In another low-scoring half of Big Ten basketball, the Wisconsin Badgers and the No. 12 Minnesota Gophers haven’t offered many highlights in Saturday’s game so far, with the score knotted at 24-24 after the first 20 minutes.
Wisconsin used a 13-2 run in the closing minutes of the first half to grab a 24-21 lead, thanks to four points from Ryan Evans and five consecutive points from Sam Dekker.
But, with 1.2 seconds left in the half, Dekker threw a full-court pass from underneath Minnesota’s basket that went out of bounds without any player touching it, giving the Gophers the ball back under their own hoop.
After a quick inbounds pass, Andre Hollins went up for a three in the left corner and was fouled by the Badgers’ Evans, much to the dismay of the Kohl Center Crowd.
Hollins converted all three, tying the game at 24-24 a piece at the end of the first half.
For a majority of the both half the Badgers’ offense looked dead in the water, with little movement and forced shots as the Gophers’ length on defense made passes into the post difficult.
Hollins leads all scorers with 11 points, while Evans and Dekker lead the Badgers with eight points each.