Oturu's career-high 30 points leads Gophers past No. 19 Michigan, 75-67
Daniel Oturu #25 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers shoots the ball against Kenny Goins #25 of the Michigan State Spartans during the first half in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 23, 2019 ((Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS - Daniel Oturu scored a career-high 30 points as the University of Minnesota men’s basketball team beat No. 19-ranked Michigan 75-67 on Sunday at Williams Arena.
Oturu shot 13-of-18 from the field, and grabbed seven rebounds as the Gophers improved to 3-3 in Big Ten play. Oturu also avoided what appeared to be a significant injury in the second half. He went down in pain with 14:35 to play in regulation after trying to grab a rebound, and was favoring his left shoulder or arm for several minutes on the ground.
Oturu went straight to the team’s locker room before coming back to the bench and into the game with a little more than 11 minutes to play. He scored 20 of his 30 points in the first half as the Gophers climbed out of an early hole to trail 31-30 at the half.
Marcus Carr added 21 points and 12 assists, and Alihan Demir added 13 points. Payton Willis only scored three points, but it was on arguably the biggest shot of the game. Carr found him with the shot clock winding down, and Willis hit a 3-pointer to give the Gophers a 73-65 lead with 1:02 to play.
It’s the second time the Gophers have beaten a top-20 team at Williams Arena this season. They beat then No. 3-ranked Ohio State 84-71 in the Big Ten home opener.
The first four minutes of the second half featured 11 lead changes as the teams went back and forth for most of the last 20 minutes.
The Gophers (9-7, 3-3) host Penn State Wednesday night.