MINNEAPOLIS — Indiana was starting to settle in again at No. 1 after weeks of shuffling at the top of the national rankings in this wildly unpredictable season of college basketball.
Trevor Mbakwe and Minnesota stepped forward, flexed their muscles and did their best to push the Hoosiers out.
Mbakwe had 21 points and 12 rebounds to help the Gophers take down top-ranked Indiana 77-73 on Tuesday night, the seventh time the No. 1 team in The Associated Press’ poll has lost a game this season.
“We’re trying to do big things so we have to learn from this mistake, but we have to dust it off real fast," Hoosiers star Victor Oladipo said.
Andre Hollins added 16 points for the Gophers (19-9, 7-8 Big Ten), who outrebounded Cody Zeller and the Hoosiers by a whopping 44-30 and solidified their slipping NCAA tournament bid with an emphatic performance against the Big Ten leader. The fans swarmed the court as the last second ticked off, the first time that’s happened here in years.
“We weren’t physical enough on the glass. That’s the bottom line," Indiana coach Tom Crean said.
Zeller was held to nine points with four turnovers for the Hoosiers (24-4, 12-3), who have held the No. 1 ranking for 10 of 17 polls this season, including the past four. Oladipo scored 16 points, but 14 of the 17 points by Jordan Hulls came before halftime.
“Cody’s certainly capable of a lot," Crean said, “and I think he’ll bounce back just fine."
Mbakwe, a sixth-year senior, posted his conference-leading seventh double-double. At 24 years old, he was a man among boys in many ways in this game, dominating both ends of the court when the Gophers needed him most. Minnesota had 23 offensive rebounds.
“We did need to play with a sense of urgency, play with a little edge," Gophers coach Tubby Smith said. “I think Trevor set that tone for us."
Elliott Eliason, who played every bit as well as Zeller, the slender sophomore in the post on the other side, scored seven straight points for Minnesota to tie the game at 46 shortly after Oladipo’s reverse layup had given the Hoosiers a 44-36 edge, their biggest of the game.
Hollins, who missed eight of his first nine shots, scraped off a high screen by Eliason to pull up for a 3-pointer and give the Gophers a 51-48 lead. The Hoosiers eventually went back up 59-58. But Austin Hollins answered with a pump-fake layup that drew a foul for a three-point play and a two-point advantage for the Gophers.
The Hoosiers didn’t lead again, and Joe Coleman’s fast-break dunk with 2:35 left gave Minnesota a 68-61 cushion, enough of one to withstand a late Hoosier rally.
In other games on Tuesday:
Tennessee 64
No 8 Florida 58
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Jordan McRae scored 27 points and Tennessee boosted its NCAA tournament hopes by beating Florida, the Volunteers’ sixth consecutive victory.
No. 17 Wisconsin 77
Nebraska 46
MADISON, Wis. — Reserve Sam Dekker matched his career high with 19 points to lead Wisconsin (20-8, 11-4 Big Ten).
Xavier 64
No. 19 Memphis 62
CINCINNATI — Brad Redford hit a long 3-pointer that put Xavier back ahead after wasting a 13-point lead, and the Musketeers ended Memphis’ 18-game winning streak.
