In an old-school, low-scoring Big Ten battle early, the Gophers couldn’t string enough offense together late outside of Garcia to gain control. Lu’Cye Patterson had nine of his 14 points in the second half, to go with eight rebounds.
But Mike Mitchell Jr., who had 22 points and six three-pointers in the first half of Sunday’s win against Morgan State, was held to four points on 0-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
The Gophers put up over 70 points in four of their previous five games. But they shot just 4-for-17 from deep and 7-for-16 on free throws Thursday, including eight missed free throws in the second half.
Purdue held the Gophers without a field goal in the last 2:39. Fans started exiting while Loyer added two three-pointers to put an exclamation point on his team’s dominance.
Another home game awaits, Monday night against Ohio State, for the Gophers to get their first Big Ten victory this season.
