MINNEAPOLIS — No Big Ten opponent had dominated the Gophers like Michigan State during Richard Pitino's seven-season tenure as men's basketball coach.
The tables were turned at least for one night.
Fresh off earning their first national ranking in three years, the No. 21 Gophers ran away from the No. 17 Spartans from start to finish behind a combined 37 points from Marcus Carr and Liam Robbins in a resounding 81-56 victory Monday night at Williams Arena.
It was the most lopsided win for the Gophers (9-1, 2-1 in the Big Ten) in the series, surpassing a 22-point win in 1977. Pitino picked up his first home victory against Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo, who hadn't lost at the Barn since 2012.
Entering Monday, the Spartans (6-3, 0-3) had won 24 of the past 27 meetings during the regular season, including seven consecutive regular-season victories 2015. Michigan State is now off to its worst start in Big Ten play since 2001-02.
This was a much different Izzo squad than the one that played in the Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium two seasons ago. It was far from physically imposing defensively and rebounding the basketball.
Pitino's players were tougher physically and much more aggressive and confident coming off a 102-95 overtime win against then-No. 4 Iowa last week.
It helped the Gophers to establish an inside presence early with 7-footer Robbins, who had 12 of his 18 points in the first half. After Robbins scored the first six points of the game, Carr's three-pointer made it 9-0 before Izzo could blink.
The Spartans cut it to 15-9 on Joey Hauser's jumper midway through the first half, but Robbins' layup sparked the Gophers on a 16-2 run. Eric Curry's two free throws gave Minnesota nine straight points to take a 31-11 lead with 3:10 left.
Michigan State was held scoreless for 5 minutes, 28 seconds in the first half, which included 12 straight missed field goals. The Gophers had no field goals for more than three minutes, but Carr's three-pointer to beat the buzzer gave them a 36-16 halftime advantage.
In last week's win against Iowa, Pitino saw his team hit 17 three-pointers and set a program record with 43 attempts from beyond the arc. Senior forward Brandon Johnson had a breakout game with 26 points with eight three-pointers, including four in overtime.
The Gophers easily could've fallen in love with threes Monday night, but they only shot 6-for-25. They outrebounded the Spartans 52-36 in the game, but they also had the points in the paint edge 40-16.
In the second half, the Spartans got within 17 points after Thomas Kithier's three-point play, but Gabe Kalscheur and Both Gach combined for eight points during an 11-2 run. Gach's three-point play gave Minnesota its biggest lead 47-21.
Gophers faithful couldn't watch their team this season with fans not being allowed at games during the pandemic, but they wondered how they would fare in the Big Ten after a 27-point loss Dec. 15 at Illinois.
Pitino's team answered the next time out with a 90-82 victory against St. Louis, which was favored against the Gophers after wins against LSU and North Carolina State this season.
The bigger statement came against the Hawkeyes. The Gophers overcame All-American Luka Garza's 32-point night to pull off the comeback victory down seven points with under a minute to play.
The Gophers schedule wouldn't get easier Monday against Michigan State, which won by 18 points in Minneapolis last season, but they would get their revenge.
With three straight victories, Pitino and his much-improved team after a 15-16 record last season will try to keep the momentum going Thursday against rival Wisconsin in Madison. The No. 6 Badgers suffered a disappointing 70-64 loss Monday at home to unranked Maryland.
