MINNEAPOLIS _ Jordan Murphy found himself with the ball and not enough time to hit an open teammate with seconds winding down Sunday at the end of the first half against Iowa.
Murphy's one of the deadliest players in the country inside the arc, but not such much outside. The 6-foot-7 senior didn't hesitate, though, nailing a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a nine-point halftime lead for the Gophers, who had everything falling for them to shoot 65 percent in the first half.
Despite below freezing temperatures outside Williams Arena, Minnesota was scorching hot early and overcame some poor free throw shooting late to hang on for a 92-87 victory against the No. 19 Hawkeyes.
Jordan Murphy, Amir Coffey and Gabe Kalscheur combined for 65 points for the Gophers (15-5, 5-4), who got their third win against a ranked opponent this season. It was an important bounce back game for Richard Pitino's squad coming off a tough buzzer-beating loss at Michigan last week.
The Gophers opened the game answering one of the Big Ten's best offensive teams basket for basket until late in the first half after a flagrant foul on Iowa (16-5, 5-4). Amir Coffey had a clear path to the rim in transition, but Connor McCaffery wrapped him up intentionally.
Coffey, who had just hit a 3-pointer, sank two free throws after the technical. Murphy followed it up on the next possession with one of his three first half dunks for a 50-41 lead. Murphy finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds, which included passing former Purdue standout Joe Barry Carroll to become No. 2 on the all-time Big Ten rebounding list.
What looked like a surefire blowout for the Gophers turned out to be another nail-biter after Iowa cut a 16-point deficit to 81-76 after Luke Garza's 3-pointer with 3:26 to play. Tyler Cook's layup got it as close as a four-point margin.
Coffey's 3-pointer a couple minutes earlier gave the Gophers their biggest lead at 81-65, but they were outscored 13-1 after tensing up during crunch time. Dupree McBrayer, Eric Curry, Murphy and Coffey went 2-for-10 from the foul line during one stretch to allow Iowa to close the margin, including five straight misses.
Kalscheur's turnaround jumper ended a four-minute scoring drought from the field to provide Minnesota with a slight cushion 84-78 at 1:46. The crowd erupted soon after when Curry grabbed a tipped pass in the open floor and slammed a two-hand dunk for a seven-point advantage and the exclamation point.
The Gophers have beaten border rivals Wisconsin and Iowa in the same season for the first time since 2013-14. They shot 57 percent from the field and dished out 25 assists on 32 field goals Sunday.
Garza had 25 points and Moss added 23 for the Hawkeyes, who shot 10-for-18 from 3-point range.
Daniel Oturu missed the game with a shoulder injury.
