John Blackwell scored 23 points and Nick Boyd produced 19 of his 21 points in the second half as Wisconsin overcame an 18-point halftime deficit to rally for a 67-63 victory over Minnesota on Wednesday in Madison, Wis.
The Badgers (15-6, 7-3 Big Ten) trailed 35-17 at the half and took their first lead of the second half at 51-50 on Boyd’s baseline jumper with 6:22 left.
The lead changed hands four more times before Langston Reynolds hit a 3-pointer to put the Gophers back on top 61-60 with 2:17 remaining, but Blackwell hit a pair of free throws to put Wisconsin up 62-61 with one minute left.
Isaac Asuma missed a 3-point attempt on Minnesota’s next possession, and Blackwell answered with a 3-pointer from the top left to extend the lead to 65-61 with 19 seconds remaining.
The Golden Gophers’ Grayson Grove scored on an offensive rebound to make it 65-63 with nine seconds to go. Blackwell hit two free throws with 7.9 seconds left to push the lead to 67-63.
Bobby Durkin had 20 points and Asuma added 16 for Minnesota (10-11, 3-7 Big Ten), which took its sixth loss in a row.
The Badgers rallied with a 15-2 run after the break, pulling within 37-32 on Blackwell’s 3-pointer.
The Gophers stretched the lead to 47-39, but Wisconsin rallied within 47-44 on a Boyd 3-pointer and then a layup with just over eight minutes left.
Durkin had 17 first-half points to match Wisconsin’s total at the break. Minnesota held its biggest lead at 35-15 just before halftime.
Wisconsin hit just 5 of 28 field-goal attempts in the first half (17.9%), including 4 of 16 from 3-point range, while Durkin made 6 of 7 shots and was 4 of 5 from long distance.
With Wisconsin making just 1 of 12 shots inside the arc, the Gophers had a 12-2 advantage in first-half points in the paint. Minnesota also had a 16-1 edge in points off turnovers off eight first-half miscues by the Badgers.
Those stats were flipped in the second half, as the Golden Gophers wound up with only an 18-15 advantage in points off turnovers and a 22-10 edge on inside points.
–Field Level Media
