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Stephen F.Austin-Minnesota Preview

Nov 16, 2009 - 6:44 PM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Stephen F. Austin (0-0) at Minnesota (1-0), 8:00 p.m. EDT

Tubby Smith looks to maintain his perfect record in home non-conference games Monday night for No. 24 Minnesota as his club takes on Stephen F. Austin.

The Golden Gophers opened with an 87-50 victory over Tennessee Tech on Friday as Smith improved to 18-0 at home in non-conference games since taking over two seasons ago. Lawrence Westbrook scored 22 points and freshman reserve Rodney Williams added 14.

Smith's club showcased some tough defense in the opener, limiting Tennessee Tech to 28.3 percent shooting.

"We were very pleased with the play tonight," Smith said. "I thought our guys really showed a lot of energy."

The Gophers finished with 25 assists on 34 baskets and shot 54.0 percent. Point guard Al Nolen had a team-high seven assists, and Westbrook made four 3-pointers.

"With any talented team you're not going to win unless you play together," Westbrook said. "When we share the ball, we're going to get a lot of easy shots and layups and eventually our athleticism is going to wear on teams."

Williams - a Minneapolis native - had a very promising debut with three dunks among his five baskets.

"Rodney is one of the most exciting players in the country," Westbrook said. "He jumps higher than anyone I've ever seen. When you have somebody like that to score on the break or block shots, if he keeps working on his game, sky's the limit."

Minnesota remains without freshman Royce White, senior Devron Bostick and junior transfer Trevor Mbakwe.

White is suspended indefinitely after being charged with shoplifting and assault stemming from an incident at the Mall of America in October. Bostick and Mbakwe are also suspended for separate incidents. None are expected to play Monday.

"We're definitely a better team with them," Westbrook said. "But we're confident even without the guys who are not with us right now that we're a good team. We don't have anything to prove to anybody."

This is the season opener for Stephen F. Austin, which went 24-8 and won the Southland Conference last season before losing to Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It marked the first NCAA appearance for the Lumberjacks.

There are only two returning starters from that historic team, with Eddie Williams the top returning scorer after averaging 7.4 points in 2008-09.

"Our goals will be the same, in terms of winning a regular-season conference championship," coach Danny Kaspar said. "I will not set a goal on a specific number of victories, but we will not change our past goals."

Minnesota won 101-55 in the lone previous meeting between the teams Nov. 23, 1996.