University of Minnesota Athletics
Wednesday, March 5
7:30 PM
University of Minnesota
15-15,7-12Big Ten
67
vs
74
Wisconsin
23-7,13-6Big Ten
1
2
F
Wisconsin
33
41
74
Minnesota
27
40
67
Team Stats
Wisc
MINN
FG%
.436
.413
3FG%
.227
.350
FT%
.875
.533
RB
41
34
TO
11
6
STL
4
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Gophers Fall to Badgers on Senior Night
3/5/2025 10:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Brennan Rigsby came off the bench for a team-high 18 points, Lu'Cye Patterson had 15, Dawson Garcia had 14 points and eight rebounds, and Frank Mitchell finished with 11 points and 11 boards, helping Minnesota (15-15, 7-12 Big Ten) rally from an 11-point second-half deficit to briefly lead, but No. 12/12 Wisconsin (23-7, 13-6 B1G) pulled away late for a 74-67 win in front of 14,625 sellout at Williams Arena.
Rigsby, who had 20 points in Saturday's win at Nebraska, was 6-of-10 from the field, 2-of-3 from three-point range, and 4-of-5 at the line. He scored 13 points in the second half, helping the Gophers rally from a 46-35 deficit with 13:00 left to twice lead by two points around the 8-minute mark. But John Blackwell led the Badgers with 25 points and 11 rebounds, and John Tonje finished with 18 points and seven boards. Wisconsin also went 21-of-24 at the free throw line.
The double-double for Mitchell was his second in the past six games. He was 5-of-5 from the field, and six of his rebounds were on the offensive end. Garcia was 6-of-17, including a pair of three-pointers. As a team, Minnesota made 26-of-63 (.413) field goals, including 7-of-20 (.350) three-pointers, but were 8-of-15 (.533) at the line.
Garcia opened the scoring with a three from in front of the UW bench, giving him 2,000 points in his collegiate career, but the Badgers responded with a 12-0 run. Patterson ended the UW run with a triple from the same spot as Garcia's, then added a pair of free throws to pull Minnesota within 12-8. Femi Odukale banked in a runner along the right baseline, then hit a 15-foot jumper to make it a 9-0 Gophers run and tie the score. The Badgers hit a pair of threes during an 8-2 run to pull ahead, 20-14. Mitchell scored on a layup to pull within 20-16, and after a UW three-point play, he tipped in a missed shot to cut the UW lead to five. Wisconsin added a pair of free throws to make it 25-18, but Mike Mitchell Jr. connected on his lone trey of the night to trim it to 25-21 with 4:12 remaining in the half. The Badgers extended their lead to 29-22, but Rigsby drained a three-pointer from the top of the key and added a dunk, each time pulling the Gophers within four. At the half, the Badgers held a 33-27 lead.
Mitchell led the Gophers with seven first-half points and four rebounds, while Patterson and Rigsby each had five, Odukale had four points, two boards, two steals, and a pair of blocked shots, and Garcia had three points and four rebounds. Minnesota was 10-of-26 (385) from the field, including 4-of-10 from three-point range, and 3-of-4 at the line. Blackwell paced the Badgers with 14 points and Tonje added 10. The Badgers had an 18-12 rebounding edge, and were 12-of-26 (.462) from the field, including 4-of-11 (.364) from long-distance, and 5-of-5 at the charity stripe.
UW opened the second half with a 5-0 run to build an 11-point lead at 38-27, but Parker Fox made a reverse layup, and Mitchell added back-to-back layups to pull Minnesota within 40-33. The Badgers stretched it back to 11, but an 8-2 Gophers run that included back-to-back trifectas from Rigsby and Garcia sparked the capacity crowd and cut it to 46-41 with 12:14 remaining. A three-point play and a pair of free throws from Rigsby made it an 11-0 Minnesota run to tie the score at 46-46 with 11:04 left. A Blackwell three ended the Gophers' run, but Patterson hit a jumper to keep Minnesota within one. After a pair of UW free throws, Garcia scored to cut it to 51-50, and Patterson drained a three with 8:33 left to make The Barn erupt and give the Gophers a 53-51 lead. Rigsby's floater in the lane with 7:12 left put the Gophers up 55-53, but UW went on an 8-1 run to extend its lead back to 61-56 with 4:47 remaining. Garcia trimmed it to 61-58, but the Badgers used a 9-3 run over the next four minutes to expand their advantage to 70-61. Patterson scored on a layup with 26.8 seconds left, but UW was 16-of-19 at the line in the second half to help it secure the win.
