University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Indiana
Minnesota Drops 70-63 Decision to Indiana
1/16/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Yogi Ferrell had 20 points, seven assists and six rebounds to help sluggish Indiana win its 10th straight game with a 70-63 victory over Minnesota on Saturday.
Nick Zeisloft scored 15 points and the Hoosiers (15-3, 5-0 Big Ten) made 8 of 25 3-pointers to outlast Minnesota. Zeisloft went 5 for 8 from deep and Thomas Bryant added 10 points and seven rebounds for Indiana.
Joey King scored 18 points and hit 4 of 5 3s for the Golden Gophers (6-12, 0-6), who have lost seven in a row and nine of their last 10. Minnesota held a nine-point lead early in the game, but 11 missed free throws and a 39-31 rebounding deficit were costly.
Whether the Hoosiers were taking the Gophers lightly after seeing them lose their previous two games - to Northwestern and Nebraska - by 25 points each or if they were a little sleepy at the start for an 11:30 a.m. Central tip, they were extremely flat at the start of the game.
They came in averaging almost 86 points per game and leading the Big Ten in scoring, field goal percentage and 3-point percentage, but managed just 34 points in the first 20 minutes.
Indiana missed its first six shots and 10 of its first 14, including the first six 3s to fall behind 17-8. Then Zeisloft finally found his shooting stroke to spark the Hoosiers.
Zeisloft entered the game with four 3-pointers in 25 attempts, an ugly 16 percent conversion rate. After missing his first two of the game, he hit four straight to pull Indiana within 21-20 and the Hoosiers closed the first half with a 13-3 run to tie it up.
Ferrell started to take over in the second half, keying a 6-0 burst with a steal and two assists to put Indiana up 62-54 with 5:37 to play. Ferrell's seven assists moved him past Quinn Buckner for second place on Indiana's career list with 544, one behind record holder Michael Lewis.
King had to sit for a good portion of the second half while saddled with four fouls, and the Gophers had a difficult time generating offense without him.
And in the closing minute, the inexperienced Gophers were a mess offensively and Ferrell took advantage. Down 64-60, the Gophers couldn't get into a set and played hot potato with the ball until Ferrell swiped it away and went the length of the court for a layup and six-point lead.
Still, it was a step in the right direction for the young Gophers, who were blown out the previous two games and started Big Ten play 0-5 for the second season in a row, the first time that's been done in school history.
Coach Richard Pitino said on Friday that he expected to take a step back in his third season on the job, but admitted that ''I didn't think it would be this bad.''
The Gophers showed much more energy and organization at home on Saturday, even after losing freshman forward Ahmad Gilbert to a left hand injury 30 seconds into the second half.
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Indiana visits Illinois on Tuesday
