and knew he was going to be on one of the power plays. He has done a nice job in every situation he has been in so far.

[Read More...]

Minnesota Vs. Michigan State: This weekend, Minnesota will look to take back the Mariucci-Bessone Trophy against Michigan State after the Spartans reclaimed it for the first time since 2000 with a 5-2 win last year in Minneapolis. The teams will play in a weekend series in East Lansing, Mich. for the first time since Feb 1 and 2, 1980. The Gophers and Spartans have met at least once a season since 1993-94 thanks the now-defunct College Hockey Showcase, but only played each other twice in the same year one time (1996-97) in that span. This weekend will mark the 33rd two-game series between Minnesota and MSU in East Lansing Mich. The Gophers are 39-23-2 in those games and have a total record of 42-25-5 on the road against the Spartans. UM also holds the advantage overall in the all-time series against Michigan State with 101-42-11 ledger.

About The Spartans: Just like the Minnesota, 20th-ranked Michigan State is looking to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years. Under first-year head coach Tom Anastos, the Spartans are off to a 7-5-0 start with a 4-4-0 CCHA record. After going 1-3 in its first four games, MSU began to heat up in mid-October and has now won five of its last six games. The Spartans’ recent surge, which includes a road sweep over then-No. 5 Western Michigan, has helped the team climb back into the USCHO.com national rankings for the first time since Nov. 15, 2010. Sophomores Lee Reimer (6g-11a) and Greg Wolfe (4g-8a) lead the team offensively, but senior Mike Merrifield leads the team in goals with seven, despite having played only eight games. The Spartans, who have allowed two goals in each of their last six games, are led on the back end by junior Torey Krug (4g-5a) and senior Brock Shelgren (1g-6a). Second-year goaltender Will Yanakeff is 5-2-0 in seven games between the pipes with a 2.44 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. Senior Drew Palmisano is 2-3-0 in five starts.

In The Polls: After a weekend split against St. Cloud State, the Gophers slipped from No. 1 in both major polls. Minnesota is now ranked No. 3 in the USCHO poll and No. 2 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. The Gophers were ranked No. 1 for two weeks and were 2-2-0 as the top-ranked team in the nation.

See You Soon: This weekend will offer a glimpse into the future, as Minnesota and Michigan State will both begin competing in the new Big Ten conference during the 2013-14 season. In addition to Minnesota and Michigan State, the Big Ten conference will feature Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin. The Gophers are 1-1-0 this year against teams who compete in the Big Ten conference, as they split a series at Wisconsin two weeks ago. Minnesota does not play Michigan or Ohio State this year and Penn State does not yet have a varsity team. 

Let’s Play Two: The Gophers and Spartans are playing two games this weekend. It will be the first time since the 1996-97 season that the two schools will play two times during the season. That year, Minnesota beat Michigan State 5-3 in the regular season and 6-3 in the first round of the NCAA West Regional in Grand Rapids, Mich. The teams have traditionally played only once a year in the now-defunct College Hockey Showcase. In the Showcase, which ended last season, the Gophers would play the Spartans and Michigan Wolverines, while the two Michigan schools would play Minnesota and Wisconsin.

[Read More...]

The Big Ten Network will televise Saturday’s game. Eric Collins will call the play-by-play action, while Chris Martin will be the analyst in the booth. Dionne Miller will report from the sidelines.

SCOUTING THE BADGERS
Minnesota faces Wisconsin for the 121st time Saturday. The Gophers lead the all-time series 58-54-8.

Wisconsin is coached by Bret Bielema, who is in his sixth season as the head man in Madison. Bielema led Wisconsin to a share of the Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl berth last season. He was the Big Ten Coach of the Year in his rookie year of 2006. Prior to taking over the Badgers, Bielema was the defensive coordinator under legendary Badger coach Barry Alvarez for two years. He also has coaching experience at Kansas State and Iowa.

The Badgers boast the No. 4-rated scoring offense in the nation. Wisconsin is scoring 47 points per game. They are allowing just 16.1 points per game to rank No. 9 in scoring defense. Quarterback Russell Wilson is a very efficient signal-caller, in fact he’s currently No. 1 in the nation in pass efficiency (196.66). The Badgers are good on the ground, as well. Montee Ball ranks No. 12 in the nation in rushing, averaging 119.6 yards per game.

