At the Buzzer: Minnesota 73, Indiana 64

Tayton Conerway handles the ball against Minnesota.

Quick thoughts on a 73-64 loss at Minnesota:

How it happened

Indiana’s first Big Ten road game didn’t get off to a strong start. Minnesota dictated the pace and controlled the glass in the opening 20 minutes at the Barn. The Gophers grabbed eight offensive rebounds and turned them into 14 second-chance points in the first half. Throw in a Minnesota defense that was determined to limit 3-point looks from Tucker DeVries and Lamar Wilkerson and the Hoosiers were out of sorts for much of the first half. Indiana had a chance to create some separation when it opened a 27-19 lead with 4:48 left, but the Gophers closed on a 14-6 run to tie the game at 33 at intermission. If not for a poor free-throw shooting performance by Minnesota – it was 4-for-9 – IU would have trailed at the break. Tayton Conerway led IU with 10 first-half points but was limited to just 11 minutes because he had a pair of fouls.

Indiana’s struggles continue into the second half, as Minnesota opened up a 3-point lead, 38-35, by the first media timeout of the half. The Hoosiers were 0-for-4 from the floor and 2-for-6 from the free-throw line at that point in the half. By the under-12 media timeout, Minnesota’s 6-0 run pushed the lead to 46-43 as Indiana’s struggles at the line continue. The Gophers run hit 13-2 over a 2:57 span as they pushed the lead to 53-45 with 9:23 to play on a Jaylen Crocker-Johnson 3-pointer, forcing an IU timeout. The Hoosiers answered with 3-pointers from Wilkerson and DeVries to cut the lead to 53-51 with 7:47 left. But Minnesota answered immediately to stretch the lead to nine at 62-53 with 5:20 left. After the Gophers opened a 10-point lead at 65-55 on a Bobby Durkin 3-pointer, the Hoosiers got within two at 65-62 with two minutes left. But that was as close as IU would get as the Hoosiers fell in their conference road opener under Darien DeVries.