Fabulous start dwindles fast as Gophers are overtaken by Northwestern
The start was outstanding. The rest, no so much.
The Gophers men's basketball team squandered a 17-3 lead over the first eight minutes, only to lose 67-59 to Northwestern in a Big Ten meeting at Williams Arena on Thursday night.
The Gophers haven't been the same of late, losing three consecutive games since starting center Liam Robbins sprained his ankle earlier this month.
With Robbins missing his first game this season Thursday, the Gophers had trouble against a Northwestern team that entered the night on a 13-game losing streak.
The Gophers jumped out to a 17-3 lead in the game behind seven points early from freshman Jamal Mashburn Jr., who was starting his third consecutive game in place of injured guard Gabe Kalscheur.
After committing 12 turnovers in the first half, the Wildcats cleaned things up to take a 37-31 lead in the second half after a 12-0 run.
Northwestern's last win was on December 26 against Ohio State during a 3-0 Big Ten start, but it looked very close to coming away with another victory Thursday.
Minnesota's deficit grew to seven points before it used a 9-0 run to take the lead 44-42 on Marcus Carr's three-point play with 9:13 to play.
Carr's three-pointer gave the Gophers a one-point lead just under five minutes left. Miller Kopp's consecutive jumpers answered for the Wildcats to grab back the momentum, 53-49.
Gophers senior Eric Curry, who missed last season with his second major knee injury, replaced Robbins getting his first start since the 2018-19 season.
Robbins was averaging 13 points, seven rebounds and leading the Big Ten with nearly three blocks before he suffered an ankle injury in the Feb. 11 win vs. Purdue at home. The 7-foot junior sat on the bench in street clothes and a protective boot on his left ankle Thursday.□