GOPHER GRID-BITS
> Minnesota has come from behind in each of its last 11 victories, dating back to the 2009 season. 
> Minnesota-Wisconsin is the most-played rivalry in all of NCAA FBS football.
> Minnesota now has 10 sacks on the season, one more than the Gophers recorded in all of 2010.
> Wisconsin has won 7 straight vs. Minnesota. The Gophers have not won Paul Bunyan’s Axe since ’03.
> Wisconsin is one of seven Big Ten schools that Minnesota holds a winning record against.
> Minnesota is in its 128th season of college football. Only three other schools — Rutgers (142), Michigan (132) and Navy (131) have played more.

GET SOME AXE ACTION
Paul Bunyan’s Axe, named after the mythical giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan, is a prize awarded every year to the winner of the college football game between Minnesota and Wisconsin. The trophy is a symbol of one of the most storied rivalries in college football, representing the most-played rivalry in FBS football, with 120 editions dating back to 1890. The Golden Gophers lead the all-time series, 58-54-8, while the Badgers lead the Axe’s series, 36-24-3. Earlier, the schools played for the Slab of Bacon, a piece of wood with an M or a W, depending from which angle one would look on it. Minnesota led that series 11-3 until the trophy was “lost” in 1943. The Paul Bunyan Axe was created by the Wisconsin letterwinners’ organization (the National W Club) and would be instituted as the trophy in the series in 1948. The scores of each game are recorded on the axe’s handle, which is 6 feet long.  [Read More...]

“We’re really excited to have Wally Ellenson and Charles Buggs join the Golden Gopher basketball family,” said head coach Tubby Smith. “Our staff is looking forward to coaching them. I know they will make us better on the court but will also help our program excel in the classroom.

“Wally and Charles answered and fulfilled some of the requirements that we were looking for at the small forward and shooting guard positions so there is a lot of excitement around these two young men as they finish their high school careers. Both Wally and Charles are superior students as well and come from great families so it is a real privilege to have them join our team.”

Buggs, a 6-8 forward from Arlington, Texas, is in his first season at Hargrave Military Academy after graduating from Martin High School in Arlington with a 3.7 grade point average. In 15 games last season at Martin, Buggs averaged 11.4 points per game. He went on to average an impressive 18.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game this past July as a member of the Triumph White AAU team.

Ranked highly by ESPN and Rivals, Buggs chose the Gophers over offers from Arkansas, Charlotte, Clemson, Marquette, Santa Clara, Seton Hall & West Virginia.

“We needed some depth inside with the impending graduations of Ralph (Sampson III) and Trevor (Mbakwe) and Charles Buggs will give us that depth,” said Smith. “He’s a multi-faceted player that can play the swing position or power forward. He’s long and lanky, with a similar build to players we’ve had in the past, that can defend multiple positions. His coach at Hargrave Military Academy, AW Hamilton, has done a super job of helping Charles raise his level of play and develop more skills from a ball handling standpoint and his outside shooting.”

Ellenson, a 6-4 guard from Rice Lake, Wis., averaged 10.1 points per game as a freshman at Eau Claire Memorial before averaging 14.8 and 21.2 points during his sophomore and junior seasons, respectively, at Rice Lake. His 21.2 average last season was tops in the Big Rivers Conference.

[Read More...]

Minnesota Vs. Wisconsin: For the second straight week, the Gophers will engage in a border battle when they travel to Madison, Wis. to take on the Badgers. In a rivalry where the two teams have faced each other at least four times a year in every season since 1969-70, neither team has earned three victories in one season since Minnesota won four of five contests in 2006-07. The teams went 1-1-2 against each other last year. In 257 all-time meetings since 1922, the Gophers are 153-84-20 against Wisconsin and hold a 60-51-13 edge in Madison. The Badgers will visit Mariucci Arena on March 2 and 3.

About Wisconsin: Last year, after a quick start and 13-2-1 run between Thanksgiving and the end of January, Wisconsin went 1-6-1 to end the regular season and bowed out in the first round of the WCHA playoffs in a three-game series against Colorado College. The Badgers lost six seniors, including both of their starting goaltenders, from their 2010-11 team and also saw top underclassmen Jake Gardiner, Craig Smith, and Jordy Murray leave in the offseason. This year, UW is 4-5-1 start and 3-4-1 in the WCHA, leaving the Badgers in a tie for fourth place with Minnesota Duluth. After splitting a non-conference series against Northern Michigan, Wisconsin started WCHA play by being swept at Michigan Tech. UW then swept North Dakota at home before splitting series against Nebraska Omaha and St. Cloud. The Badgers’ top player is 2010-11 Hobey Baker Award finalist defenseman Justin Schultz. Schultz leads his team and all NCAA defensemen with 14 points (4g-10a). He is followed points-wise by sophomore forwards Mark Zengerle (4g-9a) and Tyler Barnes (5g-6a). Freshman netminders Landon Peterson and Joel Rumpel have split 10 games. Peterson, who has played in the first game of each series, is 1-4-0 with a 3.90 goals-against average and an .875 save percentage. Rumpel, who has played the second game each weekend, is 3-1-1 with a 2.95 goals-against average and a.913 save percentage.

