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The Gophers men’s basketball team wore its 1970s throwback gold jerseys against Northwestern on Saturday, but fans have to go back to before World War II to find Minnesota teams with worse Big Ten winning percentages.
With 81-61 defeat to the Wildcats at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill., the Gophers’ conference record this season sank to 1-9 at the halfway point in the Big Ten schedule. That .100 winning percentage currently sits as the second-worst winning percentage in program history.
If Minnesota doesn’t win another conference game in February or early March, this season’s team would set the lowest winning percentage (.050) in the program’s Big Ten history. That’s 118 years in the making.
Four Gopher team in the 1920 and 1930s are currently tied for the worst winning percentages (.083) in program history, back when it had played 12 conference games. This year’s squad needs just one win to avoid that ignominy.
It’s hard to imagine the Gophers lose out in its final 10 games. They have had a handful of close losses in January (Wisconsin, Nebraska,, Michigan and Indiana), but it’s also hard to see where many, if any, wins will come from. The U goes to surging Rutgers on Wednesday and there is a gap between Minnesota and the rest of the league.
Minnesota (7-13 overall) used to be able to count on beating Northwestern — 101-71 all-time record — but this year’s Wildcats team (15-5, 6-3) has climbed toward the top of the pack in the Big Ten standings.
On Saturday, Minnesota led 11-7 with 14 minutes left in the first half, thanks, in part, to a zone defense that had confused Indiana in a 61-57 loss on Wednesday, but Northwestern started to cut behind it and shoot over it. They went on a 29-7 run to take control at 36-18 with five minutes remaining.
Minnesota had 15 turnovers, which led to 18 Northwestern points. The U had 11 turnovers in the first half and trailed 42-28 at the break.
The Gophers remained without leading scorer and top rebounder Dawson Garcia for a second straight game with a bone bruise in his foot. But center Pharrel Payne cleared concussion protocol after missing the 61-57 loss to Indiana on Wednesday and made his first start of the season Saturday. The freshman from Cottage Grove contributed only three points and three rebounds.
Minnesota’s ineptitude from the free-throw line — 16 for 26 on Saturday — helped Northwestern fans eat. When the U missed its eight shot from the stripe, it triggered a game promotion that allowed Wildcats to earn free chicken sandwiches. Jaden Henley’s miss from the line in the second half got a bigger applause from the home crowd.
Chase Audige led all scorers with 24 points, with teammate Boo Buie adding 21. Jamison Battle had 20 points for Minnesota.
All-time lows
Gophers’ worst winning percentages in Big Ten play since the conference started in 1905-06:
.111 — 2015-16; 1986-87
.100* — 2022-23
.083 — 1932-33; 1928-29; 1926-27; 1922-23
* — 10 games to go this season
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