Potter leads No. 6 Wisconsin in rout of No. 21 Minnesota

MADISON,WIS.» Micah Potter had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 6 Wisconsin to a 71-59 victory over No. 21 Minnesota on Thursday.

The Gophers (9-2, 2-2 Big Ten) scored a seasonlow 22 points in the first half with a brutal shooting performance before the Badgers (9-2, 3-1) opened the second half on a 16-5 run. Potter added the exclamation point with a dunk off a pick-and-roll from D’Mitrik Trice that put Wisconsin up 45-27.

Wisconsin pushed the lead to 26 and Minnesota didn’t get the deficit under 15 points until the final minute.

Trice and Aleem Ford added 14 points apiece for the Badgers.

The Gophers missed their first nine 3-point attempts and started the game 3 for 20 from the field. Minnesota, which shoots 31% from 3 on the season, finished just 7 of

31 from behind the arc

(23%). The Gophers shot

31% from the field overall. Gabe Kalscheur led Minnesota with 15 points. Brandon Johnson and Liam Robbins each had 12 points and nine rebounds.

UCLA 72, UTAH 70 » Chris Smith scored 16 points despite a sore knee and four fouls, and UCLA shook off coronavirus-induced rust to hold off Utah 72

70 on Thursday night for the Bruins’ fifth straight home win.

UCLA (6-2, 2-0 Pac-12) hadn’t played since losing to Ohio State on Dec. 19 in Cleveland. The Utes (4

2, 1-1) had been idle since beating Idaho on Dec. 18. Both teams had games postponed due to CO

VID-19.

Jules Bernard and Johnny Juzang added 13 points each, and Tyger Campbell had nine points and 10 assists for the Bruins.

Alfonso Plummer led the Utes with a seasonhigh 22 points, making four 3-pointers. Timmy Allen added 18 points.

The Utes never got off a final shot after Pelle Larsson turned the ball over with 3 seconds to go.

The closing seconds were wild, with UCLA clinging to a 68-66 lead. Campbell’s bad pass landed in Allen’s hands, but Allen lost the ball at the other end and Campbell stole it. Jalen Hill got fouled and made both free throws to keep the Bruins ahead 70-66.