Minnesota took a two-point lead going into halftime after a very sloppy first 20 minutes. The Gophers repeated their efforts in the second half, while Ohio State flew right past and took a 70-45 win Tuesday night.

After a hot start from sophomore Jamison Battle, he struggled the rest of the way and finished just 4-13 from the field. He wasn’t alone in the disappointing outing. Minnesota as a team shot 30.8% and made just five of 19 shots from deep.

After that first-half lead, everything went downhill for the Gophers. Ohio State forced eight second-half turnovers that led to 16 points, which was the biggest difference in the two halves.

The Buckeyes were also a lot more careful with the ball, and after eight first-half turnovers, they finished with just 10.

Minnesota got dominated in the paint from the get-go from junior E.J. Liddell who scored a game-high 16 points. As a team, the Buckeyes doubled the Gophers points in the paint 28-14.

Battle opened things up and hit his first two shots from deep to give the Gophers an early lead. Neither team was seeing many shots drop in the front end of the opening half, and senior Payton Willis fell subject to that. He finished the game with just five points on 2-11 shooting.

The Gophers went on a 10-0 run to grab a six-point lead over a five-minute span, but couldn’t grow a bigger lead due to missed opportunities. Willis missed his first five shots of the game, and Minnesota struggled to get balls to drop.

It was a sloppy game from both teams in the first half on both shooting and turnovers. The Buckeyes turned the ball over eight times, and the Gophers turned that into eight points. Ohio State turned five Minnesota turnovers into just two points. Neither team shot over 41% and the Buckeyes went just 1-8 from deep.

The Gophers have a quick turnaround due to a COVID-19 postponement earlier in the season and will be on the road against Penn State on Thursday. Minnesota just beat the Nittany Lions to break a five-game losing streak under a week ago.