MINNEAPOLIS — With the first game in school history on Christmas Day, the Minnesota men's basketball team had a chance to make a statement Friday night that it should be taken seriously in the Big Ten.
The Gophers were one half away from the upset against No. 4 Iowa after controlling the game through the break. They couldn't hold the Hawkeyes back for long offensively, but they had the answer with Marcus Carr and Brandon Johnson combining for 56 points and 14 3-pointers in a 102-95 overtime win at Williams Arena.
Johnson, a 6-foot-8 senior from Chicago, scored a season-high 26 points and nine rebounds off the bench, which included a school record-tying eight 3s. Four of those shots from beyond the arc came in overtime to lead the Gophers (8-1, 1-1) to their first Big Ten win this season.
The Western Michigan graduate transfer had been battling an ankle injury, but he was exactly the spark the Gophers needed to hold off the best offense in the country.
Carr's 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds left in regulation tied the game 83-83. The junior guard finished his third 30-point game of the season, but he got the chance to send the game into an extra period after Iowa's Joe Toussaint missed two free throws with 14 seconds to play.
It was the second big upset so far in the Big Ten. Northwestern beat No. 4 Michigan State by 14 points last week, but also improved to 2-0 in the conference after a victory against Indiana.
The Gophers, who lost, 92-65, at Illinois in their league opener, will be looking for their second big win Monday against Michigan State at home. The schedule doesn't get any easier after that playing on New Year's Eve at Wisconsin.
The biggest surprise of the first half was the Gophers able to hold the nation's leading scorer Luka Garza to five points on 2-for-11 shooting from the field. Garza, who averaged 28.4 points per game, still finished with 32 points.
The Hawkeyes (7-2, 1-1) were also the top offensive team in college basketball averaging 95.1 points, but they had their lowest scoring half of the season with just 33 points Friday.
It wasn't a typical game for Garza and company, but Minnesota's defense deserved credit for that. Richard Pitino's plan was to post trap and double team the best scoring threat in the game, taking his chances with allowing Iowa's other players to win the game.
After trailing by five points at halftime, the Hawkeyes surged ahead with a 12-2 run in the second half after three straight 3-pointers, including two shots from CJ Fredrick.
Unfortunately for the Gophers, Garza also found his rhythm after a slow start. His layup at the 10:23 mark made it 60-52 Iowa.
The Big Ten's second leading scorer, Carr tried to keep the Gophers within striking distance, but he needed some help.
Entering the game Friday, the Hawkeyes led the Big Ten with 10.8 3-pointers a night. The Gophers were 11th in the conference with just over six 3s, but they hit 17 3-pointers Friday.
Minnesota's 7-footer Liam Robbins battled foul trouble going against Garza, but the Iowa native's dunk in overtime was the exclamation point.
This was the eighth time in the last nine meetings in Minneapolis that the Gophers and Hawkeyes had the outcome decided by six points or fewer, including Minnesota's 58-55 loss last season.
That was especially painful for Pitino to watch leading into this season's Christmas Day showdown since his Gophers blew an eight-point lead with less than six minutes left last season. They got their revenge with their own late comeback Friday night.
