Half empty. Gophers blown out in second half of 85-57 loss at No. 6 Purdue

Head coach Niko Medved had suspicion the Gophers men s basketball club was going to get Purdue s best after the former top-ranked Boilermakers suffered an uncharacteristic loss to Iowa State on Saturday I thought Iowa State played terrific and if Purdue was being honest they missed a lot of plays that they normally make Medved explained the Pioneer Press on Tuesday I m fairly confident we will see and A effort from Purdue on Wednesday That top letter grade expressed itself in the second half as No Purdue used a - win to cruise to a - win over Minnesota at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette Ind Minnesota - - Big Ten had a strong close to the first half a - run to trail - at the break to tease a possible upset after knocking off No Indiana at Williams Arena last Wednesday The Boilermakers - - Big Ten presented why they were picked to win the Big Ten and were ranked No until the - loss to now-No Iowa State at home last weekend Purdue was preseason No in the country and playing like the No gang in the country for a reason They ve got an elite society an elite coach veteran players who have played together and knows what it s like got a great system Medved noted They ve got all the pieces to play at the highest level The Boilermakers emphasis in the second half was getting the ball in the paint and exploiting their size advantage They had - advantage in points in the paint and doubled Minnesota up on the glass - The Gophers continue to be shorthanded without two starters point guard Chansey Willis Jr foot and center Robert Vaihola knee and two backups BJ Omot leg and Chance Stephens illness Similar to the Indiana match Minnesota continued to deal with extensive foul trouble Jaylen Crocker-Johnson Isaac Asuma and Grayson Grove each had four fouls with eight minutes left in the championship Crocker-Johnson battled early foul trouble but paced Minnesota with points including three treys in the first half He finished with Purdue point guard Braden Smith a Big Ten member of the year candidate led the way with points and assists Purdue s quality was on display in the first half too and the Gophers were down - with six minutes to go But Minnesota started to hit shots and ended the half with a big run to make it a one-possession match at the break Related Articles Gophers basketball That time Niko Medved and Gene Keady played H-O-R-S-E Barnstorming Gophers upset No Indiana - in Big Ten opener Men s basketball With Chansey Willis Jr out for season what does Gophers rotation look like now Men s basketball Big Ten slate looks more daunting with Gophers struggling in nonconference play Men s basketball Gophers fall to Stanford