Gopher Glory: The Journey of University of Minnesota Athletics

BROADCAST DETAILS
TV: FS1 (Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) and Shon Morris (analyst)
Tip Time: 8:01 p.m.
Radio: KFAN 100.3 FM or iHeart App (Mike Grimm, Al Nolen)

SERIES DETAILS*

199th Encounter (102-96 overall)

Road Record at Iowa: 39-56

* – excludes forfeited games

STARTING LINEUP

• The University of Minnesota men’s basketball team is hitting the road again as it heads to Iowa on Tuesday at 8 p.m. Historically, Minnesota holds a 102-96 edge against the Hawkeyes, a rivalry dating back to 1902. Last season, the Golden Gophers fell to the Hawkeyes twice, suffering losses at both home and away games. Minnesota is eager to end a six-game slide against Iowa and attain its first victory at Carver Hawkeye Arena since 2015. Their last victory against the Hawkeyes occurred on Dec. 25, 2021, with a score of 102-95 in overtime.

• The Gophers aim to secure back-to-back wins after clinching an 84-81 overtime victory over No. 20 Michigan. This triumph represented the program’s first win against a ranked team since Feb. 11, 2021, when the Gophers defeated then-No. 24 Purdue, 71-68. It also marked head coach Ben Johnson‘s inaugural win over a ranked opponent. Dawson Garcia contributed a game-high 27 points, including a buzzer-beater as time expired for the victory. This was the first buzzer-beater win for the Gophers since March 2023 against Rutgers.

• Dawson Garcia, Lu’Cye Patterson, and Mike Mitchell Jr. each scored over 20 points in the victory. This marked the first occurrence since 2018 that a trio of Gophers achieved this milestone. Garcia scored 27, Patterson had 22, and Mitchell Jr. netted 20. Notably, Patterson scored 15 points in the second half alone, while Garcia added 13. This is the first time a Gopher trio has performed this well since Nate Mason (25), Dupree McBrayer (24), and Jordan Murphy (22) did so in a 95-84 overtime win against Penn State on Jan. 15, 2018.

• Dawson Garcia registered his second 20-point game of the week, having previously scored 22 points against Maryland last year. Over the current season, he has logged 11 games with 20 or more points, which is tied for the lead in the league. Garcia has amassed 15 double-digit point games and one game exceeding 30 points. He also achieved his fifth double-double of the season on Thursday against Michigan.

GARCIA IN THE RECORDS    

• Dawson Garcia has accumulated 1,286 total points as a Golden Gopher and 1,781 points throughout his college career. This figure places him 20th in school history (excluding forfeited games). His 27-point outing against Maryland allowed him to surpass Blake Hoffarber (1,267 points from 2007-11), Dusty Rychart (1,268 points from 1998-02), and Arriel McDonald (1,273 points from 1990-94).

• Garcia has also recorded 500 rebounds while at Minnesota, currently standing at 516. With these statistics, he becomes the 22nd Gopher (excluding forfeited games) to achieve both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in the maroon and gold uniform.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE PERFORMANCE BY GARCIA   

• In the victory over Michigan, Dawson Garcia recorded his fifth double-double of the season. The Savage, Minn., native also achieved a double-double against Central Michigan (22 points, 11 rebounds), Michigan State (18 points, 11 rebounds), FDU (18 points, 10 rebounds), and Wisconsin (22 points, 10 rebounds) and now against Michigan (27 points, 12 rebounds). This season’s five double-doubles marks a single-season record that exceeds his four in 2023-24 and three in 2022-23. Overall, Garcia has 16 collegiate double-double performances, having had three at Marquette (2020-21) and one at North Carolina. His five double-doubles this year have come at an impressive pace within just 18 games.

SCOUTING IOWA   

• The Iowa Hawkeyes (12-6, 3-4 Big Ten) faced defeat in both of their games during their west coast trip, suffering a 99-89 defeat against Southern California and a 94-70 loss against UCLA. However, the Hawkeyes have protected their home ground, winning all three of their Big Ten games in Iowa City (against Northwestern, Nebraska, and Indiana).

• The Hawkeyes boast four starters averaging double figures, with the fifth close behind. Owen Freeman leads the team with an average of 16.7 points and 6.4 rebounds. He’s followed by Payton Sandfort at 16.2 points and a team-leading 47 three-pointers, while Josh Dix averages 14.8 points with a 48 percent success rate from beyond the arc. Drew Thelwell averages 10.4 points, while Brock Harding averages 9.6 points and boasts 111 assists.

• As a collective, the Hawkeyes average 88.4 points scored while allowing 78.4 points. They are converting on 50.8 percent of their field goals and 39.7 percent from the three-point line. Iowa averages 32.3 rebounds per contest.

ON THE HORIZON   

• Minnesota will return to Williams Arena on Saturday, Jan. 25, when they are set to host No. 13 Oregon at 3 p.m. for retro night at the Barn. The game will be broadcast on BTN.

• Mike Grimm and Al Nolen will deliver the radio commentary on KFAN 100.3 FM and the iHeart Media app.