No. 7 Nebraska surges past Minnesota to remain undefeated
Pryce Sandfort scored 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, and No. 7 Nebraska relied on a second-half surge for a 76-57 win over Minnesota in a Big Ten Conference matchup Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Jamarques Lawrence and Sam Hoiberg added 14 points apiece for Nebraska (20-0, 9-0), which maintained its perfect start and remained as one of three unbeaten teams in the nation.
Bobby Durkin scored 16 points on 6-for-13 shooting to lead Minnesota (10-10, 3-6), which lost its fifth game in a row. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson and Cade Tyson added 12 points apiece.
The Cornhuskers outscored Minnesota 46-21 in the second half after trailing by six points at the break.
Nebraska win the rebound battle 39-31, including an 8-3 advantage on the offensive glass. The Cornhuskers posted a 38-24 advantage in points in the paint.
Nebraska opened the second half on a 23-8 run.
Lawrence knocked down a jump shot off a pass from Rienk Mast to give the Cornhuskers a 46-42 lead with 11:56 to go. Sandfort added a layup to make it 48-42 with 11:21 left, and Lawrence added a 3-pointer with 10:40 remaining.
The Cornhuskers increased their lead to 65-48 with 6:28 to go. Sandfort drained a 3-pointer, which followed a set of three free throws by Lawrence.
The deficit was too much for the Golden Gophers, and coach Niko Medved emptied his bench with reserves for the final two minutes.
Minnesota led 36-30 at the half.
Crocker-Johnson led the early charge for the Golden Gophers. He drained four 3-pointers before the break, including a shot from deep that put Minnesota on top 33-26.
Crocker-Johnson also made a difference on the defensive end of the court. He blocked a shot by Nebraska's Rienk Mast late in the first half, and Minnesota capitalized with a layup by Durkin moments later.
Nebraska played without Braden Frager because of a sprained ankle that he sustained Wednesday against Washington. Frager, who is the Cornhuskers third-leading scorer, is considered to be day-to-day.