Minnesota came into Thursday nights game in Madison carrying over the momentum built during their 20 point blow out of Penn State on Sunday. The Gophers jumped out to an early 10-2 lead, but things quickly went south. After opening 6-7 from the field, Minnesota's shooting dropped precipitously, missing their next 7 shots.
The Badgers, who were dominating the boards early on, took a 15-14 lead after a 10-2 run brought life back into the home crowd that the Gophers had managed to silence with their hot start. Bo Ryan's club competently ran their offensive sets, which plagued the Gophers defense and gave the Badgers open looks in the paint.
Wisconsin's lead swelled to 13 with 4:10 to go in the half, after a Jon Leuer lay up gave his team a 29-16 advantage. Leuer, one of only 3 Badgers who scored in the first half, finished with 15 pts.
Minnesota mounted a late comeback, slimming their deficit to 8 points before Marcus Landry drilled a shot from beyond the arc as time expired to put Wisconsin up 33-22. Landry led the Badgers with 18 pts.
Wisconsin continued to dictate the tempo of the game throughout much of the second half. Midway through the stanza the Gophers mustered a 9-1 run capped by Lawrence Westbrook, who worked his way into the lane and hit an off balance shot which cut the Badgers' lead to 42-36. The Badgers were able to hold off the Gophers push for the moment and looked like they were on their way to victory before a late surge by the Gophers forced Wisconsin out of their half court sets they had run so comfortably the entire game.
With about 4 minutes to go, the Gophers intense full court press flustered the Badgers who turned the ball over 18 times, 7 more than their average.
Inside the final minute, Wisconsin broke the Gophers press and appeared to have an easy lay up when junior college transfer Paul Carter came up with a demonstrative block. Carter, one of 4 Gophers to score in double figures, recorded a double-double with 10 pts 11 rebs. After a slow start, Carter is earning himself a spot in Tubby Smith's rotation and playing in critical minutes down the stretch.
In the ensuing possession, Damian Johnson hit a 3 pointer trimming the Badgers' lead to 60-59.
Wisconsin guard Joe Krabbenhoft hit both free throws after being fouled with 15 seconds to go, giving the Badgers a 62-59 lead. But with 2 seconds remaining, Gophers' leading scorer Lawrence Westbrook nailed a 3 point shot to force overtime.
Westbrook, who finished with a career high 29 pts, continued to dazzle in the extra session. A minute and a half into overtime, Westbrook ill-advisedly pushed the ball into a 1-on-3 situation, converted a mind bending lay up and was fouled on the play. The 3 point play gave the Gophers a 65-62 lead they would not relinquish.
Leuer rattled in a pair of free throws with 11.4 seconds to play, bringing Wisconsin within 2. But Westbrook calmly made all 4 of his shots from the line in the closing 10 seconds to secure the Gophers 78-74 win over the Badgers.
The come from behind win marked the first time Minnesota has left Madison as victors since 1994.
MN Gopher Blog Writer: Michael Rietmulder
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