Mike Tyson said it best: ”Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” 

Those 11 words encapsulated Northwestern’s road trip to Minnesota on Saturday. The Wildcats fell in a dismal affair to the Golden Gophers 77-60, unable to counter several of the early haymakers inflicted in the bout. 

NU and Minnesota felt each other out in the opening minutes. The two teams exchanged jabs and were all knotted up 8-8 at the 16:57 mark in the first half. But the Golden Gophers delivered the first of several right hooks in the form of a 7-0 spurt which forced coach Chris Collins to call a timeout. 

The Cats returned to their corner — or bench — a tad bit bruised but not broken. NU returned to the floor, looking to counter with its own sequence of punches. 

Minnesota, however, came out of the break swinging and knocked the visiting Cats off their feet. Guard Luke Loewe and forward Jamison Battle were the one-two combo that separated the two teams. The pair scored 12 of the next 14 points — guard Sean Sutherlin added a layup —  opening up a 29-13 Minnesota advantage before the under-eight media timeout. 

Altogether, NU fell victim to a 21-5 run and was in dire need of some offensive production with the first half winding to a close. A trio of Cats in senior forward Pete Nance, junior guard Boo Buie and first-year guard Casey Simmons scored the final 14 points of the half. Entering the intermission, a 16-point margin separated the two squads. 

As has become a trademark of the season, NU battled back. The Cats did it against Illinois and nearly did it against Purdue just days prior, coming up just short both times. The third time’s the charm though, right? Well, for a brief moment in the opening minutes of the second half, it appeared NU would make it a game.

The Cats charged out of the break, delivering several quick body blows to trim the Minnesota advantage. Led by Buie, who had seven points in the first three minutes, NU cut the lead all the way down to seven.The Cats had weathered several of the Golden Gophers’ presumptive knockout blows and were back squarely in the fight.

Minnesota had different ideas, quickly quelling the notion that NU was going to be back in the mix for a late victory. 

The Golden Gophers enjoyed a six-minute, 19-4 run which was bookended by a pair of Loewe 3-pointers, two of his six makes from beyond the arc Saturday. It was the nail in the coffin for Collins and the Cats.

NU stayed in the game and continued to fight despite the hefty margin, ultimately falling by 17. Nance led the Cats with 18 points, as Buie added 16. 

The Cats will return to the court in Evanston to face last-place Nebraska on Tuesday at Welsh-Ryan Arena, in hopes of getting back on track before the Big Ten Tournament in early March.

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