NCAAB Game Recap - Minnesota at Northwestern
Sun Feb 23, 2020 3:00 PM EST

MD
72
OhSt
79
F
PSU
60
Ind
68
F
Butl
59
Crei
81
F
StJon
65
Seton
81
F
Temp
63
ECU
67
F
Buck
60
Leh
69
F
Amer
60
Boston
64
F
WichSt
64
Cin
67
F
Rut
71
Wisc
79
F
SacHr
83
Bry
76
F
WIMil
73
Detr
79
F
LoyMD
70
Lafy
68
F
SoFL
71
UConn
78
F
SIU
52
NrthIA
64
F
IndSt
64
Evans
62
F
Rider
54
StPet
73
F
Quin
78
Monm
89
F
Niag
54
Maris
76
F
Canis
57
Manh
56
F
Sien
62
Fairf
59
F
HolyC
60
Colg
90
F
(N/A)
57
MtStM
65
F
SDak
80
SDSt
85
F
Minn
83
NW
57
F
WIGB
88
Oakl
92
F(2OT)
RobM
70
FaDi
75
F
LIU
71
StFPA
74
F
Merrim
75
StFNY
71
F(OT)
NM
61
Bois
74
F
Mia-FL
71
ND
87
F
USC
65
Utah
79
F
Stan
75
WaSt
57
F

Feb 23, 2020, 3:00 PM EST

Final

1

2

T

Minnesota

44

39

83

Northwestern

28

29

57

Oturu leads Minnesota past Northwestern 83-57
Sun Feb 23, 2020 6:29 PM

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) Coach Richard Pitino is sharing a message about his team - the Minnesota Gophers are still alive.

Daniel Oturu had 22 points and 12 rebounds and Minnesota beat Northwestern 83-57 on Sunday.

Marcus Carr added 18 points and Gabe Kalscheur and Payton Willis had 14 apiece for the Gophers (13-13, 7-9), who snapped a three-game losing streak.

"The season's not over. It's been pronounced over for some reason, but it's not over," Pitino said. "The beauty of our league is you got great wins right in front of you - opportunities, I should say."

Pete Nance led last-place Northwestern (6-20, 1-15) with 11 points. Ryan Young added 10 points for the Wildcats, who have lost 11 straight.

Oturu, one of the top big men in the Big Ten, blocked three shots and shot 3 for 5 from 3-point range in addition to his 15th double-double this season.

The 6-foot-10 sophomore entered Sunday as the second-leading scorer in the league with 19.6 points per game and the top rebounder with 11.4 per game.

Oturu's one-handed dunk gave the Gophers a 55-34 lead with 13:21 remaining. His career-high third 3-pointer extended the margin to 61-38.

"I was just wide open so I just kept shooting," Oturu said about his 3s.

Willis' 3 gave Minnesota its biggest lead at 78-49.

The Gophers halted their offensive woes, shooting 48.4% from the field and made 14 of 30 from beyond the arc. Minnesota entered Sunday shooting 41.5% overall and 31.3% from 3-point range.

"I didn't do anything different, stayed the course," Pitino said. "This is a league where everybody is pronounced dead at some point and everybody wants to blow everything up at some point, everybody. It doesn't matter who you are, nobody's immune to it."

Northwestern went 38.7% from the field and 16.7% on 3s and was outrebounded 48-29.

"I'm certainly disappointed in how we played," said Northwestern coach Chris Collins, whose team is the youngest in the Big Ten. "Our staff take full responsibility for it. I have to do a better job of having our guys ready. It's that point of the season where you need to be ready to play and compete at a high level and you're not going to be able to be competitive if you give up 83 points."

The Gophers ended the first half on a 7-0 run for a 44-28 lead. Oturu had 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting and eight rebounds. Northwestern didn't score for the final 2:42 before halftime.

"Ball goes in the basket - it's a lot easier for everybody and then confidence builds," Pitino said. "We have a young team. Nobody likes to hear it, but we do. So when they see that ball go in, I think we're pretty good."

Minnesota also beat the Wildcats 77-68 at home on Jan. 5 when Northwestern had just seven scholarship players available due to injury.

BIG PICTURE

Minnesota: The Gophers' hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament remain dim after losing three of their last four. They're just 2-8 on the road.

Northwestern: The Wildcats are headed for their second consecutive last-place finish in the Big Ten. They haven't won since Jan. 11 against Nebraska.

HE SAID IT

Oturu echoed Pitino's message that the .500-Gophers could finish the regular season strong.

"We gotta come into every game with a mentality of we're playing for something," Oturu said. "The season's not over."

INJURY UPDATE

Isaiah Ihnen missed the game for Minnesota after injuring his wrist Saturday in practice.

UP NEXT

Minnesota hosts No. 7 Maryland on Wednesday.

Northwestern hosts Illinois on Thursday.

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top 25

Leaders

Minnesota PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
D. Oturu 22 0 1 12 1 3
M. Carr 18 0 8 5 0 0
Northwestern PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
P. Nance 11 0 2 2 0 0
R. Young 10 0 2 4 0 0

Team Comparison

Minn NW
Points For 83 57
Field Goals 30/62-48% 24/62-39%
Three Pointers 14/30-47% 3/18-17%
Free Throws 9/15-60% 6/13-46%
Offensive Rebounds 12 6
Defensive Rebounds 36 23
Rebounds 52 32
Blocks 4 2
Steals 3 2
Turnovers 10 7
Personal Fouls 13 14
Technical Fouls 0 0
Ejections 0 0

2019-20 Reg Season - Minn Leads Series 2-0

Date Result Away Pts Ldr Home Pts Ldr
Sun Jan 5 NW 68 @ Minn 77 P. Spencer 22 D. Oturu 19
Sun Feb 23 Minn 83 @ NW 57 D. Oturu 22 P. Nance 11

Game Information

Stadium: Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, Illinois
Attendance: 5,815
Game Time: