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MINNEAPOLIS -- After losing more games last season than any other team in the 121-year history of Minnesotas program, the Gophers have played like a totally different group.Thats because they are, for the most part.Amir Coffey scored all 19 of his points in the second half, after Akeem Springs made three 3-pointers over the final 5 minutes of the first half to finish with 11 points and help Minnesota pull away for an 85-71 victory over Arkansas on Tuesday night.They should be confident. Theyve worked hard, coach Richard Pitino said. Theyve stayed humble throughout a tough offseason, and theyve just been eager to get back to proving themselves on and off the court.Nate Mason had 13 points and seven assists, Eric Curry added 12 points and Reggie Lynch and Jordan Murphy each added 10 points for the Gophers (5-0), who won their first five games to start a season for the first time in three years. With transfers Springs and Lynch and freshmen Coffey and Curry, theres a new look and some new life to this team after a miserable 8-23 finish.What the team went through last year, I think that matured everyone, Springs said.Dusty Hannahs scored 20 points and Moses Kingsley had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Razorbacks (3-1), whose first road trip of the season was rough. They didnt make a 3-pointer until Hannahs hit one at the 4-minute mark and finished 1 for 8 after entering the game 24 for 54 from behind the arc (44.9 percent).Their 21 turnovers were their most since March 21, 2015, an NCAA tournament loss to North Carolina, and they had only six fast-break points after tallying 51 over the first three games. The Gophers had a 26-9 edge in points off turnovers.Weve just been being really sloppy, Hannahs said. It hasnt been like this is a random occurrence.The Gophers started slowly, but the Razorbacks missed nine of their first 10 shots from the floor and were outscored 25-6 over a stretch of more than 10 minutes. Springs swished two more 3-pointers after that run in the closing minutes of the first half, and the Gophers led by at least 14 points for the rest of the game.COFFEY BREAKThe freshman Coffey had 30 points on Friday against St. Johns and after a quiet first half got the crowd going with an array of fast-break dunks and slick layups plus a 3-pointer that gave the Gophers a 67-46 lead to match their largest of the game.Everybody knew he was struggling, so everybody kept going to him and encouraging him, Mason said. That shows the unselfishness for our team.CURRYING FAVORCurry, a native of Little Rock, Arkansas, who was recruited by the Razorbacks, went 8 for 8 from the free-throw line.HEY, WE PLAYED THEM TOOBoth Arkansas and Minnesota have already beaten Texas-Arlington, the team picked to win the Sun Belt Conference in a preseason coaches poll. The Gophers beat the Mavericks 84-67 on Nov. 14, and the Razorbacks edged UTA 71-67 on Friday.BIG PICTUREArkansas: A team picked to finish fifth in the preseason SEC media poll that tapped Kingsley as the player of the year, the Razorbacks must make some significant improvements to be competitive in a Dec. 17 game against No. 22 Texas. With an influx of junior-college transfers, chemistry is a work in progress.Theyre still learning how to play with one another, coach Mike Anderson said.Minnesota: After finishing as the third-worst team in the Big Ten in defense last season, with the second-highest percentage of 3-pointers allowed, the Gophers have been markedly better, beginning with the fundamentals of cutting off baseline drives and rotating over to help. Lynchs shot-blocking presence is a big boost too.Once youre getting stops, it makes the game a little bit easier for everyone, Springs said.UP NEXTArkansas returns home on Monday to host Mount St. Marys, the first of five straight home games.Minnesota hosts Southern Illinois on Friday, before the first road game on Monday at Florida State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.---For more college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25 Custom Senators T-shirts . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. Custom Senators Jerseys . Its 1987 and a Brazilian playmaker, known as Mirandinha, is being paraded around St James Park to the passionate Newcastle fans. http://www.customsenatorsjersey.com/custom-frank-finnigan-jersey-large-70t.html . -- Former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver was found dead at his Atlanta-area home Tuesday night, and a medical examiner said Wednesday that the ex-player committed suicide. Cheap Custom Senators Jersey . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start. Senators Jerseys China . