Trevor Mbakwe had 21 points and 12 rebounds to help Minnesota take down No. 1 Indiana 77-73 last night in Minneapolis, the seventh time the top-ranked team in the Associated Press’ poll has lost a game this season.
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 case with an emphatic performance against the Big Ten leaders.
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 last four.
“We weren’t physical enough on the glass. That’s the bottom line,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said. “Cody’s certainly capable of a lot, and I think he’ll bounce back just fine.’’
Tennessee 64, Florida 58
In Knoxville, Jordan McRae scored 27 points and Tennessee (17-10, 9-6 SEC) boosted its NCAA hopes by beating No. 8 Florida (22-5, 12-3).
Xavier 64, Memphis 62
In Cincinnati, Brad Redford hit a long 3-pointer that put Xavier back ahead after wasting a 13-point lead, and the Musketeers (16-11) beat the 19th-ranked Tigers (24-4), ending their 18-game winning streak.
Stringer wins 900th
C. Vivian Stringer became the fourth women’s college basketball coach to reach 900 wins as Rutgers cruised past South Florida 68-56 in Piscataway.
Stringer, a Hall of Famer in her 42nd season as head coach, joined Pat Summitt, Jody Conradt and Sylvia Hatchell, who reached the mark on Feb. 7. Only three Division I men’s coaches have reached 900 victories — Mike Krzyzewski, Bob Knight and Jim Boeheim.
Rutgers had lost four straight games since beating Cincinnati for Stringer’s 899th career victory. Stringer is 900-330 in her career.