University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Indiana
Gophers Bounce Back with 84-63 Win Over Indiana
2/16/2019 4:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — With Jordan Murphy muscling his way to 23 points and 11 rebounds and Gabe Kalscheur going 6-for-8 from 3-point range, Minnesota stopped a four-game losing streak with an 84-63 victory over Indiana on Saturday.
Amir Coffey added 18 points for the Gophers (17-9, 7-8), who built a lead as big as 30 points during a smooth second half that had an intrasquad scrimmage vibe as the Hoosiers stumbled to their 10th loss in their last 11 games. The worst 3-point shooting team in the Big Ten, Minnesota made a season-high 12 shots in 22 attempts from long range to post its largest winning margin in 33 Big Ten games since a 89-67 victory over Rutgers on Dec. 3, 2017.
Kalscheur finished with 20 points and teamed with Coffey to stifle Indiana star Romeo Langford to a quiet 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting. Juwan Morgan led the Hoosiers (13-12, 4-10) with 14 points and eight rebounds and Al Durham added 12 points, but they finished a season-worst 2-for-17 from 3-point range.
Coming off a one-point loss at Nebraska three days ago that coach Richard Pitino called the toughest of his six-year tenure at Minnesota in light of two disputed foul calls in the closing seconds, the Gophers badly needed a dominant performance like this to relieve some tension and steer their NCAA Tournament bid back on track. They still have a lot of work to do to get in, but resume-building opportunities remain with three of the conference's top four teams left on the regular-season schedule.
Murphy, who had 17 points in the first half and posted his 18th double-double of the season, went to work right away on attacking the middle with his powerful and determined back-to-the-basket drives. The Hoosiers piled up the personal fouls, Murphy kept going back to the free-throw line and the Gophers were in control. The 6-foot-7 senior put his exclamation point on the performance with an 180-degree spin move on Justin Smith for an emphatic dunk that gave the Gophers a 61-40 lead.
UP NEXT
Indiana: Hosts No. 12 Purdue on Tuesday night. The Hoosiers lost 70-55 to the rival Boilermakers on the road on Jan. 19.
Minnesota: Stays home to face No. 6 Michigan on Thursday night. The Gophers lost 59-57 on the road to the Wolverines on Jan. 22 on a buzzer-beating shot.
