4 Keys Takeaways From the Gophers' Blowout Win Over Wisconsin

Minnesota made the Badgers look like they didn't belong on the same floor on Sunday afternoon.

Minnesota’s Amaya Battle, right, shoots around Oregon’s Sofia Bell during the first half at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene Jan. 21, 2026. | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Gophers welcomed Wisconsin to the Barn on Sunday afternoon and dominated their rival for an 88-53 win. Here's what we learned.

11th win by 20 or more points

Sunday's win was Minnesota's 11th by 20 or more points this season. It was its second against a Big Ten opponent and third against a Power Conference opponent. North Dakota, Manhattan, Marquette, Samford, Alabama A&M, Wyoming and now Wisconsin have all come to the Barn and left with a blowout loss.

Winning margin plays a massive part in placement in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, which is one of the main metrics in selection for the NCAA Tournament. The Gophers entered Sunday's game ranked 17th, and that ranking is going nowhere after a 35-point win.

Amaya Battle stays hot

Battle entered Sunday's game averaging 16.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.3 steals over her last three games. Her 20 points in last week's win over Oregon matched her season-high. She stayed hot against the Badgers with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists on 5 of 11 shooting from the field and 3 of 4 from three-point range.

Welcome to the Amaya Battle show! 🍿

📺: B1G+ pic.twitter.com/GjKmhMfvji

— Minnesota Women's Basketball (@GopherWBB) January 25, 2026

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Tori McKinney's value

McKinney missed both of the Gophers' losses to UCLA and Washington due to injury. She struggled with only four points in their win at Oregon, but she returned to her elite scoring level on Sunday. She finished the game with 20 points, which matched a season-high on 8 of 11 shooting from the field, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

What's next?

The Gophers are now 14-6, and they have two more winnable games on the schedule at Penn State and against Purdue at home as their next two matchups. They're continuing to put together a strong resume for the NCAA Tournament, and they continue to rack up wins.