What's the encore for transfer Dawson Garcia after his impressive Gophers debut?

North Carolina transfer Dawson Garcia's first game in a Gophers uniform was one of the best debuts in recent program history with his 23 points in Monday's 61-60 win against Western Michigan.

"He can score in a variety of ways," Gophers coach Ben Johnson said. "The moment is not too big for him. He almost runs to it. So it's good to have guys who have confidence and want the ball."

What will Garcia's follow up performance be Friday night against St. Francis Brooklyn?

The 6-11 sophomore from Savage will have every opportunity to have another big offensive outing with last season's leading scorer Jamison Battle out again with a foot injury.

Prior to the U opener, Garcia hadn't played in a college basketball game since late January before he left UNC last season to be with his ailing family in Minnesota. It was his ninth career 20-point performance (Garcia's career-high was 28 points vs. Villanova as a Marquette freshman in 2020-21).

You'll have to go back to former All-Big Ten forward Vincent Grier's 23 points against Lipscomb to open the 2004-05 season to find a higher scoring Gophers debut than Garcia's on Monday.

Grier, who helped lead the Gophers to the 2005 NCAA tournament in his first season transferring from junior college, gave Garcia a shout out on Twitter this week.

GAME INFO

Time: 6 p.m. CT, Friday. Where: Williams Arena. Line: Gophers 15.5-point favorite. Series: First meeting in program history. TV: None. Online/Live video: BTN-plus. Radio: KFAN 100.3-FM

PROJECTED STARTERS

MINNESOTA GOPHERS (1-0)

Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG

G – Ta'Lon Cooper 6-4 195 Jr. 17.0

G – Jaden Henley 6-7 200 Fr. 4.0

G – Will Ramberg 6-5 205 Jr. 4.0

F – Dawson Garcia 6-11 230 So. 23.0

C – Treyton Thompson 7-0 210 So. 3.0

Key reserves– Taurus Samuels, G, 6-1, Sr., 1.0 ppg; Joshua Ola-Joseph, F, 6-7, Fr., 6.0 ppg; Pharrel Payne, F/C, 6-9, Fr., 3.0 ppg

Coach: Ben Johnson 14-17 career (2nd season)

Notable: The Gophers announced 6-8 freshman forward Kadyn Betts will redshirt the 2022-23 season after reclassifying and joining the team early this year. Betts will play with a highly touted 2023 class that was signed Wednesday with five-star center Dennis Evans III and four-star guard Cameron Christie. … Freshman guard Braeden Carrington, who won Minnesota Mr. Basketball and a state title last season at Park Center, is questionable to make his debut Friday due to a lingering ankle injury. ... The Gophers will honor Veteran's Day on Friday with the USS Minnesota submarine crew's name on their warmup jerseys and a video tribute that includes assistant Marcus Jenkins, who served in the Air Force. ... The Gophers have a chance to extend their nonconference home winning streak to 16 straight Friday, dating back to a loss to DePaul on November 29, 2019.

St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers (1-0)

Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG

G – Larry Moreno 6-0 176 Sr. 12.0

G – Rob Higgins 6-1 179 Sr. 13.0

G – Di'Andre Howell-South 6-4 200 Fr. 12.0

F – Syrus Grisby 6-8 205 Jr. 4.0

F – Josiah Harris 6-8 225 Jr. 6.0

Reserves – Zion Bethea, G, 6-4, Fr., 24.0 ppg; Roy Clarke, G, 6-4, Jr., 7.0 ppg; Trey Quartlebaum, G, 6-2, Sr., 5.0 ppg; Nuha Sagina, F, 6-10, Jr., 5.0 ppg; Michael Myrie, G, 6-3, Fr., 2.0 ppg.

Coach: Glenn Braica 165-200 (13th season)

Notable: The Terriers have competed against four Big Ten opponents since 2010, including an 81-58 loss at Wisconsin and 74-59 loss at Penn State last season. Senior Rob Higgins was named to the All-Northeastern Conference preseason team and St. Francis was picked to finish fifth in the league.

Fuller's score prediction: Gophers 75, St. Francis Brooklyn 65.