Northwestern and Minnesota’s Big Ten Tournament contest this past season consisted of hard-nosed defense, offensive struggles and a 27-20 first half. 

However, the point margin looked much different after the first 20 minutes than it did during the two teams’ last matchup. Minnesota (13-12, 4-12 Big Ten) found its groove early on against the Cats (12-13, 5-11 Big Ten) and kept vibing until the end whistle, beating NU 77-60. 

“Their energy was much higher than ours the whole night,” coach Chris Collins said. “Their sense of resolve, their execution, they pretty much out everything-ed us today.”

Although Minnesota limited the Cats to 31% shooting from the field in their last meeting due to its defensive prowess, the Gophers’ bread and butter came on the opposite end of the floor Saturday — their uncanny offensive success.

NU appeared to have put their back-to-back losses of the past out the gate. The group made use of its first two offensive possessions, getting three-pointers from forwards senior Pete Nance and junior Robbie Beran and jumping out to a 6-2 lead. However, Minnesota began to hit shots as well, and quickly.

Shorthanded without leading disher and second-leading scorer Payton Willis, the Gophers made do with what they had, scoring 22 points in the next eight minutes. During the run, the team scored off every NU turnover alongside going five-for-seven from deep. The Wildcats didn’t find the same luck as Minnesota, dropping only five points during the Gophers’ run. Three of the points came off a top-of-the-key three by sophomore guard Ty Berry nearing the 13-minute mark.

“We didn’t defend very well, but they made a lot of shots,” Collins said. “It was a really good job by them to put the ball in the hole.”

Continuing to maintain its double-digit lead, Minnesota’s hot hand never cooled off before the intermission, holding at most a 21-point lead. The advantage slimmed down to 16 following an NU 5-0 run to enter the break. By this time, though, the Gophers had scored 43 points, shot over 50% from the field and deep and received buckets from nearly every player that stepped on the floor. All but one Gopher found the scoring column. NU’s 27 points, on the other hand, reflected their offensive woes as they picked up six turnovers and shot under 40% from the field.

Although Minnesota only had two players in double digits by the half, Jamison Battle, Luke Loewe, Eylijah Stephens and Sean Sutherlin combined for 15 points. The Cats’ lone player in double figures was Nance at 11, followed by Beran with five.

NU seemed to bounce back from its shaky first half coming out of the break. Through the redshirt junior Chase Audige-junior guard Boo Buie-Nance tandem, the Cats cut down Minnesota’s lead to seven by the 15-minute mark. However, Loewe quickly pushed the Gophers’ lead back up to 10 and eventually capped off a 19-4 run, expanding their lead to 22.

“(Minnesota) really rallied around each other,” Collins said. “They don’t have a lot of depth, but that can be a good thing because there’s no real subs, so you can play free. You can take shots and know that you’re going to be out there.”

The Cats continued to push back by making buckets of their own, but were unable to break past the 15-point margin, leading to the 17 point defeat.

Even with Nance’s 18 and Buie’s 16, Minnesota’s combination of Loewe’s 24 points, higher than his season average of 8.3 points per game, and Sutherlin’s 11 points carried the conference’s second-lowest scoring team over the edge to beat NU. 

With four games left on the regular season schedule, the Cats not only have a chance to face Minnesota again at home, but to end Big Ten play on a high note.

“This was not who we’ve been this year,” Collins said. “We’ve been a team that has pretty much shown up every night and battled, and for whatever reason, it wasn’t there today.”

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @LPIII_TRES

Related Stories:

— Rapid Recap: Minnesota 77, Northwestern 60
— Men’s Basketball: No. 5 Purdue marshals star power, sends Northwestern to second straight loss
— Men’s Basketball: No. 5 Purdue’s big men too much for Northwestern in 70-64 defeat