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Minnesota upsets No. 7 Indiana

Jan 13, 2012 - 7:45 AM Bloomington, IN (Sports Network) - It was the other wing and a different outcome.

Christian Watford, who drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to beat Kentucky earlier this season, missed a game-tying try from the right wing in the closing seconds, as Minnesota held on to beat seventh-ranked Indiana, 77-74.

Minnesota (13-5, 1-4 Big Ten) got its first conference victory behind a determined effort and 16 offensive rebounds. Austin Hollins led the way with a career-best 18 points, Rodney Williams added 14 and Julian Welch chipped in with 10 for the Golden Gophers.

"I thought we did the things we had to do to get the stops and we really guarded their three tonight," said Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith.

Cody Zeller, in what may have been his most active game of the season, scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Zeller's big game coincided with Indiana's worst from long distance. The Hoosiers (15-2, 3-2) made just 4-of-18 from long distance.

"This game starts with our lack of awareness defensively," Indiana head coach Tom Crean said. "The easiest thing in the world to do is be sky high when you're making shots. The hardest thing to do is to understand how committed you have to be to the game of defense and rebounding when you're not."

Jordan Hulls donated 13 points, Will Sheehey added 12 points and six rebounds and Victor Oladipo chipped in with 10 points and six boards. Watford scored just four points on 1-of-7 shooting.

Indiana looked down for the count until Zeller tipped a Minnesota in-bounds pass to Oladipo, who scored in the lane and got fouled. He made the and-one free throw for a 71-68 game with 40.2 ticks left. Freshman Joe Coleman drained two free throws on the other end, but Matt Roth used a ball fake to shake free and bury a trey with 30 seconds to go.

The two-point game became four on two more Coleman free throws, but the Gophers inexplicably fouled Zeller on the right block as he converted a layup. The free throw made it a one-point game, 75-74, with 17.3 seconds to go.

Hollins made two free throws, setting the stage for Watford, who forced the contested shot that hit the back side of the rim. Welch left the door open with two missed foul shots, but Minnesota stole the ensuing in-bounds pass.

Indiana has lived, and succeeded, by the three all season, but the well went dry in the first 20 minutes. The Hoosiers missed seven of eight attempts and found themselves in a dogfight with the scrappy Gophers.

The home team took its first lead at 12-11 on Oladipo's fastbreak layup, but the underdogs stayed close, clawed in front and built a 23-20 edge thanks to Maverick Ahansmisi's layup just before the nine-minute mark. He drained a three moments later and corralled a defensive rebound that resulted in Chip Armelin's triple for a nine-point lead.

The Hoosiers scored the next eight with Hulls making the white-and-red's lone three-pointer of the half for a 29-28 game. Minnesota stayed in front and took a 37-34 lead to the locker room.

Minnesota attacked the glass and dominated in the paint in the early stages of the second half, pushing the advantage to 51-40 on Williams' layup. The Hoosiers clawed back within 60-53 on Zeller's short jumper with just over seven minutes on the clock, and Hulls' bucket with a tick over four minutes on the clock cutting the deficit to 64-59.

Game Notes

Minnesota made 46.8 percent of its shots and two more three-pointers (6) than the Hoosiers, who came into the game with the nation's best three-point shooting percentage...Indiana still leads the all-time series, 93-66.