MINNESOTA (4-0) vs. BOSTON COLLEGE (1-3)
Tuesday, December 8
6:00 p.m. CT
Minneapolis, Minn. (Williams Arena)
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: Second Meeting (0-1, first at Boston College, 11/26/18)
Series (Home): 0-0
Current Streak: L-1
Minnesota All-Time vs. Current ACC Teams: 36-42
Richard Pitino vs. ACC: 6-5
Richard Pitino vs. Boston College: 0-1
STARTING FIVE
• Minnesota is 10-11 all-time in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, including a 4-3 mark under eighth-year head coach Richard Pitino. A 78-60 win over Clemson at Williams Arena last season snapped a three game winless skid in the event after winning the previous five in a row. The 78-60 win was the Gophers’ largest-ever victory in the ACC / Big Ten Challenge. Marcus Carr had 24 points, nine assists and five rebounds, and Gabe Kalscheur added 15 points.
• This will be just the second matchup all-time between the Gophers and BC, both of which will have been part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The teams met in Chestnut Hill, Mass., in Nov. of 2018 and the Eagles came away with a 68-56 victory in the first ever meeting between the schools.
• Minnesota returns to action after a 76-67 win over North Dakota Friday night. Both Gach had his best scoring outing as a Gopher, leading the team with a season-high 21 points and adding a team high nine boards to just miss his first double-double in Maroon and Gold. Gach was 8-of-12 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from long-range, while adding three assists. It marked Gach’s first 20-point game since last year at Utah when he had 28 against Colorado, March 7, 2020.
• Marcus Carr is tied for seventh nationally and second in the Big Ten at 26.5 points per game. He has scored in double figures 28 times, including in 13 of his past 14 games. Carr opened his 2020-21 season with three-straight 20-plus point games. In the season opener against Green Bay, he tied a career-high 35 points. He followed with 28 and 26 points, respectively, against Loyola Marymount University, including the game winner with 2.7 seconds remaining.
• Minnesota is in the midst of playing its first six games of the season at home. The last time the Golden Gophers played six-straight home games to start the season was in 2016-17.
(info and photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)