National Basketball Association
Wisconsin 71, Minnesota 59
When: 4:30 PM ET, Thursday, December 31, 2020
Where: Kohl Center, Madison, Wisconsin
Officials:
# Edwin Young, # Larry Scirotto, # Courtney Green
Attendance:
N/A
By Field Level Media
Micah Potter registered 18 points and 11 rebounds while D'Mitrik Trice and Aleem Ford scored 14 points apiece Thursday afternoon to lift No. 6 Wisconsin to a 71-59 victory over No. 21 Minnesota in Madison, Wis.
After stumbling Monday through a 70-64 upset home loss to Maryland, Wisconsin (9-2, 3-1 Big Ten) responded with efficient offense and aggressive defense against the Golden Gophers (9-3, 2-2).
The Badgers shot 50.8 percent (30-for-59) from the field while limiting the Golden Gophers to 31.3 percent shooting (20-for-64). Wisconsin outscored Minnesota 40-18 in the paint.
Minnesota had won three games in a row and had averaged 84 points a game this season before being stifled by the Badgers. The Gophers scored 25 points fewer than their average, and six fewer than their previous season low. Gabe Kalscheur paced the Golden Gophers with 15 points, while Brandon Johnson and Liam Robbins each had 12 points and nine rebounds.
Minnesota's Marcus Carr, who entered the game averaging 24 points, finished with just 10 points and was 3-for-13 from the field to go with seven assists.
Potter nearly had a double-double at halftime, contributing 10 points and nine rebounds. Trice finished the game with five rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Minnesota trailed just 29-22 at that half despite shooting 19.4 percent and compiling more turnovers (seven) than made field goals (six). A 26-21 rebounding edge and a 7-for-9 effort from the foul line in the first 20 minutes kept the Golden Gophers afloat in a game they never led.
When Jonathan Davis scored a layup to put the Badgers ahead 52-32 with 10:12 to go, Wisconsin had netted its 10th field goal of the second half -- as many as the Golden Gophers scored at that point in the entire game. The Badgers led by as many as 26 en route to their 11th win in the past 13 games against the Golden Gophers.
Wisconsin has won 11 of its past 12 Big Ten contests.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Minnesota |
|
Wisconsin |
|
Gabe Kalscheur 15 |
Scoring |
Micah Potter 18 |
|
Marcus Carr 7 |
Assists |
D'Mitrik Trice 5 |
|
Brandon Johnson 9 |
Rebounds |
Micah Potter 11 |
|
Gabe Kalscheur 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Tyler Wahl 3 |
|
Both Gach 1 |
Steals |
D'Mitrik Trice 2 |
|
Brandon Johnson 3 |
Blocks |
Aleem Ford 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Minnesota
|
59 |
31.2 |
7-31 |
12-14 |
12 |
38 |
6 |
1 |
10 |
| Wisconsin
|
71 |
50.8 |
6-15 |
5-8 |
12 |
35 |
3 |
3 |
9 |
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