THE GREAT WHITE NORTH: For the first time in over two years, Seattle University travels by airplane to face a major conference opponent, taking on Big Ten member Minnesota Friday night. The Redhawks are back at .500 after consecutive victories, but they face one of their toughest non-conference tests of the season, taking on a Golden Gopher squad that is currently unbeaten on its home floor. With the fall quarter complete and the winter quarter not starting until January, the Redhawks can focus fully on the task at hand.
THE NORTHWEST UNIVERSITY GAME: Giving the night a retro flavor by wearing red uniforms that resemble the ones worn by the Seattle University basketball teams in the 1980s, the Redhawks played a strong game on both ends of the floor to defeat Northwest University, 84-58, Monday night in a non-conference men’s collegiate basketball game at the Connolly Center. Jarell Flora shot 6-of-12 from the field, including 3-of-6 from behind the three-point line, and a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line as he led Seattle U with a season-high 24 points, plus he collected six rebounds and four assists. Isiah Umipig hit four three-pointers as he finished with 13 points, six rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Coming off the bench, Manroop Clair finished with 12 points and Jadon Cohee contributed 11 points and three assists. As a team, Seattle U shot 50 percent (27-of-54) from the field, including 11-of-18 from behind the three-point line, and 67.9 percent (19-of-28) from the free throw line. The Redhawks won the rebounding battle, 43-26, led by Theo Turner with 10 rebounds in a season-high 20 minutes on the floor.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA: The Golden Gophers enter Friday’s game with an 8-2 overall record. Minnesota finished in third place in the NIT Season Tip-Off, losing to St. John’s in the semifinals before defeating Georgia in the third place game at Madison Square Garden. The team’s other loss came against Louisville in the season opener. Minnesota is 6-0 so far this season at Williams Arena, including recent wins over Western Carolina, North Dakota, and Southern University. As a team, the Gophers are scoring 79.4 points per game and giving up 62.1 points per contest. Minnesota is shooting 48.0 percent from the field, including 41.9 percent from behind the three-point line, and 62.3 percent from the free throw line. Head coach Richard Pitino has used the same starting lineup for all 10 games, led by Andre Hollins with 14.6 points per game as he is shooting 50.9 percent (28-of-55) from behind the three-point line. Carlos Morris is averaging 11.8 points and 2.6 steals per game, while Maurice Walker is contributing 11.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.8 blocked shots per game. DeAndre Mathieu is averaging 9.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 2.1 steals per game, and Joey King is averaging 9.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest. This will be the first meeting all-time between Seattle U and Minnesota.
AGAINST THE BIG TEN: Seattle U has played just three games against current Big Ten schools, but none of those games took place while those schools were in the conference. On Dec. 18, 1967, Seattle U defeated Rutgers in the Tampa Invitational Tournament in Tampa, Fla., 75-63. On Dec. 14, 1973, Seattle U earned a 62-60 victory over Penn State at the Utah Classic Tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Redhawks opened the 2010-11 season at the University of Maryland, losing to the Terrapins on Nov. 8, 2010, 105-76.
FLIPPING THE CHANNELS: Friday’s game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network, Seattle U’s first-ever appearance on the channel. The network can be found on channel 518 for Wave Broadband subscribers, channel 404 for Comcast customers, channel 405 on DISH, and channel 610 on DirecTV.