Dylan Harper scored 22 points and made several key plays down the stretch for Rutgers to pull out a 75-67 overtime victory over Minnesota on Sunday in Piscataway, N.J.
The Scarlet Knights (15-16, 8-12) earned the No. 11 seed in the Big Ten tournament and will play No. 14 Southern California in the first round. The Golden Gophers (15-16, 7-13) settled for the No. 12 seed and will face No. 13 Northwestern.
Harper added six rebounds, two blocks and two steals and fellow freshman Dylan Grant went for 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting and six boards. Dawson Garcia paced Minnesota with 19 points and Frank Mitchell scored 12 on 6-of-6 shooting plus a game-high 11 rebounds.
Harper put Rutgers in front 57-56 with 1:40 left and was fouled on the shot, but he missed his third free throw of the game. Mitchell’s sixth basket of the day restored Minnesota’s lead.
Later, with his back to the basket, Harper pulled off a reverse pivot to spin past his defender and score off the glass with 23 seconds left for a 61-59 advantage. Garcia answered with a floater that tied it at 61 and ultimately forced OT.
Harper’s layup and Ace Bailey’s hook shot gave Rutgers an early four-point lead in overtime, and a Harper steal-and-score with 1:45 left essentially sealed the outcome.
Lu’Cye Patterson also scored 12 for the Golden Gophers, who outrebounded Rutgers by seven but lost 15 turnovers and made just 2 of 16 3-point attempts.
Five Rutgers players scored between six and eight points in support.
Grant had a big first half for Rutgers. He recorded a three-point play, then answered Garcia’s tying basket with a corner trey for a 28-25 lead with 5:12 left in the half.
Harper scored off the glass through contact and made a stepback 3-pointer to cap a 15-4 Rutgers surge and make it 33-25.
The Scarlet Knights led by nine at intermission and as many as 11 early in the second half, but the Gophers flipped the script with runs of 7-0 and 10-0. Femi Odukale made a layup and Mitchell put Minnesota ahead 47-46 with 10:44 to go.
Rutgers rallied for a pair of two-point leads but Garcia’s jumper at 2:48 made it 56-55 Minnesota, setting up the close finish.
–Field Level Media
