It took overtime, but the seventh-seeded Gopher men’s basketball team defeated 10-seed Penn State 77-72 in the Big Ten Tournament Thursday night.
The win should cement Minnesota as one of the 68 teams invited to the NCAA Tournament, and it sets them up to boost their seed in the big dance if they can get by Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Friday.
Jordan Murphy led the Gophers with 15 points, 14 rebounds and five assists while Amir Coffey scored 20 points and Dupree McBrayer added 18 points.
Minnesota closed the second half on a 10-2 run to force overtime, then outscored the Nittany Lions 16-11 in the extra five minutes.
The Gophers and second-seeded Purdue play Friday at 6 p.m. The game will again be televised on Big Ten Network.
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