sid's jottings

• Timberwolves superstar forward Kevin Love led the NBA in scoring in December at 30.0 points per game and ranked third in rebounding (13.7) behind two centers, the Clippers' DeAndre Jordan (14) and Houston's Dwight Howard (13.8). It's the second time Love has averaged at least 30 points per game in a calendar month (30.7 in March 2012). Wolves center Nikola Pekovic finished 13th in scoring during the month with an average of 20.7 ppg.

• Fred Hoiberg's 13th-ranked Iowa State men's basketball team beat Texas Tech, coached by former Gophers coach Tubby Smith 73-62, on Saturday in Lubbock, Texas. Hoiberg's Cyclones are 13-0, and their 13-game winning streak has tied a school record. Meanwhile, Smith is doing a good job at Texas Tech with an 8-6 record, considering the fact he was hired in April to take over a team that went 11-20 last season. All six of the Red Raiders' losses are to major conference teams.

• It has been a great bowl season for college coaches who have previously spent time here. Tim Brewster, the former Gophers head coach, is tight ends coach for the Florida State team that will play Auburn for the national championship on Monday. Kevin Sumlin, the head coach at Texas A&M, and Mark Snyder, his defensive coordinator, are former Gophers assistants. The Aggies rallied from 21 down at halftime to beat Duke in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Tuesday. George Leary, who was Vikings defensive coordinator under Mike Tice, for one year, coached Central Florida to a big 52-42 upset of Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl. Former Gophers player Tony Levine coached Houston to the BBVA Compass Bowl, where the Cougars lost to Vanderbilt 41-24 on Saturday.

• Gophers athletic director Norwood Teague has put together two groups of Gophers fans to help raise money and do other things to aid the athletic department in its fundraising efforts. Lou Nanne is leading a 12-person effort in fundraising for Teague's $190 million facilities upgrade plan, and there is another group of 44 also active in helping Teague.