The Gophers defeat Ohio State wire-to-wire in a crucial victory.
The Gophers men’s basketball team put on one of their best games of the year in a pivotal Big Ten game.
With an early double-digit lead, Minnesota defeated Ohio State 88-79 on Thursday night at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, and they never looked back. After gaining an early 12-point lead, the U never looked back and thwarted all attempts by Ohio State to score.
The Gophers’ victory is just a Quad 2, but it’s a crucial one that will help them climb the NET rankings and maintain their chances of making the NCAA Tournament.
For the Gophers (17-9, 8-7 Big Ten), Elijah Hawkins displayed an aggressive offensive style, dribbling past Buckeyes defenses on drives to the basket and making crucial and timely free throws. Hawkins finished with two rebounds, seven assists, and 24 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
Early in the first half, Dawson Garcia was on fire, scoring eight points to help the U take a commanding 14-4 lead. In the early run, Mike Mitchell Jr. added two 3-pointers to help the Gophers get off to a fast start. Mitchell concluded the game with eight points and five assists, while Garcia finished with 22 points and nine rebounds.
For the US, Pharrel Payne added 15 points and 4 rebounds. Former Gophers star Jamison Battle made a few clutch 3-pointers in the first half, including one that tied the score at 30-30 at one point, as the Buckeyes (15-12, 5-11) went on brief runs.
Still, the U advanced to the halftime breakup eight. Despite hearing “Battle sucks” and other more acerbic cries from the Barn crowd upon his comeback, Battle was one of two Buckeyes players who failed to establish much of a rhythm. Battle finished with three rebounds, two assists, and 21 points. Bruce Thornton, who finished with 25 points and six assists, also contributed to the Buckeyes’ survival.
In the second half, Ohio State was able to trim its deficit to just seven points, but the Gophers prevented it from getting any closer. The U immediately increased their lead back to 13 points when Garcia drove in for a layup, Hawkins drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and Cam Christie pulled up in transition and drained one from long range.
From that point on, things went rather well. The offense managed to get a stop or a steal on the opposite end even when it wasn’t playing well for the U.S. Although Minnesota struggled to break the full-court press once more, they were never able to get close enough to punch the Buckeyes. The Gophers won the game wire-to-wire thanks to a largely reliable effort.