In the biggest Border Battle game in years, the Gophers men's basketball team got a boost from its fans with a sellout crowd Saturday.
Sure, there were a few sections filled with Wisconsin red, but it was the best atmosphere at Williams Arena all season.
And it was a chance for the Gophers to make a huge statement coming off back-to-back losses that dropped them out of the Top 25. They battled to send the game into overtime on an Akeem Springs' three-pointer, but they couldn't pull off the upset in a 78-76 loss to No. 17 Wisconsin before an announced crowd of 14,625.
"I don't normally enjoy coaching in the games," Gophers coach Richard Pitino said. "But I actually kind of enjoyed it. It was players making plays both ends. I thought they just made one more than we did."
Ethan Happ had 28 points and 12 rebounds for Wisconsin (16-3, 5-1 Big Ten), and Bronson Koenig's three-pointer with 44 seconds left in OT gave the Badgers the lead for good at 77-76. That came after Gophers freshman Eric Curry hit a baseline jumper with 59 seconds left to break a 74-74 tie.
After Koenig's shot, Amir Coffey's layup was blocked by Happ, who then grabbed the ball away from Bakary Konate. Happ, a 50 percent free-throw shooter coming into the day, banked in the first of two free throws with 13 seconds to go. After he missed the second, the Gophers brought the ball up quickly trying to get Springs open on a ball screen. But his heavily contested, off-balance three-pointer bounced off the front rim as time expired to seal their sixth consecutive loss to their border rivals in the 200th all-time meeting between the teams, including vacated games.
"We practice all those situations," Springs said. "I thought it was good."
Pitino made a bold move to change his starting lineup for the Gophers (15-5, 3-4) to spark more perimeter scoring, with Springs replacing Dupree McBrayer. Springs, who finished with 16 points, actually beat the Badgers last season playing for Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The 6-4 graduate transfer looked to be in position to beat Wisconsin again, making a tying three-pointer with 11.2 seconds left in regulation — the Gophers' first basket in 5 minutes, 13 seconds.
The Badgers still had time in regulation, but Koenig lost control going up for a shot and Coffey came up with the ball before the buzzer sounded. Coffey, who had a team-high 19 points, appeared to be intentionally fouled at midcourt, but officials determined it was a common foul that didn't count as time had expired anyway.
"Let's redo it," Pitino joked. "I saw it. It kind of looked like an intentional foul. But I see what they did. It was hard to say. That's not why we lost."
Happ, who scored 22 points in the second half and OT, struggled early to score over Reggie Lynch, the Big Ten's top shot blocker. But the 6-foot-10 sophomore eventually had his way in the post. Happ scored 14 consecutive points at one point for the Badgers, who also got 21 points from Nigel Hayes.
Coming off a game at Penn State when they had a season-high 20 turnovers, the Gophers only had 10 to the Badgers' 13, but Minnesota committed four consecutive turnovers down the stretch to ruin any chances at a late run in regulation. Lynch also fouled out with less than two minutes left.
In losses to Michigan State and Penn State, the Gophers shot 36 percent from the floor, but they looked more confident Saturday. Coming off the bench, McBrayer scored 14 points in 21 minutes. But leading scorer Mason had just eight points on 3-for-14 shooting, to go with 10 assists.
"Obviously we're disappointed, but we battled until the end," Coffey said. "We just have to get back to work."
