Potter leads No. 6 Wisconsin to victory over No. 21 Minnesota

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Micah Potter had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 6 Wisconsin to a 71-59 victory over No. 21 Minnesota on Thursday.

The Gophers (9-2, 2-2 Big Ten) scored a season-low 22 points in the first half with a brutal shooting performance before the Badgers (9-2, 3-1) opened the second half on a 16-5 run. Potter added the exclamation point with a dunk off a pick-and-roll from D’Mitrik Trice that put Wisconsin up 45-27.

Wisconsin pushed the lead to 26 and Minnesota didn’t get the deficit under 15 points until the final minute.

Trice and Aleem Ford added 14 points apiece for the Badgers.

The Gophers missed their first nine 3-point attempts and started the game 3 for 20 from the field. Minnesota, which shoots 31% from 3 on the season, finished just 7 of 31 from behind the arc (23%). The Gophers shot 31% from the field overall.

Gabe Kalscheur led Minnesota with 15 points. Brandon Johnson and Liam Robbins each had 12 points and nine rebounds.

BIG PICTURE

Minnesota: Minnesota made a statement with its wins against Michigan State and Iowa in the past week. The Gophers have to hope Thursday’s game was an aberration.

Wisconsin: The Badgers bounced back after Monday’s loss to Maryland, returning to their roots of working the offense inside-out and playing solid defense, even if the latter got a significant assist from Minnesota’s poor shooting.

UP NEXT

Minnesota: The Gophers host Ohio State on Sunday.

Wisconsin: The Badgers travel to Penn State on Sunday.