Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
9-15,6-13Big Ten
Minnesota
14-14,6-14Big Ten
'Cats Fall to the Gophers in Big Ten Tournament
3/10/2021 7:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Northwestern dropped a tight Big Ten Tournament contest to Minnesota on Thursday night, 51-46, at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Junior Anthony Gaines and sophomore Chase Audige led the defensive effort putting up three steals apiece. In all, Northwestern forced 17 turnovers, their second highest total in conference play this season.
Eight 'Cats grabbed a basket from the field for the second year in a row at the Big Ten Tournament. Junior Miller Kopp led the team with nine points and fellow junior Pete Nance pulled down 11 boards.
Both teams got off to a slow start, but after three minutes Minnesota was able to find the basket to build a lead. Kopp drained Northwestern's first three and grabbed a layup with 10 minutes left in the frame to put a stop to Minnesota's offensive drive. Gaines pumped some fire into the Northwestern offense with a steely defense, grabbing four points and two steals in under two minutes. Nance posted his first points at the end of the half, draining a three to go into the locker room only down 27-20.
After a slow to start to the second half, the Wildcats got on the board first to open the frame. Audige picked up the pace of the game and grabbed a couple fast break points to chip away at the Minnesota lead. Buie and Nance put away a pair of threes to tie it up with just eight minutes left in the game. Kopp grabbed his own rebound for a put back to cap off an 11-2 run; but the Gophers responded with a run of their own to put the game just out of reach for the 'Cats.
