Minnesota 63, Penn State 56: Austin Hollins hit four 3-pointers and scored 18 points as the Gophers held off a late charge from the Nittany Lions in a Big Ten tournament first-round matchup in Indianapolis.
Deandre Mathieu added 13 points, five assists and three steals for sixth-seeded Minnesota (20-12), which defeated Penn State for the second time in five days to notch back-to-back victories for the first since early January. The Gophers will meet second-seeded Wisconsin in Friday's quarterfinals.
D.J. Newbill shot 7-of-22 from the floor – including 1-of-9 beyond the arc – to finish with 16 points and a game-high seven rebounds for No. 10 seed Penn State (15-17), which has dropped five straight against Minnesota. Tim Frazier contributed 11 points, five rebounds and five assists as the Nittany Lions remained winless at this event in three seasons under coach Patrick Chambers.
Minnesota scored the first nine points and never trailed, but needed a buzzer-beating jumper from Maverick Ahanmisi to withstand a late Penn State run and take a 30-25 advantage at the break. Hollins drilled a 3-pointer to cap a 7-0 surge coming out of the break and the Gophers led by as many as 14 midway through the second half when Joey King converted back-to-back baskets.
Penn State trailed 51-38 following another 3-pointer by Hollins with 7:14 left, but refused to go away as it knocked down four 3-pointers during a 16-7 surge to trim the deficit to four with 2 1/2 minutes remaining. Andre Hollins caught a break with less than a minute remaining when he received a second free throw following a lane-violation call and sealed it moments later when he drained a 3-pointer to stretch the Gophers’ advantage to six.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Minnesota improved to 3-0 against Penn State at this event and is 24-6 all-time against the Nittany Lions (not including results vacated by the Gophers from 1994-99). … Austin Hollins, who entered Thursday scoring 11.6 points per game, is averaging 18.8 points over his last four contests. … Penn State fell to 9-17 all-time in the Big Ten tournament.
Penn St. | Minnesota | |
D.J. Newbill 16 | Scoring | Austin Hollins 18 |
Tim Frazier 5 | Assists | Deandre Mathieu 5 |
D.J. Newbill 8 | Rebounds | Elliott Eliason 6 |
Brandon Taylor 4 | Free Throws Made | Deandre Mathieu 5 |
D.J. Newbill 2 | Steals | Deandre Mathieu 3 |
Jordan Dickerson 2 | Blocks | Deandre Mathieu 2 |