In The Polls: The 9-1-0 Gophers are the new No. 1 team in the nation in both major polls. Minnesota was ranked No. 5 in both the USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls last week but climbed to No. 1 after sweeping rival North Dakota at home. The Gophers began the year at No. 19 in the USCHO poll and were unranked in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.  [Read More...]

Minnesota is coming off a 41-14 loss to Nebraska in its last outing. The Gophers are now 1-6 overall and 0-3 in Big Ten play. The Gophers will be looking to keep Floyd of Rosedale in Minnesota after winning the trophy in last year’s season finale.

Iowa enters Saturday’s contest with a 5-2 overall record and a 2-1 Big Ten mark. The Hawkeyes are coming off back-to-back Big Ten wins in which they scored more than 40 points. Iowa defeated Indiana 45-24 last week and Northwestern 41-31 the week prior.

The Big Ten Network will televise Saturday’s game. Eric Collins will call the play-by-play action, while Chris Martin is the analyst. Dionne Miller will provide reports from the sideline.

SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES

Minnesota faces Iowa for the 105th time Saturday. The Gophers lead the all-time series 60-42-2.

Iowa is coached by Kirk Ferentz, who is in his 12th season as the head man in Iowa City. Ferentz’s longevity with the Hawkeyes is second only to his predecessor Hayden Fry, who was there 20 years. Ferentz is no stranger to Iowa City, having served under Fry from 1981-89. He has also been the head coach at Maine and coached in the NFL for six years.

The Hawkeyes boast the No. 29-rated scoring offense in the nation. Iowa averages 34.3 points per game. Quarterback James Vandenberg is among the nation’s most efficient signal-callers, ranking 13th in passing efficiency (156.74). Defensively, Iowa is No. 43 in scoring defense, as the Hawkeyes allow 23.3 points per game. Iowa is also No. 7 nationally in net punting, averaging 41.04 yards of field position each time they punt the ball away.

HAPPY AS A PIG IN…
Floyd of Rosedale is the name of a bronze pig trophy that is awarded to the winner of the annual college football game between the Universities of Iowa and Minnesota. It is one of several traveling trophies in college football and one of four for which the Gophers compete. Controversy followed the 1934 game. Before the 1935 contest, with tensions running high among both fan bases, the respective state governors tried to calm things down by wagering a prize hog on the outcome of the game. Following the Gopher victory in 1935, Iowa Governor Clyde Herring obtained a prize pig from Rosedale Farms and named it Floyd after Minnesota Governor Floyd Olson. A few days later, Governor Herring collected “Floyd of Rosedale” and walked him into Goveror Olson’s office. Olson later commissioned sculptor Charles Brioscho to capture Floyd’s image. The result was the current trophy, which the teams play for annually.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Running back Duane Bennett cracked Minnesota’s all-time career top 20 for rushing yardage. He has rushed for 1,792 yards in his career. Last week’s total of 55 yards pushed him to the No. 18 spot on the chart. At his current pace, Bennett would finish his career with 2,010 yards and would rank No. 13 in school history.

BIG MAC
Senior wide receiver Da’Jon McKnight turned in a team-high receiving yardage total in last week’s loss to Nebraska. McKnight grabbed a pair of receptions for 77 yards. McKnight was the team’s top receiver in 2010, grabbing 48 receptions for 750 yards and 10 touchdowns. McKnight needs just 106 yards to crack the Gophers’ career top 10 for receiving yards. At his current pace, McKnight would finish with 1,772 yards and would finish with the eighth-best career receiving yardage total in Gopher history. 

TINSLEY=TACKLES
Senior linebacker Gary Tinsley leads the Gopher linebacking corps with 46 total tackles so far this season. He is now No. 2 on the team in total tackles. Tinsley has 157 tackles to his credit for his Gopher career. Tinsley accounted for one of Minnesota’s three sacks at Purdue. He has recorded 23 solo stops and 23 assisted stops so far this season. 

KIM-POSSIBLE
Senior safety Kim Royston wasn’t even supposed to be on the 2011 version of the Gopher football team. He thought his career might be over when he suffered a gruesome compound fracture of his lower leg. His initial recovery went well enough that many thought he would play in 2010. But the recovery saw a setback derail his senior season. However, the NCAA granted him a sixth year of eligibility. Royston made exactly 10 tackles in each of Minnesota’s first three games. He added 11 more vs. North Dakota State. Another 10 against Nebraska gives him five double-digit outings in seven games. 

