Williams Arena was humming on Saturday afternoon and the Gophers men’s basketball team were the surprising reason why.
That environment was a mirage two weeks ago.
Coming off two straight wins in the last 10 days, Minnesota fans had been given something to cheer about, and the U taking a 18-point first-half lead on 15th-ranked Oregon added to the buzz.
The Ducks came back, but the Barn’s best crowd of the season was treated to a thrilling 77-69 win. Coupled with an upset of No. 20 Michigan on Jan. 16, the U has two straight Top 25 wins.
That statement didn’t seem plausible two weeks ago.
Students rushed the court after the final whistle.
The Gophers (11-9, 3-6 Big Ten) has also won three straight with a road win at Iowa on Tuesday.
The Ducks (16-4, 5-4) were handed its first road loss in conference play after an 4-0 start.
Minnesota head coach Ben Johnson expressed a need to limit the amount of possessions against Oregon, which is averaging 78 points per game.
Dawson Garcia poured in 31 points and he added an exclamation point with a dunk in the final seconds. He added to his Big Ten-best 13th 20-point performance this season.
Parker Fox produced a double double — 12 points and 11 rebounds — and fouled out with 1:33 remaining in the game.
Center Nathan Bittle was Oregon’s leading scorer at 13.6 points per game, but he did not score Saturday.
The Gophers’ scorching shooting start built a 26-8 lead after the first eight minutes. Oregon chipped away at the lead, including a 9-0 run, but Minnesota weathered it and never trailed in the first half.
Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field and from 3-point range.
Garcia’s 14 points on 6 of 10 shooting led Minnesota to a 44-38 lead at the break. Brandon Angel led all scorers with 15 points in the opening 20 minutes.
Femi Odukale made a couple of early buckets to boost the early run, but forced a few shots and had three misses, including a turned ankle on the last one. He limped to the bench but returned just before halftime.
Saturday’s game was the first Big Ten matchup between the two teams. The programs had not played since a 75-72 Minnesota win in 2001.
Minnesota will face another Top 25 team on the road at No. 8 Michigan State (17-2, 8-0) on Tuesday night. The Spartans remained the only undefeated team in the conference with a 81-74 win over Rutgers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
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