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. Match factsNovember 19, 2016 Start time 0930 local (0730 GMT)Big PictureIf off-field distractions have followed West Indies to Zimbabwe, their performance in their first game of the tri-series did not show it. They brought a largely young, inexperienced squad here but their win on Wednesday suggested depth and quality nonetheless, and they will arrive in Bulawayo a confident group.West Indies three debutants in the first match helped to shape their win, with Shai Hope and Rovman Powell both making 40s before offspinner Ashley Nurse chipped in with three wickets. Nurse has insisted that rankings are not foremost in West Indies game plans, but their current position of ninth in the ICC rankings suggests a serious malaise that needs tackling.With a forward-looking squad and the necessity for general improvement in one-day cricket, its hard to dismiss the feeling that West Indies are focussed on their future. They have already missed out on qualification for the Champions Trophy next year, and if they are to avoid the ignominy of having to play in a qualifying tournament for the 2019 World Cup, they will have to continue to build on performances such as those in their tour opener. This game offers their next opportunity to do just that.The increased pace and menace with which West Indies quicks will operate brings with it myriad dangers for Zimbabwes batsmen. Shannon Gabriel and Jason Holder will not only gain extra lift from a traditionally dull surface, but Bulawayos drier pitches and outfields will also likely bring reverse-swing into the equation, as they did last year when Afghanistans Dawlat Zadran picked up nine wickets at 16.66 in five ODIs at Queens.Dawlats pace and swing meant he was able to strike upfront with the new ball, and then again with the old to help Afghanistan win the series 3-2. The bowling stats from that series offer further clues as to which bowlers might prosper in Bulawayo: Wellington Masakadza, Tendai Chisoro and Amir Hamza - all spinners - were the other leading wicket-takers. Genuine pace, accompanied by spin, will form a potent attack.With both Sri Lanka and West Indies gaining bonus points from their opening wins, Zimbabwe have their work cut out if they are to stop this tri-series becoming a two-horse race.Form guide(last five completed matches, most recent first)Zimbabwe: LLLLLWest Indies: WLLLLIn the spotlightZimbabwe coach Heath Streak called for more energy and aggression from his team after their defeat to Sri Lanka, and one player who normally has both in spades is Sean Williams. This is a player who spanked Zimbabwes fastest Test hundred while seriously ill with the flu earlier this year: he has clearly got the sort of fight Streak is looking for. Williams made starts in both Tests against Sri Lanka, so hes in some nick, and he averages 40 at Queens Sports Club - his home ground. Williams also seems to enjoy batting against West Indies - in two World Cup matches against them he averages 146, with a pair of 70s in 2007 and 2015.Given the advantages of his height and long fingers, Sulieman Benns one-day bowling average of 46.38 is surprisingly high. Benn was part oof the squad that lost to Pakistan last month, taking 2 for 158 in the series, and West Indies will want him to improve on those returns in Zimbabwe.dddddddddddd. Benn, 35, is of an age where consistency in performance is vital to continued selection. He should find Bulawayos pitches to his liking, and if he hits rhythm he will help West Indies retain control of the middle overs.Teams newsZimbabwe will probably look to bring in an extra spinner in these conditions. A debut for Tarisai Musakanda would offer an injection of youthful hunger into the batting, though that would also necessitate a re-shuffle in the batting order.Zimbabwe (possible): 1 Chamu Chibhabha, 2 Brian Chari, 3 Craig Ervine, 4 Sikandar Raza, 5 Sean Williams, 6 PJ Moor(wk), 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Graeme Cremer (c), 9 Tendai Chisoro, 10 Carl Mumba, 11 Tinashe Panyangara.With two spinners already in their line-up on Wednesday, and momentum with them following their win, West Indies may well go into this match unchanged.West Indies (possible): 1 Johnson Charles, 2 Kraigg Brathwaite, 3 Evin Lewis, 4 Shai Hope(wk), 5 Jonathan Carter, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Carlos Brathwaite, 8 Jason Holder (c), 9 Ashley Nurse, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Shannon Gabriel.Pitch and conditionsSituated in the drier south of the country, Bulawayo tends to produce flatter pitches with less grass than Harare. Spin will be an important factor in the game, while inclement weather is less likely to feature - though when thunderstorms do brew they can be cataclysmic. Fortunately, Saturday should be sunny and dry.Stats and triviaWest Indies last tour of Zimbabwe was nine years ago, and none of West Indies squad have played at Queens Sports Club before.Zimbabwe have played 45 ODIs against West Indies, losing 35 of those. Their last win against West Indies was in Guyana in 2010, when Zimbabwe clung on to defend 254 and win by two runs.The first List A game to be played at Queens Sports Club in the independent Zimbabwe was between West Indies and Zimbabwe in October 1981. Zimbabwe overcame a young West Indies side containing Desmond Haynes, Faoud Bacchus, Gus Logie, Jeff Dujon, Malcolm Marshall and Wayne Daniel by 53 runs, with Dennis Streak - current coach Heath Streaks father - taking 4 for 45 with his medium pace.QuotesI had a chat with Marlon Samuels [who has been to Zimbabwe before], but apart from that were just pulling out all the data we can possibly find from the analysts in terms of the ground stats and the opposition. But cricket is cricket at the end of the day, you just have to play as you see it, and assess the conditions as quickly as possible.West Indies captain Jason Holder leads a squad with very little experience of Zimbabwean conditionsWe know their batsmen are pretty fearless. We know they like to hit boundaries. Well try and stop that, and starve them of the boundary option to put them under pressure.Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer thinks his teams best chance of putting West Indies under pressure will come from disciplined bowling ' ' '