Bryant McIntosh and Vic Law led the Wildcats (13-9, 4-5 Big Ten) with 18 points each. Law stuffed the stat sheet with 13 rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots. Scottie Lindsey scored 15 points, and Dererk Pardon was good for 10 points and eight rebounds.
Point guard Nate Mason poured in a game-high 25 points for the Golden Gophers, but it wasn't enough to keep them from falling to 14-9 overall, 3-6 in the conference. Amir Coffey tallied 15 before fouling out, while Dupree McBrayer scored 11 points and Jordan Murphy chipped in 10.
Northwestern took the lead for good with 7:37 remaining when McIntosh drained a jumper for a 60-59 edge. McIntosh added another jumper at the 6:17 mark to make it 62-59.
With the Wildcats holding onto a 66-63 edge with 4:12 left after Coffey dunked off a turnover, Pardon scored on a put-back at the 3:32 mark and Lindsey hit a layup with 2:42 remaining to make it a seven-point game. Two free throws each by Lindsey and Law in the last minute sealed it.
Northwestern landed the first punch, using an 11-2 run to grab a 13-7 lead just under six minutes into the game on a four-point play by Law. Minnesota responded, though, cutting the deficit to a point and then using an 18-7 spurt to take a 32-22 advantage as Mason stroked a 3-pointer.
The Wildcats were able to cut into that lead a bit before the half, McIntosh converting a jumper off a Golden Gophers turnover in the final minute to make it a 40-34 game at intermission.
Northwestern canned 53.8 percent from the field in the second half to finish the night at 48.2 percent. The Wildcats hit 18 of 23 foul shots. Minnesota made just 9 of 29 field-goal tries (31 percent) after halftime and ended the game at 25 of 59 (42.4 percent) from the floor. The Gophers sank 10 of 16 free throws.
--Field Level Media
Northwestern | Minnesota | |
Vic Law 18 | Scoring | Nate Mason 25 |
Vic Law 5 | Assists | Nate Mason 9 |
Vic Law 13 | Rebounds | Jordan Murphy 9 |
Aaron Falzon 8 | Free Throws Made | Nate Mason 7 |
Barret Benson 2 | Steals | Nate Mason 3 |
Dererk Pardon 3 | Blocks | Jordan Murphy 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Northwestern | 77 | 48.2 | 5-17 | 18-23 | 15 | 35 | 7 | 6 | 10 |
Minnesota | 69 | 42.4 | 9-24 | 10-16 | 19 | 29 | 1 | 8 | 11 |