University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Fall, 68-45, to No. 4 Wisconsin In Madison
1/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Fourth-ranked Wisconsin used a 31-7 first-half run to push past Minnesota 68-45 on Saturday at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. Gophers junior forward Dan Coleman led all scorers with 15 points, while Alando Tucker had 14 for the Badgers.
Wisconsin (15-1, 1-0 Big Ten) held the Gophers to a game shooting percentage of 34.7 percent. One game after Minnesota shot 80 percent for the night on three-pointers, the Gophers were just 3-of-10 from behind the arc.
Minnesota (7-9, 1-1) outscored the Badgers 12-6 in the first eight minutes of play, with Spencer Tollackson and Coleman scoring six points apiece to lead the way. After a Jonathan Williams free throw made the score 13-6, the Badgers scored the next six points to cut the lead to one at 13-12.
Wisconsin took the advantage for the first time with nine minutes to go in the half, when Tucker scored on an alley-oop dunk to make the score 16-15. Minnesota was then held without a field goal for over six minutes as the Badgers pushed out to a 31-16 lead. Sophomore Jamal Abu-Shamala broke the drought for the Gophers with a long two-pointer with 2:30 to go in the half to make the score 31-18. A putback by Tucker with three seconds to go sent the Badgers into halftime with their largest lead at 37-20. Minnesota struggled offensively from the field, shooting 29.6 percent in the first half compared to the Badgers 46.7 percent.
The Badgers opened the second half on a 5-0 run, holding Minnesota scoreless for six and a half minutes. Coleman scored on a jumper to make the score 42-22 with 13:30 remaining. Wisconsin's lead swelled to as much as 31 points, after a three-pointer by Jason Bohannon made the score 57-26 with 8:37 to go. Minnesota outscored the Badgers 19-11 for the remainder of the game, but would not get closer than within 23 points.
Junior center Spencer Tollackson injured his wrist and left the game with less than a minute to go in the first half. He did not return, and finished with 11 points and six rebounds.
Kammron Taylor and Michael Flowers scored 13 and 11 points, respectively, for Wisconsin.
