University of Minnesota Athletics
Wednesday, March 12
Indianapolis, IN
2:30 PM
University of Minnesota
64
vs
72
Northwestern
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Gophers Fall to Northwestern In Big Ten Tournament
3/12/2025 5:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Dawson Garcia scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds, his 18th game this season with 20 or more points, but 12th-seeded Minnesota (15-17) dropped a 72-64 decision to 13th-seeded Northwestern (17-15) in the opening game of the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.
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Garcia's 22-point outing increased his single-season point total to 614 points, which ranks sixth all-time at Minnesota. He has scored 1,557 points in his three seasons at Minnesota, which ranks tenth all-time, and has 2,052 points during his collegiate career (including prior stops at Marquette and North Carolina).
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Mike Mitchell Jr. also reached double-figures for the Gophers, scoring 11 points in the final 7:23, while Isaac Asuma had eight points, three rebounds, and two blocks, and Parker Fox had six points, four boards, and a pair of blocks. Lu'Cye Patterson finished with five points, three rebounds, three steals, and a pair of assists, Brennan Rigsby had five points and three boards, Femi Odukale added four points and a team-high four assists, and Frank Mitchell finished with three points and tied Garcia with a team-best seven rebounds.
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As a team, the Gophers made 20-of-53 (377) field goals, including 7-of-22 (318) three-pointers, and 17-of-21 (.810) foul shots. Nick Martinelli led the Wildcats with 28 points and seven rebounds, while Ty Berry added 14 points and seven boards. NU made 27-of-56 (.482) field goals, but was just 6-of-21 (.286) from beyond the arc and 12-of-22 (.545) at the line. The Wildcats were +4 (36-32) on the glass and outscored Minnesota 32-20 in the paint.
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Fox opened the scoring for the Gophers with a layup, and Garcia's first field goal attempt was a three that put the Gophers up, 5-4. The Wildcats went on a 7-0 run to build an 11-5 lead, but Mitchell scored on a layup to trim the lead to four. Trailing 13-7, Asuma pulled the Gophers within one on a three-pointer and a layup at the 12:47 mark. Both teams opened the game shooting well, as Minnesota made 5-of-8 and NU was 6-of-10. Fox made a couple free throws to cut it to 15-14, and Garcia hit a short baseline jumper to make it 17-16, but the Wildcats stretched the lead to five points before a Rigsby three. Fox added two more at the line to cut it to 23-21, and Garcia's 15-foot jumper had the Gophers within 25-23, but NU responded with a 4-0 spurt to force a Minnesota timeout with 3:24 left in the half. The Wildcats stretched their lead to 32-23 until Patterson hit an eight-foot jumper in the lane, Rigsby scored on a fastbreak layup, and Garcia made a pair of free throws to pull the Gophers within three points at the half.
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Garcia led Minnesota with nine first-half points, while Fox had six, and Asuma added five. The Gophers made 10-of-22 (.455) field goals, including 3-of-8 from long-distance, and 6-of-6 at the line. NU held a slim 13-11 edge in rebounding. Martinelli led the Wildcats with 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting. As a team, NU was 14-of-28 from the field, but just 1-of-9 behind the arc, and 3-of-5 at the stripe.
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Garcia opened the second half with a three, pulling Minnesota within 34-32, but NU went on a 10-0 run to expand the lead to 44-32 and force Ben Johnson to call timeout with 15:48 remaining. The Gophers pulled within eight on a layup by Asuma and free throws by Patterson, but Berry's second trey of the half extended NU's lead back to 11. Garcia added two more free throws to cut it to 47-38, but Martinelli went 2-of-4 at the line to surpass 20 points and put the Cats back up by 11. NU pushed its lead to 54-39 before Odukale and Garcia scored on layups to pull the Gophers back to within 11 with 9:33 left.
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The Wildcats led 59-44 with 7:42 left, but Mike Mitchell Jr. knocked down a three and Odukale hit a pair of free throws to cut it to 59-49 with 5:51 on the clock. A 5-0 NU run once again made it a 15-point deficit for the Gophers, but Mitchell's second triple of the half trimmed it to 64-53 with 2:31 left. Garcia's jumper with 1:48 left and another three by Mitchell Jr. made it a 9-3 Gophers run to pull within 67-58 with 1:35 remaining. Mitchell Jr. added a jumper in the lane to cut it to 67-60 with 0:45 left, But the Wildcats converted a couple free throws for a 69-60 lead with 30 seconds left. Garcia reached 20 points with a pair of free throws, and he added a layup with 0:09 left, but NU held on to advance to face fifth-seeded Wisconsin on Thursday.
