Cade Tyson scored a game-high 27 points and undermanned Minnesota took command late in the first half to earn an 80-61 win over Rutgers on Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Tyson hit 10 of 18 from the field and made 7 of 9 from 3-point range while adding 10 rebounds for the Golden Gophers (13-14, 6-10 Big Ten).
Langston Reynolds added 19 points and nine assists, while Bobby Durkin sank four 3-pointers to account for his 12 points.
Isaac Asuma chipped in 11 points and six assists, and Grayson Grove also hit for 11 points.
Minnesota played without forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson (foot) for the third straight game. But it overcame his absence by bombing away from the 3-point line, making 15 of 26 attempts. The Gophers converted 30 of 50 field goal tries.
Lino Mark came off the bench to score 16 points for the Scarlet Knights (11-16, 4-12).
Dylan Grant added 15 points, while Tariq Francis contributed 10 points and five assists.
Rutgers, however, simply couldn’t muster enough firepower to win its second straight road game.
Ahead by 13 points at the half, Minnesota expanded the lead to 20 at the 9:12 mark after Durkin canned a 3-pointer. The Gophers led by as many as 24 points in the final two minutes.
Both teams came into the game looking to capitalize on mid-week road wins. Neither got off to a quick start. At the second TV timeout of the first half, which happened with 11:39 remaining, Minnesota led 11-6.
It was still 19-16 at the 5:29 mark of the first half after Kaden Powers scored for the Knights. At that point, the Gophers started scoring at will while getting mileage from a 2-3 zone.
They used the 3-pointer liberally during a 17-7 run that featured four makes, two of them from Tyson. Asuma hit one as well with 15 seconds left to up the advantage to 36-23 at halftime.
