Hot-Shooting Minnesota Tops Chippewas, 76-56

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MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota won a classic offense versus defense matchup on Tuesday night with a 76-56 victory over visiting Central Michigan.

The Gophers, who entered the game ranked 21st nationally in field goal percentage at .490, shot an efficient .574 from the floor hitting 27 of their 47 shots.

It was the best an opponent shot the basketball against CMU this season and marked just the second time in nine games that the opposition hit over 40 percent of its field goal attempts against the Chippewas. Coming into the game, CMU ranked 11th nationally in field goal percentage defense, holding its opponents to a .358 clip on the year.

"We ran into a team that is really starting to evolve and overcome the loss of (Trevor) Mbakwe," head coach Ernie Zeigler said. "(Minnesota) really shot the ball well, they were efficient, and we struggled at times to continue to guard when (Minnesota) shared the ball. They had 24 assists."

Mbakwe, a second-team All-Big Ten honoree last season as a junior, suffered a season-ending knee injury in the seventh game of the year against Dayton.

Despite the loss of the Big Ten's leading rebounder last season, Minnesota (11-1) became the first team in the nation to reach 11 wins. CMU dropped its third straight game to fall to 4-5.

The Chippewas started the game strong, bouncing back from a 4-0 deficit to take a five-point lead, 11-6, on a 3-pointer by Austin McBroom. But, that lead would be CMU's last after the Gophers rattled off a 13-0 run while keeping the Chippewas scoreless for more than six minutes.

Minnesota went into the break with an 11-point lead, 34-23.

McBroom's shooting from the arc kept Central in the game as he had nine first-half points on 3-of-3 shooting from the arc. He finished with a career-high 16 points and drained all five of his 3-point attempts.

The Gophers shot a sizzling 64 percent from the floor in the second half and stretched the lead to as many as 21 while holding a double-digit cushion the entire late frame.

Trey Zeigler led CMU with 19 points and four assists while Derek Jackson added 15 points. CMU's guard trio of McBroom, Jackson and Zeigler accounted for 50 of CMU's 56 points as the rest of the team combined to shoot a woeful 2-for-23 from the floor.

Four Minnesota players hit double figures with Julian Welch leading the way with 15 points.

Central finally returns home this Friday to host Illinois-Chicago after 31 days without a game in the friendly confines of McGuirk Arena.

Tipoff against the Flames (3-6, 0-2 Horizon) is set for 7 p.m.

NOTES:

• Minnesota improved to 40-1 in non-conference home games under head coach Tubby Smith.

• The game was televised to a national audience on ESPN.

• Minnesota's bench outscored CMU's, 28-0. Central's reserves are averaging just 5.0 points over the last four games.

• Austin McBroom's 5-for-5 performance from the arc improved his season 3-point percentage to .576 this season. He entered the game ranked second in the MAC at .500.

• Minnesota had 24 assists on 27 field goals.

• CMU fell to 0-3 all-time against Minnesota.

• Ernie Zeigler is now 1-3 against Big 10 opponents. CMU faces Big 10-newcomer Nebraska next Tuesday, Dec. 20.

• Trey Zeigler has led CMU in scoring in four straight games.