National Basketball Association
Minnesota 75, Northwestern 68
When: 5:30 PM ET, Thursday, March 8, 2012
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Officials:
# Bill Ek, # Lamont Simpson, # Terry Wymer
Attendance:
N/A
By SportsDirect Inc.
Minnesota 75, Northwestern 68 OT: Freshman Andre Hollins hit a late jumper and finished with a career-high 25 points as the Golden Gophers pulled away from the Wildcats in overtime in the first round of the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.
Austin Hollins added 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Minnesota (19-13), which has won two straight after a six-game losing streak and may have dealt a crushing blow to Northwestern’s chances to secure its first-ever NCAA tournament bid.
The Gophers will meet No. 2 seed Michigan in quarterfinal action on Friday.
Julian Welch and Austin Hollins each hit 3-pointers in the extra period to give Minnesota a 68-64 advantage, but could not pull away from Northwestern (18-13) as the Gophers continued to foul the struggling Wildcats, who converted just one field goal over the final 9:46 of the game.
Despite its woes from the field, Northwestern pulled to within 69-68 on a pair of free throws from Reggie Hearn, but Hollins’ jumper on the following possession sparked a game-ending 6-0 run for Minnesota.
Sophomore JerShon Cobb finished with a career-high 24 points and eight rebounds for the Wildcats, who fell to 0-3 in overtime games this season, with each loss coming against a conference foe.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Minnesota center Ralph Sampson III did not play due to a knee injury. … The teams combined for 16 3-pointers in the first half but hit just nine 2-point field goals and attempted six free throws. … Northwestern called the first timeout of the game with 2:19 remaining in the second half. … This was the sixth overtime game in Big Ten tournament history.
Top Game Performances
| Minnesota |
|
Northwestern |
|
Andre Hollins 25 |
Scoring |
JerShon Cobb 24 |
|
Austin Hollins 6 |
Assists |
Dave Sobolewski 6 |
|
Elliott Eliason 10 |
Rebounds |
JerShon Cobb 8 |
|
Chip Armelin 4 |
Free Throws Made |
JerShon Cobb 5 |
|
Rodney Williams 3 |
Steals |
Drew Crawford 5 |
|
Joe Coleman 1 |
Blocks |
John Shurna 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Minnesota
|
75 |
46.8 |
11-26 |
6-10 |
15 |
41 |
4 |
6 |
14 |
| Northwestern
|
68 |
35.1 |
11-26 |
17-21 |
11 |
24 |
3 |
12 |
8 |