Gophers keep climbing back in Big Ten race

It's not redemption yet, but the 0-4 start already feels long gone.

The Gophers still haven't reached .500 in Big Ten games, but in a season already full of turning points and meaningful steps, they made another big stride Sunday, winning their first home game of the conference schedule to notch three in a row and crawl back to relevance at 3-4 in the Big Ten.

The Gophers took control from the start in by far their strongest victory of the conference season, and kept it late, muting a surge by Wildcats forward John Shurna, to beat Northwestern 75-52 at Williams Arena.

Freshman guard Joe Coleman once again led the Gophers starters -- who all finished with double-digit points -- with 16 points and five rebounds.

"It was critical. It was important. It was huge," Gophers coach Tubby Smith said. "Because we hadn't played well here, losing to Iowa and Purdue the way we did in front of our fans was very disappointing. We owed it to ourselves, to our fans and to everyone."

The team played as though it took those debts very seriously.

The Gophers jumped out to a 30-9 lead and led 41-24 going into the break on a solid defensive effort that held Northwestern to 30 percent shooting.

"All their starters, they were so well-balanced," Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said. "If it wasn't Coleman, it was [Rodney] Williams."

The Gophers' modest streak has come in a league where it seems good teams regularly get beat, and odds are nightly turned on their heads. But coming into Sunday, the Gophers had played their best basketball on the road.

Since a Jan. 8 loss at home against Purdue, much has changed. The Gophers altered their lineup and look more efficient in the movement-heavy flex offense that they used again on Sunday to confuse Northwestern's defense.

"I think we're all really aggressive going to the rim, and that helps us out, but we also have shooters," Coleman said. "If we drive and kick, it hurts the other team -- they don't know which one to pick, whether they want to stop us on the drive or stop us on the kick."

In the second half Shurna, who finished with a game-high 21 points but on 8-for-21 shooting, started to heat up and helped Northwestern make some modest runs, but with the Gophers shooting 60.9 percent from the field after halftime, and their defense shutting down Drew Crawford -- who finished with only five points -- and the rest of the team, the Wildcats never made a serious push.