1 | 2 | T | |
---|---|---|---|
MINN | 27 | 24 | 51 |
NU | 20 | 26 | 46 |
Williams helps Minnesota knock off Northwestern 51-46
INDIANAPOLIS -- — Tre Williams scored 14 points and Jamal Mashburn Jr. 11 and Minnesota snapped a seven-game skid with a 51-46 win over Northwestern in the first round of the Big Ten Conference tournament on Wednesday.
The Golden Gophers advance to take on fifth-seeded and No. 9 ranked Ohio State on Thursday.
Minnesota pulled out the win despite shooting a paltry 37% (18 for 49) while making just 10 of 24 (42%) from the foul line.
Down the stretch, however, the Wildcats didn't help their cause when with a 46-39 lead with 4:20 to go they never scored again. Despite a 3-for-10 shooting effort, Minnesota's Marcus Carr drained back-to-back fadeaway jumpers and 2 of 3 foul shots in a 90-second span and the Golden Gophers led 49-46 with 72 seconds left.
Carr finished with 10 points, Eric Curry grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds and Brandon Johnson snared 10 boards for Minnesota.
Following a slow start, Northwestern gradually whittled its way back and took its first lead of the game at 40-38 on Miller Kopp's jumper with 7:02 left. Kopp led Northwestern with nine points.
Both Gach made a 3-pointer and a jump shot and Mashburn Jr. made a layup and a jumper and Minnesota (14-14) built a 16-2 advantage.
Despite missing 23 of 31-shot attempts in the half, Northwestern (9-15) outscored Minnesota 11-6 in the last 4:16 of the half to reduce its deficit to 27-20 at halftime.
Minnesota entered the conference tournament as the 13th seed and the Wildcats were No. 12. Northwestern finished the conference season at 6-13 and the Golden Gophers 6-14. Northwestern beat Minnesota 67-59 at Minneapolis in the lone regular season game they played against each other.
The Golden Gophers moved their record to 6-2 against Northwestern in conference tournament play.
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Game Information
- Referees:
- Larry Scirotto
- Robert Riley
- Bo Boroski
2023-24 Big Ten Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Purdue | 17-3 | - | 34-5 |
Illinois | 14-6 | 3 | 29-9 |
Nebraska | 12-8 | 5 | 23-11 |
Northwestern | 12-8 | 5 | 22-12 |
Wisconsin | 11-9 | 6 | 22-14 |
Indiana | 10-10 | 7 | 19-14 |
Michigan State | 10-10 | 7 | 20-15 |
Iowa | 10-10 | 7 | 19-15 |
Ohio State | 9-11 | 8 | 22-14 |
Minnesota | 9-11 | 8 | 19-15 |
Penn State | 9-11 | 8 | 16-17 |
Maryland | 7-13 | 10 | 16-17 |
Rutgers | 7-13 | 10 | 15-17 |
Michigan | 3-17 | 14 | 8-24 |