-UM-

University of Minnesota student-athletes recorded a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 80 percent, according to the NCAA’s latest GSR report.

The GSR report, released by the NCAA today, represents data from first-time freshmen, student-athletes who entered at midyear, as well as student-athletes who transferred into the University of Minnesota between 2001 and 2004.

The 80-percent figure is a one-point increase over the GSR released last year by the NCAA for Minnesota. It is also the highest total posted by Gopher student-athletes since the NCAA began releasing Graduation Success Rate figures in 2005.

“Academic success and degree-completion are essential elements of the student-athlete experience and I am pleased that our overall Graduation Success Rate continues to rise,” director of athletics Joel Maturi said. “This improvement is the result of the collective effort, not just of student-athletes, but also our coaches, faculty and McNamara Academic Center staff. Together, we will continue striving to see that the graduation rates of our student-athletes keep heading in a positive direction.”

The NCAA also released Federal Graduation Rates in the report, which counts all student-athletes who transfer from or leave an institution for any reason as non-graduates from their initial school, even if they leave in good academic standing and subsequently graduate from another institution.

While the report showed that Minnesota’s four-class average Federal Graduation Rate remained steady at 66 percent, the Federal rate for the 2004-05 class (64 percent) did slip compared to the Federal rate for the 2003-04 class (70 percent). This drop, in large part, was due to an unusual number of student-athlete transfers from the university in the 2004-05 class and is not considered to represent a downward trend in student-athlete graduation rates.

As a result, the Federal Graduation Rates for student-athletes dipped below the Federal Graduation Rate for all University of Minnesota students (70 percent) for just the second time in the last 13 years. According to projections, however, this appears to be an anomaly of the 2004-05 class and Federal Graduation Rates for student-athletes are expected to return to the 70-percent level with next year’s announcement of figures for the 2005-06 class (the 2002-03 and 2003-04 cohorts graduated at federal rate of 71 percent and 70 percent, respectively).

“The figures in the Federal Graduation Rate portion of the NCAA announcement are disappointing, but not unexpected, due to the number of transfers we had in one class,” Maturi said. “Looking forward, we project this figure to rebound quickly next year based on the data available.”

Graduation Success Rates for Minnesota’s women’s programs continue to excel. Ten of 11 programs posted GSRs of 80 percent or better, with seven posting scores above 90 percent. Golf, tennis and volleyball each registered perfect scores of 100 percent.

On the men’s side, five of the 10 programs registered GSR scores of 80 percent or better, led by tennis (100), gymnastics (89) and cross country/track & field (88). Hockey (+11) made one of the largest improvements among the men’s sports, with football (+3) and basketball (+1) also making gains.

The Graduation Success Rate was created by the NCAA in 2005 to more accurately reflect actual graduation rates by including transfer data in the calculation.

For more information on Graduation Success Rates, please visit www.ncaa.org.

Notes:

• Minnesota’s overall athletic department GSR of 80 percent is an all-time high.
• Minnesota’s overall GSR has improved from 67 percent in 2005 to 80 percent today.
• Graduation Success Rates for Minnesota football student-athletes have moved up steadily since the NCAA began reporting graduation figures in 2005, jumping from 41% to 59%.
• Minnesota men’s basketball GSR figures have improved by more than double in the past seven years.
• Men’s hockey GSR numbers continue on a positive trajectory. Men’s hockey has added 25 points in the last five years to its GSR.

-UM-

“Rebecca and I, along with our family and staff, are very thankful to the university and certainly to our administration, including director of athletics Joel Maturi and president Eric Kaler,” Kill said. “I’m glad it’s now settled and we can move on from here. We are excited about the future of our program.”

Kill was introduced as the Gophers’ 27th head football coach on Dec. 6, 2010, and had been working under the terms of a Memorandum of Agreement he signed with the University.

Maturi said he was pleased to have his head football coach secured to a long-term deal.

“This contract represents a significant commitment to Coach Kill and our belief in his vision for Gopher football,” Maturi said. “He has proved over the past 10 months what a great fit he is at the University of Minnesota and I have been very impressed with him as both a coach and a person. We are lucky to have him and I am thrilled that we now have an agreement in place that has secured Coach Kill as our head football coach well into the future.”

Coach Kill and the Gophers host Iowa in the annual battle for Floyd of Rosedale on Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium at 2:30 p.m. (CT). The game will be televised by the Big Ten Network.

-UM-