Minnesota Golden Gophers at Northwestern Wildcats
· NCAA Men's Basketball
Northwestern easy winner, moves into 2nd-place Big Ten tie
Their 15th win matched last season's total for the Wildcats (15-5, 6-3) and moved them into a tie for second place in the Big Ten with Rutgers.
Audige shot 9 of 14 with three 3-pointers. Boo Buie had 21 points with eight assists. Robbie Beran added 14 points.
Jason Battle scored 20 points to lead the Golden Gophers (7-13, 1-9), who have lost five straight. Ta’Lon Cooper added 12 points. Minnesota was without leading scorer and rebounder Dawson Garcia for the second straight game. Garcia has a bone bruise in his right foot. Pharrel Payne returned from concussion protocol and started after missing Wednesday's loss to Indiana.
Northwestern led 45-28 at halftime after shooting 55% outscoring the Gophers 14-3 off 11 Minnesota turnovers with Audige leading the way with 15 points.
Northwestern led by as many as 25 in the second half after an Audige 3-pointer with seven minutes remaining. The Wildcats finished 52% shooting, made 9 of 20 3-point attempts and had just four turnovers to 15 for Minnesota.
Minnesota had a four-point lead six minutes into the game before Northwestern outscored the Gophers 29-7 over the next nine minutes, including eight straight points by Audige.
Northwestern plays at Iowa on Tuesday. Minnesota is at Rutgers on Wednesday.
How can I watch Minnesota vs. Northwestern?
Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 61 - 81 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 61 - 81 |
| 2nd 0:28 | Ty Berry Defensive Rebound. | 61 - 81 |
| 2nd 0:31 | Ta'lon Cooper missed Three Point Jumper. | 61 - 81 |
| 2nd 0:40 | Brooks Barnhizer made Three Point Jumper. Assisted by Roy Dixon III. | 61 - 81 |
Statistics
 MINN |
 NU |
|
|---|---|---|
| 20-44 | FG | 31-60 |
| 45 | Field Goal % | 52 |
| 5-18 | 3PT | 9-20 |
| 28 | Three Point % | 45 |
| 16-26 | FT | 10-12 |
| 62 | Free Throw % | 83 |
| 31 | Rebounds | 29 |
| 9 | Offensive Rebounds | 8 |
| 22 | Defensive Rebounds | 21 |
| 13 | Assists | 16 |
| 2 | Steals | 7 |
| 2 | Blocks | 6 |
| 15 | Turnovers | 4 |
| 1 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 15 | Total Turnovers | 4 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 3 | Points Off Turnovers | 18 |
| 2 | Fast Break Points | 6 |
| 24 | Points in Paint | 36 |
| 12 | Fouls | 18 |
| 5 | Largest Lead | 25 |
Game Information
Location: Evanston, IL
Attendance: 6,064 | Capacity:
2025-26 Big Ten Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 19-1 | - | 35-3 |
| Nebraska | 15-5 | 4 | 28-7 |
| Illinois | 15-5 | 4 | 28-8 |
| Michigan State | 15-5 | 4 | 27-8 |
| Wisconsin | 14-6 | 5 | 24-11 |
| Purdue | 13-7 | 6 | 30-9 |
| UCLA | 13-7 | 6 | 24-12 |
| Ohio State | 12-8 | 7 | 21-13 |
| Iowa | 10-10 | 9 | 24-13 |
| Indiana | 9-11 | 10 | 18-14 |
| Minnesota | 8-12 | 11 | 15-17 |
| USC | 7-13 | 12 | 18-14 |
| Washington | 7-13 | 12 | 16-17 |
| Rutgers | 6-14 | 13 | 14-19 |
| Northwestern | 5-15 | 14 | 15-19 |
| Oregon | 5-15 | 14 | 12-20 |
| Maryland | 4-16 | 15 | 12-21 |
| Penn State | 3-17 | 16 | 12-20 |