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Garcia's 22-point outing increased his single-season point total to 614 points, which ranks sixth all-time at Minnesota. He has scored 1,557 points in his three seasons at Minnesota, which ranks tenth all-time, and has 2,052 points during his collegiate career (including prior stops at Marquette and North Carolina).
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Mike Mitchell Jr. also reached double-figures for the Gophers, scoring 11 points in the final 7:23, while Isaac Asuma had eight points, three rebounds, and two blocks, and Parker Fox had six points, four boards, and a pair of blocks. Lu'Cye Patterson finished with five points, three rebounds, three steals, and a pair of assists, Brennan Rigsby had five points and three boards, Femi Odukale added four points and a team-high four assists, and Frank Mitchell finished with three points and tied Garcia with a team-best seven rebounds.
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As a team, the Gophers made 20-of-53 (377) field goals, including 7-of-22 (318) three-pointers, and 17-of-21 (.810) foul shots. Nick Martinelli led the Wildcats with 28 points and seven rebounds, while Ty Berry added 14 points and seven boards. NU made 27-of-56 (.482) field goals, but was just 6-of-21 (.286) from beyond the arc and 12-of-22 (.545) at the line. The Wildcats were +4 (36-32) on the glass and outscored Minnesota 32-20 in the paint.
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Fox opened the scoring for the Gophers with a layup, and Garcia's first field goal attempt was a three that put the Gophers up, 5-4. The Wildcats went on a 7-0 run to build an 11-5 lead, but Mitchell scored on a layup to trim the lead to four. Trailing 13-7, Asuma pulled the Gophers within one on a three-pointer and a layup at the 12:47 mark. Both teams opened the game shooting well, as Minnesota made 5-of-8 and NU was 6-of-10. Fox made a couple free throws to cut it to 15-14, and Garcia hit a short baseline jumper to make it 17-16, but the Wildcats stretched the lead to five points before a Rigsby three. Fox added two more at the line to cut it to 23-21, and Garcia's 15-foot jumper had the Gophers within 25-23, but NU responded with a 4-0 spurt to force a Minnesota timeout with 3:24 left in the half. The Wildcats stretched their lead to 32-23 until Patterson hit an eight-foot jumper in the lane, Rigsby scored on a fastbreak layup, and Garcia made a pair of free throws to pull the Gophers within three points at the half.
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Garcia led Minnesota with nine first-half points, while Fox had six, and Asuma added five. The Gophers made 10-of-22 (.455) field goals, including 3-of-8 from long-distance, and 6-of-6 at the line. NU held a slim 13-11 edge in rebounding. Martinelli led the Wildcats with 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting. As a team, NU was 14-of-28 from the field, but just 1-of-9 behind the arc, and 3-of-5 at the stripe.
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Garcia opened the second half with a three, pulling Minnesota within 34-32, but NU went on a 10-0 run to expand the lead to 44-32 and force Ben Johnson to call timeout with 15:48 remaining. The Gophers pulled within eight on a layup by Asuma and free throws by Patterson, but Berry's second trey of the half extended NU's lead back to 11. Garcia added two more free throws to cut it to 47-38, but Martinelli went 2-of-4 at the line to surpass 20 points and put the Cats back up by 11. NU pushed its lead to 54-39 before Odukale and Garcia scored on layups to pull the Gophers back to within 11 with 9:33 left.
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The Wildcats led 59-44 with 7:42 left, but Mike Mitchell Jr. knocked down a three and Odukale hit a pair of free throws to cut it to 59-49 with 5:51 on the clock. A 5-0 NU run once again made it a 15-point deficit for the Gophers, but Mitchell's second triple of the half trimmed it to 64-53 with 2:31 left. Garcia's jumper with 1:48 left and another three by Mitchell Jr. made it a 9-3 Gophers run to pull within 67-58 with 1:35 remaining. Mitchell Jr. added a jumper in the lane to cut it to 67-60 with 0:45 left, But the Wildcats converted a couple free throws for a 69-60 lead with 30 seconds left. Garcia reached 20 points with a pair of free throws, and he added a layup with 0:09 left, but NU held on to advance to face fifth-seeded Wisconsin on Thursday.
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