Minnesota beats another ranked team with 77-69 win over No. 15 Oregon behind Garcia's 31 points

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Dawson Garcia scored a season-high 31 points on 13-for-19 shooting and Parker Fox had 13 points and 11 rebounds to help Minnesota beat No. 15 Oregon 77-69 on Saturday.

Lu’Cye Patterson added 11 points for the Gophers (11-9, 3-6), who won their third straight Big Ten game to match their longest such streak in four seasons under coach Ben Johnson.

Brandon Angel scored 18 points and T.J. Bamba and Jackson Shelstad each had 15 points for the Ducks (16-4, 5-4), who lost for the first time in five true road games this season. Garcia had three blocks to help hold Oregon leading scorer Nate Bittle scoreless.

Minnesota built a 26-8 lead and trailed for only 22 seconds in the second half after a three-point play by Bamba, who had a critical bad-pass turnover with 2:59 left and Oregon down by five. Garcia drew a charging foul on Bamba with 1:18 remaining and Minnesota up by two.

Takeaways

Minnesota beats another ranked team with 77-69 win over No. 15 Oregon behind Garcia's 31 points | iNFOnews.ca — Minnesota forwards Dawson Garcia, left, and Frank Mitchell (00) celebrate after their win over Oregon in an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Oregon: For such a deep, experienced team, another slow start was concerning. The Ducks outscored Washington 20-9 over the final 5:36 to complete their comeback victory on Tuesday.

Minnesota: After beating then-No. 20 Michigan last week and winning at Iowa for the first time in 10 years on Tuesday, the Gophers finally have some confidence and momentum. The lowest-scoring team in the Big Ten continually found gaps in Oregon’s paint defense for dunks and layups.

Key moment

Minnesota had 10 passes on one possession that ended with a 3-pointer by Patterson for a 40-28 lead, with Garcia driving and screening all over the court.

Key stat