Gophers fall to 3-4 in Big Ten after 76-66 loss at Michigan State
Pharrel Payne #21 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers drive stop the basket against Malik Hall #25 of the Michigan State Spartans during the second half of the game at Breslin Center on January 18, 2024 in East Lansing, Michigan. ((Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - It had all the makings of a blowout loss for the University of Minnesota men’s basketball team at Michigan State Thursday night.
Elijah Hawkins missed the game with an ankle injury. Pharrel Payne and Cam Christie each had three first half fouls, and Minnesota entered the night 11.5-point underdogs. But the Gophers were tied 62-62 with the Spartans 5:30 to play before Tyson Walker took over. Walker, a fifth-year senior, scored 10 straight points, 12 of the last 14 and finished with 21 on the night as Minnesota suffered a 76-66 loss at the Breslin Center.
"I thought we showed toughness, both mental and physical and did the things necessary to put ourselves in position to win. I think we’ve just got to bottle up our mentality that we had today, and if we bottle that up with the physical and mental toughness, I think that will springboard us to a good rest of the season," Gophers coach Ben Johnson told KTLK Radio on his postgame show.
The Gophers went the final 5:29 without making a shot from the field. Their final four points came from the free-throw line as Michigan State closed the game on a 14-4 run. The Gophers have not won at the Breslin Center since 2015.
After a 3-1 start to Big Ten play, the Gophers have now lost three straight, are 3-4 in the Big Ten and have fallen to 12-6 on the season. Dawson Garcia scored a game-high 22 points and added nine rebounds, but shot 6-of-17 from the field. Mike Mitchell Jr. added 14 points, four rebounds and five assists and Christie had eight points before fouling out in just 16 minutes.
"When Cam got the fouls, now you’re down two ball-handlers with Elijah being out. You’re just trying to find ways to kind of mask it offensively and defensively, just trying to figure it out on the go," Johnson said.
The Gophers committed 19 turnovers and were out-scored 44-12 in the paint in the loss. They were also out-scored 17-2 in fast break points.
Malik Hall added 16 points, 12 rebounds and four assists for Michigan State. Former Cretin-Derham Hall star Tre Holloman had eight points, two assists and one rebound in 22 minutes.
Life doesn’t get any easier for the Gophers. They return home to host Wisconsin on Tuesday, a top-15 team in the country coming off its first Big Ten loss as the Badgers head to Indiana Friday night.