MINNESOTA 55, NORTHWESTERN 52
On a day when Minnesota appeared to be ripe for an upset, Northwestern’s offense came up short in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Dan Coleman made two free throws with 3.9 seconds left Thursday to wrap up the No. 6-seeded Gophers’ 55-52 victory over the 11th-seeded Wildcats at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Craig Moore’s desperation half-court shot at the buzzer was short as NU finished the season 8-22 and Minnesota advanced to Friday night’s quarterfinals against No. 3-seed Indiana.
Trailing 53-52, Northwestern was trying to set up for a potential game-winning shot when Sterling Williams was trapped on the baseline and Coleman stole the ball. Williams fouled him, and Coleman made the clinching free throws.
Moore led Northwestern with 15 points.
Northwestern pulled out to a 34-18 lead on a Moore layup with 2:27 left in the half, then went cold as the Gophers pulled within 34-21 at halftime.
