MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota coach Ben Johnson thought slowing down Purdue's 7-4, 300-pound Zach Edey was the toughest task in Thursday's matchup but turns out it was trying to get the Big Ten's worst offense off the ground.
Late in the first half, Gophers fans saw their team with single digits in the scoring column with halftime closing in.
To make matters worse, the Boilermakers then tossed up an alley-oop pass above the box for Edey to slam through the basket while being fouled.
The ultimate intimidation play had Johnson shaking his head when his freshman big man Pharrel Payne walked to the bench with his third foul.
Edey barely played in the second half to finish with 12 points Thursday night, but the Gophers managed to score just 12 points in the first half of a humbling 61-39 loss to No. 3 Purdue at Williams Arena.
The Gophers (7-10, 1-6) shot 21% from the field in the first half and tied the fewest points allowed in a half in Purdue's history. Entering the night, they were last in the Big Ten in scoring but averaged 64 points per game.
Minnesota's top scorers Dawson Garcia and Jamison Battle were scoreless on 0-for-8 shooting combined in the first half. Garcia finished with seven points on 3-for-13 shooting. Meanwhile, Garcia failed to score shooting 0 for 9 from the field in 22 minutes.
Garcia finally got his first basket on a three-point play to open the second half. The 6-11 junior followed it up with back-to-back blocks on one possession for the defensive stop, but that spark would be short lived.
The Boilermakers (18-1, 7-1), who won their fifth straight game, pulled away behind their early defense and outscored Minnesota 28-4 in points in the paint in the first half. Freshman Braden Smith also had nine of his 19 points in the opening period.
On Monday night, the Gophers led Illinois early in the second half before being blitzed in a 78-60 loss at the Barn. Frustration was evident when Johnson noticed his players lacked enough energy to keep the game competitive late.
There were signs of mental fatigue again Thursday when Payne picked up his fourth foul with just under 14 minutes left in the second half. The Gophers were outscored 13-0 during that stretch and trailed 44-17 following Smith's 3-pointer at the 12:55 mark.
Thursday's game was the eighth time in 10 losses this season the Gophers were down at least 18 points in the second half. They also trailed by 19 points vs. DePaul, 22 points vs. UNLV, 20 points at Virginia Tech, 21 points in the first meeting at Purdue, 32 vs. Michigan and 18 vs. Mississippi State.
The Gophers weren't healthy in the rematch against the Boilermakers. Freshman guard Braeden Carrington, who was their top scoring guard off the bench, suffered a stress reaction in his right leg that will sideline him for four weeks.
Battle, who had his second straight game under double figures, was limited physically after hurting his back late in the second half against Illinois.
In the last few minutes, the Gophers didn't hear jeers from the crowd with freshmen Jaden Henley, Joshua Ola-Joseph (team-high 13 points) and Payne continuing to compete until the final buzzer. The momentum from the first Big Ten victory against Ohio State last week seemed long gone, but they still have nearly half the Big Ten schedule remaining to learn and grow.
