MINNEAPOLIS — Trevor Mbakwe had 21 points and 12 rebounds to help Minnesota take down No. 1 Indiana 77-73 on Tuesday night, the seventh time the top-ranked team in The Associated Press’ poll has lost a game this season. MINNEAPOLIS
MINNEAPOLIS — Trevor Mbakwe had 21 points and 12 rebounds to help Minnesota take down No. 1 Indiana 77-73 on Tuesday night, the seventh time the top-ranked team in The Associated Press’ poll has lost a game this season.
Andre Hollins added 16 points for the Gophers (19-9, 7-8 Big Ten), who outrebounded Cody Zeller and the Hoosiers by a whopping 44-30 and solidified their slipping NCAA tournament case with an emphatic performance against the Big Ten leaders. The fans rushed the court as the last seconds ticked off, the first time that’s happened here in years.
Zeller was held to nine points with four turnovers for the Hoosiers (24-4, 12-3), who have held the No. 1 ranking for 10 of 17 polls this season including the last four. Victor Oladipo scored 16 points, but 14 of the 17 points by Jordan Hulls came before halftime.
Mbakwe, a sixth-year senior, posted his conference-leading seventh double-double. At 24 years old, he was a man among boys in many ways in this game, dominating both ends of the court when the Gophers needed him most. Minnesota had 23 offensive rebounds.
Mbakwe, who played for Indiana coach Tom Crean when they were at Marquette in 2007-08, has had some of his better games against the Hoosiers. This was his best. He gave the Gophers and their home crowd a double-shot of energy early with 10 points in the first 6 1/2 minutes, plus a jarring block of Zeller’s inside shot that knocked the 7-footer to the court. Coach Tubby Smith took Mbakwe out for a breather, though, and the Hoosiers went on a 10-0 run capped by a behind-the-arc swish from Hulls.
TENNESSEE 64,
No. 8 FLORIDA 58
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Jordan McRae scored 27 points, and Tennessee boosted its NCAA tournament hopes by beating Florida for its sixth consecutive victory.
McRae scored 17 points in the first half Tuesday and was the lone Volunteer to reach double figures.
Jarnell Stokes had eight points and 14 rebounds as Tennessee (17-10, 9-6 Southeastern Conference) won the lone regular-season meeting between the rivals.
Mike Rosario scored 16 points, Patric Young added 15, and Casey Prather had 10 for Florida (22-5, 12-3). The SEC-leading Gators were playing without injured forward Will Yeguette (knee) and guard Michael Frazier II (concussion).
No. 17 WISCONSIN 77,
NEBRASKA 46
MADISON, Wis. — Reserve Sam Dekker matched his career high with 19 points to lead Wisconsin.
Ryan Evans added 14 points, and Ben Brust had 13 for the Badgers (20-8, 11-4 Big Ten).
Wisconsin’s win, coupled with No. 1 Indiana’s loss to Minnesota, put the Badgers one game back in the Big Ten race with three games to play for both teams.
Dylan Talley had 21 points and eight rebounds for the Cornhuskers (13-15, 4-11), while Brandon Ubel added 10 points.
The Cornhuskers shot 33 percent for the game and had just six assists to 10 turnovers.
Jared Berggren finished with four blocks to make him Wisconsin’s all-time leader at 126. He came into the game trailing Rashard Griffith (124) by two.
XAVIER 64,
No. 19 MEMPHIS 62
CINCINNATI — Brad Redford hit a long 3-pointer that put Xavier back ahead after wasting a 13-point lead, and the Musketeers ended Memphis’ 18-game winning streak.
Xavier (16-11) blew a 17-point lead before losing to then-No. 24 VCU on Saturday.
The Tigers (24-4), who were outrebounded 45-36, scored only 20 points in the first half. Their winning streak was tied with Akron for longest in the nation.
Memphis was the only Division I school that hadn’t lost a road game this season. The Tigers had won 11 straight on the road overall, the nation’s longest active streak.
Travis Taylor had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Xavier, which was missing point guard Dee Davis, who was recovering from a head injury suffered against VCU.
