Gopher Basketball Eliminates Northwestern

The Gopher men's basketball team defeated Northwestern 75-68 in overtime in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis Thursday night.  Freshman Andre Hollins missed a 19-foot jumper with 4 seconds left in regulation that could have won the game.  Hollins led the Gophers with 25 points and 5 rebounds.  The 25 points for Hollins in a new career high.  Rodney Williams and Austin Hollins each scored 12 points for Minnesota.

The Gophers played without senior center Ralph Sampson III who is out with a back injury.  Minnesota improves to 19-13 and will play Michigan in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals Friday night at 5:30pm in Indianapolis.  The loss for Northwestern drops them to 18-13 and may keep them from getting an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament.