Gophers sneak past Penn State on the road despite sluggish first half

It wasn't pretty, but the Gophers were able to take down Penn State 69-61 on the road Tuesday night for a much-needed conference win after consecutive losses to Michigan State and Washington.

Minnesota faced an ailing Penn State team, which was missing two of its frontcourt players — Yanic Konan Niederhauser and Puff Johnson are both averaging more than 10 points per game this season— and they took advantage after an ugly first half of basketball.

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The Nittany Lions looked like a team missing two rotation players as they started 0 for 6 from the field with five turnovers before finally getting on the board 6:14 into the game. Minnesota wasn't able to take advantage, making just 2-of-9 shots to start.

It was ugly, and Penn State led 7-4 heading into the under 12-minute media timeout.

Despite Penn State's abnormally slow start, they controlled much of the first 20 minutes. It wasn't until a Brennan Rigsby dunk late in the first half that sparked a 6-0 run and Minnesota trailed 25-21 heading into halftime. It was the lowest-scoring first half of a Big Ten game this season.

This Brennan Rigsby dunk clearly gave the #Gophers some much needed life.

Sparked a 6-0 run the end the half and their only down 4.

pic.twitter.com/hp1uMs9L3R
— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) February 5, 2025

Minnesota flipped an offensive switch in the second half. Femi Odukale fouled out of the game following a questionable fourth foul, prompting an outburst towards the official, who then assessed Odukale with a technical foul, effectively fouling him out of the game.

Rigsby continued to use his hot end to the first half and he finished a perfect 5 for 5 from the field and 2 of 2 from the free-throw line, finishing with 14 points. Dawson Garcia led all scorers with 19 points and a season-high 14 rebounds, and Lu'Cye Patterson added 14 points as Minnesota was able to cruise rather comfortably to an eight-point victory.

Minnesota shot 10 for 26 (38.5%) from the field in the first half and completely flipped the switch in the second half, hitting 16-of-23 shots (69.6%). Whatever head coach Ben Johnson said at the half, it worked.

The win is big for the Gophers' standing in the Big Ten, as they look to stay out of the bottom three and qualify for the conference tournament. They will have an opportunity to pick up another ranked win at home on Saturday against No. 23 Illinois. The game tips off at 6 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.