Northwestern Unable to Stop Minnesota in Big Ten Matchup

The Wildcats surrender a lead early and continued to dig a deep hole that eventually led to a lopsided final score.

After losing back-to-back close games to some of the best the Big 10 has to offer, Northwestern men's basketball was finally staring a winnable game in the face. Their opponent, the Minnesota Golden Gophers, snatched that chance, and delivered a sucker punch to the gut and then one to the face.

Minnesota cruised to a 77–60 victory, but the score was much worse throughout the majority of the contest. The Golden Gophers were dominant on the offensive end, notching a 55.8 FG percentage, 47.8% from beyond the three point line and were 66.7% at the free throw line. The Wildcats, on the other end, lived in the 30's in the first two categories and only managed to hit 50% from the free throw line.

Those stats do sum up the game. The Wildcats jumped out to a 6–2 lead in the very early stages, but two quick three pointers from the Golden Gophers changed this. Northwestern quickly tied it up at 8 via a layup from junior forward Robbie Beran, but a clutch three pointer from Gophers sophomore forward Jamison Battle re-established the lead, and two more baskets after this extended the lead to seven. 

Northwestern coach Chris Collins called a timeout at this point to try to change the momentum, but the Wildcats continued to fall behind after returning to the court. The Gophers were automatic from all over the court and spent the remainder of the half building up a lead. The achieved multiple 17 point leads, two 21 point leads, and eventually ended the half with a 43–27 lead.

The halftime was desperately needed by the Wildcats, and they came out with a purpose, even getting within seven after a three pointer from senior forward Pete Nance cut the deficit to 47–40. Instead of building on this, the Wildcats surrendered a 16–2 run over the next several minutes and effectively took themselves out of the game. The clock continued to roll but the game was over in spirit, and after some inspired play from the benches of both teams, the game found its final 77–60 score.

Nance led the Wildcats with 18 points and junior guard Boo Buie was right behind him with 16. No other Wildcats broke double digits on the score sheet. Minnesota senior guard Luke Loewe led all scorers with 24 points and Battle was next in line with 21 points. Two additional players, senior guards E.J. Stephens and Sean Sutherlin, broke double digits with 15 and 11 points respectively. 

The Wildcats (12–13) will look to bounce back on Feb. 22 when they host the University of Nebraska (7–19). Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST.

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