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Amir Coffey has huge night, Minnesota sinks No. 11 Purdue

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Minnesota may have just solidified its spot in the NCAA Tournament field on Tuesday night.

The Gophers registered a 73-69 victory over No. 11 Purdue, improving to 19-11 on the season and 9-10 in B1G play. With a lack of quality wins on the resumé, Minnesota desperately needed a win over a ranked opponent down the stretch to bolster its argument to make the tournament.

Amir Coffey had a huge night, tying a career-high with 32 points and also grabbing eight rebounds in the win. Jordan Murphy, the human double-double machine, scored 16 points and hauled in 14 boards. Dupree McBrayer also hit double figures, adding 10 points.

Minnesota also got great production from Matz Stockman off the bench, totaling nine points and six rebounds.

In addition to adding a quality win to the resumé, Minnesota also spoiled Purdue’s hopes of winning an outright B1G title. The Boilermakers dropped to 15-4 in league play, tied atop the conference standings with Michigan and Michigan State.

The Boilermakers need to beat Northwestern to claim a share of the conference title. With a win, they will share the regular season crown with the winner of the Michigan-Michigan State game over the weekend.

Students in Williams Arena stormed the floor following the upset victory, creating one of the best Senior Day scenes in the conference this season.

Minnesota ends its season with a road trip against No. 24 Maryland on Friday night. A victory over the Terrapins would give the Gophers their 20th win of the season.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB