Tonight's game vs. St. John's at Madison Square Garden tips at 6 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPNU and locally, on 1500-a.m.
Five things as I inhale a plate of pad Thai in the East Village ...
1. Not the pregame story we were planning. Minnesota guard Daquein McNeil was arrested on two counts of domestic assault, including felony assault on Monday afternoon and remains in jail, pending charges.
2. Minnesota has swiped at least 13 steals in each of the last three games, and now is ranked seventh in the nation in steal percentage and 11th in defensive turnover percentge, per kenpom.com after four games. One surprise is that early on, the Gophers' defense -- which ranked last in the Big Ten in efficiency a year ago -- has been better than the offense early on. Minnesota's offense is ranked 50th nationally, while its defense lands at No. 34. "Numbers shouldn't matter this early in the season, so I don't look at numbers and rankings and those things right now," coach Richard Pitino said. "If we're [that highly ranked in steals] in February I'll be excited."
3. The odds of winning Wednesday's matchup vs. St. John's -- a team ranked 11 spots lower than Minnesota per kenpom.com? Not good, according to the tempo-free statistics site, which gives the Gophers just a 38 percent chance of winning.
4. Odd stats: through four games, no Minnesota player is averaging more than 4.8 rebounds. And the Gophers' leader in boards per game? That would be freshman guard Nate Mason.
5. What is the team doing for Thanksgiving tomorrow? Well, they'll be practicing at Baruch College in the flatiron district at some point during the day and then having a Thanksgiving meal at the hotel, which Pitino said was the players' choice. Happy Holidays? "Depends," the coach said with a smirk. "If we win [on Wednesday], it will be a good Thanksgiving. If we lose, it will be a bad Thanksgiving."
