Gophers had horrific first half again, but Georgetown says ‘hold my brick’

Minnesota is capable, but they have a tendency to perform at an extremely low level from time to time.
Michigan State guard Tre Holloman (5) makes a jump shot against Minnesota guard Brennan Rigsby (24) during the second half at Breslin Center in East Lansing on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025.
Michigan State guard Tre Holloman (5) makes a jump shot against Minnesota guard Brennan Rigsby (24) during the second half at Breslin Center in East Lansing on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Watching the first half of the Minnesota Gophers men's basketball game against Michigan State was painful. While the No. 7 Spartans were decisive, aggressive, making shots, and in control, the Gophers were slow, dribbled into trouble, lost track of the shot clock, and bricked the shots they did take.

Is Michigan State just that much better than Minnesota? Maybe. But one team was clearly ready for the moment, while the other was outmuscled and outsmarted in every aspect of the game.

Ironically, Minnesota might not have had the worst first half in college basketball on Tuesday night. While the Gophers were outscored 36-16 by Michigan State in the first 20 minutes, Rick Pitino's St. John's Red Storm built a 37-9 lead over rival Georgetown and led 47-21 at halftime.

Who had it worse: Minnesota or Georgetown?

Georgetown shot 7-of-30 (23.3%) in the first half and was a dismal 4-of-9 at the free-throw line.

Minnesota shot 7-of-22 (31.8%) in the first half, committed three shot clock violations, and missed its only free-throw attempt.

While the Gophers were only outscored 37-35 in the second half by Michigan State, Georgetown managed just 20 second-half points against St. John's. The Hoyas shot 7-of-27 (25.9%) after halftime, finishing a brutal 14-of-57 (24.7%) for the game. They also made just 7-of-16 free throws.

So who was worse? The first half is debatable, but overall, Georgetown had the rougher night.

Still not as bad as the North Texas game

Shockingly, the 16-point first half against Michigan State was Minnesota's second worst half of the season. On Nov. 13, they trailed North Texas 23-14 at halftime after shooting just 3-of-21 (14.9%).

There are 20 minutes in a half, and scoring 14 points is crazy.

When the Gophers are off, they are one of the worst offensive teams in the country. On the flip side, they averaged 77.6 points per game during a three-game win streak that included victories over No. 25 Michigan, Iowa, and No. 15 Oregon.

Minnesota is capable—but they have a tendency to bottom out from time to time.


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Joe Nelson
JOE NELSON

Joe Nelson has more than 20 years of experience in Minnesota sports journalism. Nelson began his career in sports radio, working at smaller stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before moving to the highly-rated KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. While there, he produced the popular mid-morning show hosted by Minnesota Vikings play-by-play announcer Paul Allen. His time in radio laid the groundwork for his transition to sports writing in 2011. He covers the Vikings, Timberwolves, Gophers and Twins for On SI.