The Minnesota Golden Gopher men’s basketball team snapped a seven-game losing streak on Wednesday night, defeating Northwestern 51-46 in an opening-round matchup in the Big Ten Tournament.
The Gophers got off to a great start, opening the game with a 16-2 run. Minnesota raced out to a 27-20 halftime lead thanks to the play of Jamal Mashburn Jr., who had 11 points on the night.
13-2.
Northwestern is on pace to score 8 points. pic.twitter.com/QIjijGJImE
— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) March 10, 2021
Northwestern mounted a comeback in the second half and took their first game of the lead with seven minutes remaining. The Wildcats built a six-point lead with four minutes remaining, but the Gophers battled back and took a three-point lead with 1:12 to go.
While Marcus Carr had a rough night, he hit a couple of key buckets down the stretch as part of a 12-0 run to end the game and seal the victory.
Marcus Carr is no stranger to taking over late.
The @GopherMBB star is starting to do just that in the #B1GTourney opener. pic.twitter.com/vjOcRNgcqF
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 11, 2021
The Gophers (14-14) will face Ohio State in a second-round matchup l at 1 p.m. on Thursday.
