Indiana rolls Minnesota, 80-56

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) Devonte Green and Juwan Morgan each scored 19 points Friday night, leading Indiana to an 80-56 blowout over Minnesota.

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The Hoosiers (14-12, 7-7 Big Ten Conference) have now won twice in five days.

Nate Mason had 18 points and eight rebounds while Jordan Murphy finished with 12 points and nine rebounds to lead the Golden Gophers (14-13, 3-11). Minnesota has lost seven straight.

Indiana never trailed and seized control early in the second half with strong defense and crisp passes, scoring on their first three possessions to extend a 10-point halftime lead to 45-29.

But instead of letting the Gophers hang around, the Hoosiers just kept extending the lead.

After giving up a basket, Indiana went on an 11-5 spurt to make it 56-35 with 12:35 left.

Indiana also started the game fast, jumping out to a 12-4 lead and extending it to 24-13.

Minnesota made only one serious run all night – an 11-3 spurt that cut the first-half deficit to 27-24. But the Hoosiers answered with a 12-2 spurt and led 39-29 at halftime.

BIG PICTURE

Minnesota: The Golden Gophers are 1-10 since Reggie Lynch's suspension and things got even worse at Indiana. Starting guard Amir Coffey missed his fourth straight game with an injured shoulder and his replacement, Dupree McBrayer, sat out with a stress reaction in his left shin. It was just too much for Minnesota to overcome.

Indiana: The Hoosiers suddenly have some momentum heading into their four regular-season games. The timing couldn't be better. After facing Illinois at home, the Hoosiers head to Iowa and Nebraska before wrapping up at home against No. 14 Ohio State. Could three more wins make them an NCAA Tournament bubble team? Maybe. But it would almost certainly get them some postseason bid.

KEY STATS

Minnesota: Shot 33.3 percent from the field, was 6 of 21 on 3-pointers and had 14 turnovers. … Isaiah Washington had 14 points. … The Gophers lost for the fourth time in six games in the series. … It was the first Friday night conference game Minnesota played since Dec. 31, 2010. … The Gophers entered the game with the second-highest rebounding total but were outrebounded 35-33.

Indiana: Green also had a career-high seven assists while Morgan grabbed nine rebounds and had five assists. … Robert Johnson had 11 points and five rebounds. … The Hoosiers got their third season sweep in the series in 10 years. Indiana improved to 5-2 in conference home games. … Indiana has given up 159 points, an average of 53, in its last three games. … Fifth-year senior Collin Hartman left with a little more than eight minutes to go after appearing to injure his right wrist. … The Hoosiers have won back-to-back Big Ten games by more than 20 points for the first time since January 2016. … Indiana shot 56.6 percent from the field.

UP NEXT

Minnesota: Will try to end its losing streak Tuesday at home against No. 4 Michigan State.

Indiana: Will attempt to extend its winning streak Wednesday when Illinois comes to Bloomington.