Nov. 20, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

MATCHUP QUICKFACTS

• Minnesota will make its second trip to Fort Collins. The Rams beat the Gophers on Dec. 5, 1987, by a score of 80-61.
• The last time the Rams hosted a Big Ten opponent was on Dec. 30, 2003, when they took on Purdue. CSU came away with a 71-69 win.
• Saturday’s game will mark Minnesota’s only away game in its first nine games to start the season, while the Rams open their season with five straight home games.
• Last season at Minnesota, the Rams fell to the Gophers 91-74. In that game, Willis Gardner scored a team-high 19 points and Marcus Walker added 18.
• The first 2,000 fans to arrive for Saturday’s game against Minnesota will receive “Timmy vs. Tubby” T-shirts.
• Rams center Dan Vandervieren and Gophers guard Blake Hoffarber were high school teammates at Hopkins High School in Minnesota. Hoffarber became the first high school athlete to ever win an ESPY award when he won for “Best Play” in 2005 after hitting a game-tying shot in the Minnesota 4A state championship game, lying on his back.
• Rams assistant coach Niko Medved, a native of St. Paul, Minn., is a graduate of Minnesota and spent the 2006-07 as an assistant coach for the Gophers. During his time as a student at Minnesota, he spent one year as a student manager and one year as a student assistant for the men’s basketball program.