Gophers men’s basketball coach Niko Medved used sarcasm to deflect the difficulty in Wednesday’s matchup against No. 10 Michigan State and hall of fame coach Tom Izzo.
“Maybe we can take advantage of Michigan State’s youth and inexperience, particularly in their coaching. Take advantage of Coach Izzo,” Medved said Tuesday, joking about head coach Tom Izzo’s 31 years leading the with Spartans. “They won’t be very well prepared. They haven’t been in these situations before, so maybe that’s exactly a good thing for us.”
The satire masked the challenge Medved knew the ultra-consistent Spartans represented, but Minnesota rose to the occassion with an nothing-to-scoff-at 76-73 upset win on Wednesday at Williams Arena.
Gophers (10-12, 3-8 Big Ten) has lost seven in a row, but produced their first win against a top 10 team was 2021 when they topped No. 7 Michigan. The Gophers beat ranked Indiana and Iowa teams earlier this season.
The Spartans were 8.5-point betting favorites, but Minnesota pulled off a stunner.
Minnesota led 69-56 with two minutes left, but the Spartans stormed back to cut lead to 73-71 with 19 seconds remaining.
Isaac Asuma made two free throws and Langston Reynolds added one to put it out of reach.
Jaylen Crocker-Johnson led all scorers with 22 points. All five Minnesota starters scored in double figures.
Spartans star guard Jeremy Fears has developed a reputation for dirty play; that surfaced in the Michigan loss last week and Wolverines coach Dusty May calling it out.
On Wednesday, Fears kicked his leg out toward Langston Reynolds, and on review, the foul call on Reynolds was reversed to a flagrant on Fears. Cade Tyson made two free throws after the review.
That was one of a few incidents against Fears on Wednesday, but Reynolds kept his cool. When he made a bucket and drew a four with four minutes left, he gave a cathartic shout toward the crowd.
The Gophers led 32-21 at the half on the back of strong 3-point shooting and stout defense. Minnesota was 7 for 14 from deep, while the Spartans were 2 for 8. The U held Michigan State to 33% shooting in the opening 20 minutes and forced five turnovers.
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