Rutgers upsets Minnesota for 1st Big Ten Tournament win in 3 years behind big game from Tariq Francis

CHICAGO — For the first time in three years, Rutgers has survived and advanced.

The Scarlet Knights notched their first postseason win since the 2022-23 season on Wednesday, defeating Minnesota 72-67 in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament at the United Center. They move on to the third round, where they will face six-seed UCLA in the final game on Thursday night.

Rutgers (14-18, 6-14) was led by star guard Tariq Francis, who scored 29 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including an unconscious 5-of-7 on threes, to go with four assists and three rebounds. He got help from center Emmanuel Ogbole, who put together one of his better games with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting, seven rebounds and three blocks, and strong second-half cameos from guards Jamichael Davis (13 points) and Harun Zrno (8 points).

In a game with 12 lead changes and 10 ties, neither team took a lead bigger than five points for the first 34 minutes. Then the Scarlet Knights took control down the stretch, outscoring Minnesota 25-15 in the final 9:49 to snag a postseason win.

The Scarlet Knights rebounded from their poor defensive performance against the Golden Gophers in Minneapolis earlier this season, where they allowed Niko Medved’s team to shoot 60% from deep, with a solid performance on that end. They held Minnesota to 52% shooting and forced 15 turnovers that they converted into 17 points.

The Scarlet Knights were scorching from deep (10-of-23), good on the glass (only conceded five offensive rebounds on 23 missed field goals, 5 second-chance points) and selfless offensively, assisting 22 of their 25 made field goals. They overcame an early barrage of threes from Minnesota, which went 9-of-21 from deep, and a late comeback attempt.

Rutgers went toe-to-toe with Minnesota from the beginning, trading the lead nine times in a back-and-forth first half, and stayed within striking distance throughout the first 10 minutes of the second half. They counteracted a quick bucket from Minnesota out of the break with a 9-2 run to retake the lead. Then the teams traded buckets, exchanging six threes in the span of three minutes.

When Minnesota took a five-point lead with nine minutes to play, Rutgers answered by ramping up the pressure and forcing five turnovers in three minutes, earning extra possessions that fueled a 9-0 run it used to retake a four-point lead with six minutes to play. It would hold onto the advantage from there, pushing it as high as 7 points with three minutes to play.

The Scarlet Knights improve to 9-10 all-time against the Golden Gophers, and now will get a chance to advance to their third-ever Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal and first since the 2021-22 season.

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