A back and forth first-half battle gave way to an offensive show from No. 16 Iowa in the second-half, and the Hawkeyes stopped the Gophers in Iowa City Sunday 94-73.
Things looked good for the Gophers with just over two minutes left in the first-half, as they held a 43-33 lead behind an 11-0 run sparked by senior guard Andre Hollins.
But Iowa answered with an 8-0 run of their own going to the half, and they didn’t slow down out of the break, outscoring Minnesota 53-30 in the second-half behind big days from leading scorer Devyn Marble and Josh Oglesby.
Iowa star Aaron White played only six first-half minutes and attempted just five shots on the day, but Marble scored 16 and Oglesby, who came into the day averaging just five points per contest, put up 17 on 5-of-7 from downtown.
Hollins scored just two second-half points to total 20 on the game, and front-court foul trouble for Elliot Eliason and Maurice Walker ended up hurting Minnesota, as Austin Hollins was the only other Gopher to reach double-figures in scoring.
Iowa has now won four of their five Big Ten games, with their only loss coming to No. 3 Wisconsin.
Speaking of the Badgers, they meet the Gophers this Wednesday, another chance for Minnesota to make a statement against one-loss Wisconsin.
