Day Two 2011 Old Spice Classic Thread

ORLANDO, FL —  Happy Day After Thanksgiving! The 2011 Old Spice Classic rolls on with four more games.

Leading off with Indiana State and Minnesota.

Minnesota leads the all-time series with Indiana State by a 2-1 margin. The two teams have not met since December 11, 1984 when the Sycamores earned a 94-86 home court victory against the Golden Gophers. The two previous seasons saw Minnesota defeat the Sycamores on their home court.

Indiana State is 5-0 for the first time since 2005-06 when they won their first eight games of that season. The Sycamores won their road opener this year at Louisiana-Monroe by the score of 71-59 on November 14. It marked the first time the Sycamores won their road opener since 2005. Indiana State has won one game by five points or less this season, upping their total of close victories to 36 since 2005. Indiana State has won two consecutive contests against current members of the Big 12 Conference following its 60-49 victory over Texas Tech on Thanksgiving.  Senior Jordan Printy has 164 career 3-pointers, which is second most all-time in the history of the program. Printy has recorded three consecutive double digit scoring performances.  The Sycamores have recorded more free throws made than their opponents in all five
games this season.

Trevor Mbakwe won the MVP at the 2010 Puerto Rico Tipoff with tourney averages of 15.3 points & 8.7 rebounds per game. Minnesota went 3-0 in the tournament with wins over Western Kentucky, #8 North Carolina and West Virginia. Mbakwe was later named the Big Ten Conference’s Player of the Week for his efforts. Minnesota has led the Big Ten Conference in blocked shots during the last three seasons, including three of the top four season block totals in the history of the Gopher program: a program leading 201 in 2008-09, 199 in 2009-10 and 169 last season. Senior Ralph Sampson III led the team in blocked shots last season and is currently fourth all-time in program history with 172 career swats. Minnesota has blocked 28 shots already this season, led by Trevor Mbakwe with eight.

Texas Tech and DePaul

DePaul and Texas Tech meet for the just the second time… the Blue Demons won the lone meeting, 50-47, on Dec. 17, 1983… the game was played in Toyko, Japan in a tournament called the Suntory Ball. A win would give DePaul a 3-1 start for the second time in the last three seasons… a win would also be No. 1,375 in program history… Jeremiah Kelly needs one steal for sole possession of 17th on DePaul’s career steals list… he has 126 and is tied with Sammy Meija (2003-07)… Kelly also needs one assist for sole possession of 21st all-time… he is tied with Joe Ponsetto (1975-78) at 264 assists.

Texas Tech is 3-11 all-time against schools currently in the Big East Conference —Cincinnati (0-1), DePaul (0-1), Georgetown (0-2), Marquette (0-1), Notre Dame (0-1), Pittsburgh (0-1), Providence (1-0), Seton Hall (1-0), St. John’s
(0-2), Syracuse (1-1) and West Virginia (0-1).

Jordan Tolbert came up big for the Red Raiders against Indiana State, as the 6-7 freshman connected on 8 of 13 shots from the field and 4 of 4 from the line for a career-high 20 points. He also pulled down a career best eight rebounds. Both led the way for the Red Raiders. Tolbert is second on the team in scoring (11.8 ppg) and rebounding (6.0 rpg).

Dayton vs. Fairfield

Tonight marks the third time in school history that the University of Dayton and Fairfield University have met on the hardwood. The Flyers won both of the previous meetings, including a 95-70 win in their first-ever meeting during
the 1967-68 campaign. The two teams did not cross paths again until the 1977-78 campaign when they faced each other in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament. The Flyers came out on top by a 108-93 count in the tournament.

In the 80-76 victory against Wake Forest, Dayton had all five starters score in double figures, led by 18 points from Paul Williams. The 2011 Old Spice Classic is the fourth consecutive in-season tournament Dayton will have participated in. The Flyers won the Chicago Invitational Challenge in 2008, played in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off and came in second at the Global Sports Main Event last season. Next season, the Flyers will play in the DIRECT TV Charleston Classic. The Flyers are second in the Atlantic 10 in assists per game (17.5) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2). Dayton has out-rebounded every opponent this season and have a plus 6.3 margin.

Chris Johnson, a three-time Atlantic 10 award winner, scored a season-high 19 points against UNCWilmington. Johnson is second on the team in rebounding (6.8 rpg) and is third in scoring (11.3 ppg).  Paul Williams leads Dayton in scoring, averaging 14.5 points per game and has scored in double figures in three games this season. He led UD with 18 points against Wake Forest. Matt Kavanaugh leads the A-10 in offensive rebounding with 4.8 per game. He recorded his first
career double-double with 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds versus Wake Forest. Kevin Dillard, a transfer from Southern Illinois and the 2009 Missouri Valley Conference Rookie of the Year, is averaging 5.5 assists per game. He scored a season-high 18 points against UNC-Wilmington.

Rakim Sanders scored a game-high 21 points as the Stags defeated Arizona State University in the Old Spice Classic. Fairfield started the game quickly by scoring the first seven points of the game, all coming off the hand of Sanders.
Fairfield’s defense proved strong for Arizona State, forcing six turnovers in the opening six minutes of play. Fairfield never trailed in this game and led by as many as 19 points late in the contest before the Sun Devils
made a late run and cut the deficit to seven points just under three minutes remaining. Senior Ryan Olander hit a three pointer on the next possession to push the lead back to double figures where it would stay for the remainder of the game. Olander also finished in double figures with 11 points, while Sanders and Barrow would each contribute seven rebounds to the Stags cause.