KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:
-Gopher Athletics has paired with Salvation Army to collect food donations at men’s and women’s basketball games. Bring a nonperishable food item to the University Avenue lobby during the month of November for a BOGO ticket voucher.
It’s time to celebrate the educators shaping our future generations. All educators can get discounted tickets to the game! Fill out our Educator Appreciation Form to get access to discounted tickets!
Tip Time: 6:01 P.M.
SERIES INFORMATION
Minnesota leads all-time series at 1-0
Only Meeting: Nov. 5, 2019 (MN W, 85-50)
Last Horizon League Team Played: 2023 vs. IUPUI
(Dec, 12, 2023, MN W, 101-65)
STARTING FIVE
• The Golden Gophers welcome the Cleveland State Vikings to Williams Arena on Tuesday night. It marks the first time the Gophers and Vikings have battled since 2019 and the second time in school history. With the CSU game, the Gophers end a stretch of five games in 13 days and fifth game of a six-game home stand.
• Minnesota looks to string two-straight wins together after a 59-56 victory over Yale Saturday. Dawson Garcia led all players with 24 points, including 19 in the second half, and Brennan Rigsby added 15 points to help Minnesota (3-1) rally from a 10-point halftime deficit. The Gophers held Yale to its lowest point total of the season and committed just three turnovers in the game.
• Dawson Garcia has opened the 2024-25 season with four-straight 20-point performances. He started his senior season with a 30-point game against Oral Roberts and has since added 24 points in the past three games. The last Gopher to have four-straight 20-point games was Daniel Oturu from Feb. 23-March 4, 2020. Garcia also reached his 1,000 point as a Golden Gopher last week and now ranks 40th in school history in points scored with 1,045 points for the maroon and gold.
• Femi Odukale added five points in the Yale win to reach his 1,000 career point. The senior from Brooklyn, N.Y., had 480 with Pitt, 232 with Seton Hall, 277 with New Mexico State and has now added 11 with the Gophers. Odukale missed both exhibitions earlier this year due to injury and moved into a starting role when Mike Mitchell Jr., went down with an ankle injury.
• Minnesota’s defensive efforts have shown through four games into the season. The Gophers have allowed just 57.75 points, which ranks second in the conference and 18th nationally. Minnesota has held all four of its opponents to their lowest point total of the season, including Yale, which averaged 88 ppg entering Saturday’s game.
WHERE THEY RANK
• Early in this 2024-25 campaign, Minnesota’s scoring defense ranks second in the Big Ten and 18th nationally. Minnesota has allowed 57.75 points per game (231 total) in its four games into the season, which trails only UCLA.
• Dawson Garcia leads the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 25.50 points per game and 102 points. Along with leading the Big Ten, he ranks eighth nationally in ppg and 16th in total points. Garcia also ranks 12th in rebounding among Big Ten players.
• Lu’Cye Patterson ranks third in the Big Ten in assist/turnover ratio. In four games, Patterson has 17 assists and four turnovers committed.
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
• Cleveland State enters the Minnesota game with a 3-2 record. The Vikings are facing their second Big Ten team of the 2024-25 season when they opened at Michigan with a 101-53 loss. CSU then defeated Baldwin State (91-53) and fell to Kansas State (77-64), before defeating Valparaiso (75-67) and Eastern Michigan Saturday (71-63).
• Slated to finish seventh in the Horizon League preseason poll, CSU returns Dylan Arnett, who is averaging a team-best 13 points and 8.2 rebounds. Tevin Smith is also in his second year with CSU and averages 11.8, while freshman Je’Shawn Stevenson ranks third on the team with 9.8 ppg. The Vikings welcomes four transfers to the team this season, including Tahj Staveskie, who averages 9.4 ppg. He played his first two seasons for Canisius and was named to the MAAC All-Rookie team.
• As a team, CSU is averaging 70.8 ppg and allows 72.2. They are shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 27.6 from three-point range. Defensively, the Vikings average 33.4 rebounds per game and have 49 steals.
(info and stock photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)
