In a game between two Big Ten teams desperate for a win, the Northwestern Wildcats wanted it more.
Down by six at halftime, the Wildcats stormed back with stifling second-half defense to knock off the reeling Minnesota Golden Gophers 77-69 at Williams Arena Tuesday night, sending Minnesota to its sixth loss in seven games since losing starting center Reggie Lynch to suspension.
“We wore down,” head coach Richard Pitino stated several times during his postgame press conference.
Minnesota rolled out its fifth new starting lineup in conference play, going small with Davonte Fitzgerald as the power forward.
Fitzgerald, who wears a brace to protect his surgically-repaired knee, fit right in with the banged-up starting unit. Jordan Murphy and Nate Mason had bandages over their knees, Amir Coffey secured his recovering shoulder with tape, and Dupree McBrayer, who hasn’t been able to practice due to a stress reaction in his leg, missed part of the first half after aggravating the injury.
Not surprisingly, the Gophers defense eroded in the second half, while their offense disappeared against the physical Wildcats.
“The Big Ten is going to be like that,” said McBrayer, who returned to play in the second half. “We know it’s going to be physical, so we just have to know that people are going to be physical with us.”
In Minnesota’s six losses since losing Lynch, they’ve been outrebounded all six times. For the first 16 games with Lynch, they were only outrebounded twice.
The Wildcats won the battle in the paint 34-28, recorded seven blocks and outscored Minnesota 43-29 in the second half after trailing 40-34 at halftime. Over the last seven games, the Gophers have been outscored in the second half six times by an average of nine points.
The Gophers also played their fifth game in 11 days — a brutal stretch for any team, let alone one with numerous injuries and a shallow bench.
“Amir and Dupree showed great heart to fight through it,” said Pitino. “I kept asking them, ‘Do you want me to take you out? Do you want me to take you out?’ They said, ‘I’m good, I’m good, I’m good.'”
The Gophers last led with 7:36 remaining in the second half before Bryant McIntosh gave Northwestern the lead with a jumper. They later trailed 66-63 with 3:32 to go when Dererk Pardon snatched an offensive rebound that led to a putback to send the Wildcats ahead by five. From that point, the Gophers were never able to pull back within one possession.
Vic Law led the way for Northwestern with 18 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
Minnesota’s offense clammed up in the second half with just nine made field goals and 31 percent shooting. After starting the game 13 of 19 (68.4 percent) from the field, the Gophers finished 12 for their final 40 (30 percent). Their bench scored just five points on 2-of-10 shooting.
Nate Mason was tremendous with 25 points and nine assists, but Minnesota struggled to establish any inside presence with their smaller lineup. Jordan Murphy, their leading scorer, was held to just four points on four shot attempts in the second half.
“I thought that we probably missed him a couple times in the post,” said Pitino, “but they’re so physical, and he’s playing at the five. They got big five men, so that part of it’s tough. He’s playing the five at 6-5, 6-6. That’s hard for him to do.”
Minnesota (14-8, 3-7) is now facing the very real possibility of being eliminated from NCAA Tournament contention with two or three more losses.
Northwestern (12-9, 4-5), meanwhile, has two of its four Big Ten wins against Minnesota.
Stats to Think About
- After starting him three times earlier in the month, Pitino has reduced Michael Hurt’s minutes since removing him from the starting lineup four games ago. Hurt has averaged just eight minutes per game over the last four.
- Northwestern has now won four straight games at Williams Arena.
- Minnesota has been held below 40 percent shooting in its last four losses.
Up Next
Minnesota gets a week off to perhaps build some chemistry with its preferred starting five before playing Iowa on Jan. 30 in Iowa City.