The sellout crowd of 14,625 at Williams Arena was Minnesota's first since a 58-55 loss versus Iowa on Feb. 16, 2020. The Gophers finish the regular season with a record of 10-9 at The Barn.
Minnesota wraps up regular season Big Ten play by traveling to Rutgers to face the Scarlet Knights for a 12:00 p.m. CDT tipoff on Sunday, March 9, on Big Ten Network.
Rigsby, who had 20 points in Saturday's win at Nebraska, was 6-of-10 from the field, 2-of-3 from three-point range, and 4-of-5 at the line. He scored 13 points in the second half, helping the Gophers rally from a 46-35 deficit with 13:00 left to twice lead by two points around the 8-minute mark. But John Blackwell led the Badgers with 25 points and 11 rebounds, and John Tonje finished with 18 points and seven boards. Wisconsin also went 21-of-24 at the free throw line.
The double-double for Mitchell was his second in the past six games. He was 5-of-5 from the field, and six of his rebounds were on the offensive end. Garcia was 6-of-17, including a pair of three-pointers. As a team, Minnesota made 26-of-63 (.413) field goals, including 7-of-20 (.350) three-pointers, but were 8-of-15 (.533) at the line.
Garcia opened the scoring with a three from in front of the UW bench, giving him 2,000 points in his collegiate career, but the Badgers responded with a 12-0 run. Patterson ended the UW run with a triple from the same spot as Garcia's, then added a pair of free throws to pull Minnesota within 12-8. Femi Odukale banked in a runner along the right baseline, then hit a 15-foot jumper to make it a 9-0 Gophers run and tie the score. The Badgers hit a pair of threes during an 8-2 run to pull ahead, 20-14. Mitchell scored on a layup to pull within 20-16, and after a UW three-point play, he tipped in a missed shot to cut the UW lead to five. Wisconsin added a pair of free throws to make it 25-18, but Mike Mitchell Jr. connected on his lone trey of the night to trim it to 25-21 with 4:12 remaining in the half. The Badgers extended their lead to 29-22, but Rigsby drained a three-pointer from the top of the key and added a dunk, each time pulling the Gophers within four. At the half, the Badgers held a 33-27 lead.
Mitchell led the Gophers with seven first-half points and four rebounds, while Patterson and Rigsby each had five, Odukale had four points, two boards, two steals, and a pair of blocked shots, and Garcia had three points and four rebounds. Minnesota was 10-of-26 (385) from the field, including 4-of-10 from three-point range, and 3-of-4 at the line. Blackwell paced the Badgers with 14 points and Tonje added 10. The Badgers had an 18-12 rebounding edge, and were 12-of-26 (.462) from the field, including 4-of-11 (.364) from long-distance, and 5-of-5 at the charity stripe.
UW opened the second half with a 5-0 run to build an 11-point lead at 38-27, but Parker Fox made a reverse layup, and Mitchell added back-to-back layups to pull Minnesota within 40-33. The Badgers stretched it back to 11, but an 8-2 Gophers run that included back-to-back trifectas from Rigsby and Garcia sparked the capacity crowd and cut it to 46-41 with 12:14 remaining. A three-point play and a pair of free throws from Rigsby made it an 11-0 Minnesota run to tie the score at 46-46 with 11:04 left. A Blackwell three ended the Gophers' run, but Patterson hit a jumper to keep Minnesota within one. After a pair of UW free throws, Garcia scored to cut it to 51-50, and Patterson drained a three with 8:33 left to make The Barn erupt and give the Gophers a 53-51 lead. Rigsby's floater in the lane with 7:12 left put the Gophers up 55-53, but UW went on an 8-1 run to extend its lead back to 61-56 with 4:47 remaining. Garcia trimmed it to 61-58, but the Badgers used a 9-3 run over the next four minutes to expand their advantage to 70-61. Patterson scored on a layup with 26.8 seconds left, but UW was 16-of-19 at the line in the second half to help it secure the win.
The sellout crowd of 14,625 at Williams Arena was Minnesota's first since a 58-55 loss versus Iowa on Feb. 16, 2020. The Gophers finish the regular season with a record of 10-9 at The Barn.
Minnesota wraps up regular season Big Ten play by traveling to Rutgers to face the Scarlet Knights for a 12:00 p.m. CDT tipoff on Sunday, March 9, on Big Ten Network.
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