Big Ten Basketball: Wisconsin notches quality road win over Minnesota

In another overtime game from Saturday, the 17th ranked Wisconsin Badgers came away with a key road win in Big Ten basketball play.

Wisconsin, who was in search of their first high-quality win on Saturday, relied on the play of their big men to defeat Minnesota in The Barn.

Leading the way for Wisconsin was redshirt sophomore Ethan Happ, who finished with one of the best games of his career. While shooting 11-of-19 from the floor for 28 points, Happ also added 12 rebounds, six assists, and five blocks. Along with Happ, Nigel Hayes dropped in 21 points and snagged five rebounds.

For Minnesota, Amir Coffey (19 points) and Akeem Springs (16 points) splashed three trifectas apiece to lead the Golden Gophers. The team shot 52.9 percent on what was a nice night from the field, but it wasn’t enough to knock off the Badgers at home.

While trailing by two with 44 seconds to play in overtime, Bronson Koenig ran off a screen to bury a go-ahead three-pointer. It was his third deep ball of the game. From then on out, Wisconsin held onto that two-point lead, despite a last second three-point attempt by Minnesota.

More from Busting Brackets

Moving forward, this was Wisconsin’s first major win of the year. The Badgers have definitely passed the eye test this season, but this will go down as the first RPI top-50 win for Wisconsin, especially on the road. This kind of win is a major resume-booster that could go a long way. Also, after seeing Hayes struggle during a recent stretch of basketball, seeing him go over 20 points on the day could be a huge jump for his confidence.

Once again, Koenig played the part of the hero for Wisconsin, burying the go-ahead three. Come March, Koenig is the type of guard that can carry a team down the stretch.

With Penn State, Rutgers, and Illinois next up for Wisconsin, the Badgers are looking to continue their current win streak in three very winnable games.

Minnesota, on the other hand, is still in good shape even with this home loss. With wins over Purdue, Northwestern, and Arkansas, the Golden Gophers still have a solid resume. Nonetheless, the team has lost three in a row. With a road battle against Ohio State up next, Minnesota is looking to get back on track.

Next: OG Anunoby, Dillon Brooks and other updates

Minnesota is having a good season so far, but if this losing streak continues, things might start to get ugly for them. As of Monday, the Golden Gophers were a six seed in Bracketology, but after this losing streak, how far will they fall?

Home/Minnesota Golden Gophers