Dawson Garcia’s big night leads Gophers past UCLA, 64-61
Dawson Garcia had a season-high 32 points Tuesday as the Gophers beat UCLA 64-61 at Pauley Pavilion. (University of Minnesota Athletics)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota men’s basketball team managed to beat USC on Saturday despite only seven points from star forward Dawson Garcia.
Tuesday, the Gophers completed the West Coast sweep at UCLA as Garcia scored a season-high 32 points, 27 in the second half of a 64-61 win over the Bruins. Minnesota improved to 14-12 on the season and 6-9 in Big Ten play. It was Garcia's sixth career 30-point game.
Gophers basketball gets comeback win at UCLA
The Gophers men's basketball team came back from 17 points down to win 64-61 at UCLA Tuesday night. Amy Hockert and Jeff Wald break down the game on FOX 9's All Day.
The Gophers have now beaten three of the four former Pac-12 teams to join the Big Ten. The football team also beat USC and UCLA in their first year in the league.
The big play
How it Happened:
The Gophers trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half, and trailed 34-23 at the break. Garcia’s monster second half set up the comeback, and Lu’Cye Patterson finished it. Patterson scored on a contested lay-up to give the Gophers a 62-61 lead with seven seconds left. Garcia then sealed it with two free throws after Patterson drew a charge with 1.7 seconds left.
Minnesota, the worst free-throw shooting team in the Big Ten, finished 12-of-13 at the line, with 11 coming from Garcia. The Bruins were just 9-of-19.
What the win means
Why you should care:
Ben Johnson is continuing to get this team to gel after losing four starters from last season, three of them to the NCAA transfer portal. Since starting league play 0-6, the Gophers are 6-3 in their last nine. They also have four true road wins this season (Iowa, Penn State, USC, UCLA)
At 6-9, they’re in 11th place in the Big Ten with five regular season games remaining. They’re just one win out of the No. 8 spot, which would get them a first day bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
There’s been a lot of speculation online and in message board chatter on Johnson’s future at Minnesota after this season. The Gophers have not given up on this season, even if some of the fan base has.
Minnesota hosts Penn State on Saturday, hosts Northwestern on Feb. 25, travels to Nebraska, hosts Wisconsin and travels to Rutgers to close out the regular season. The Gophers need to finish in the top-15 in the league to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament, and that appears more than doable.
NCAA Tournament chances?
Dig deeper:
At 14-12, the Gophers are not currently in the NCAA Tournament conversation. That can change with a strong finish, and a run in the Big Ten Tournament. If they can finish with at least nine Big Ten wins and at least one tournament win, they enter that conversation. That also likely rules out a coaching change.
The Gophers were last in the Big Dance in 2019 with Richard Pitino, who is now at New Mexico.