Buzzer-beating three-pointer lifts Wisconsin past Gophers 78-75 in men’s basketball

Cade Tyson swished a deep three-pointer to send the old, sweaty Barn into bedlam.

The euphoria lasted only seconds.

Tyson’s heroics got one-upped in a bang-bang finish that sent the Gophers men’s basketball team from elation to heartbreak in a blink.

“Just a gut punch for us,” coach Niko Medved said.

Tyson’s game-tying three-pointer with 4.7 seconds remaining looked like it might force overtime, but John Blackwell raced the ball back downcourt and drained a pull-up three-pointer at the buzzer, giving the Wisconsin Badgers a 78-75 victory Tuesday, January 13.

The game drew an announced crowd of 10,914 to Williams Arena.

“I went to my go-to move,” Blackwell said, “and honestly, it looked good when it came out of my hands.”

Medved noted he would have called a timeout to set his defense, but he had none left. Freshman Kai Shinholster raised both arms to contest the shot, but Blackwell rose up and sank the winner.

“He made a tough shot,” Gophers forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson said. “There’s nothing else we could have done in that situation.”

The Gophers (10-7, 3-3 Big Ten) have now lost 10 consecutive meetings against their border rivals, dating to February 2020.

The Gophers have followed a five-game winning streak with a one-point loss to USC in overtime and a crushing loss to their rivals.

“They came in ready to fight,” Medved said. “I really hurt for them. But it’s the way it goes. It’s big boy basketball. It’s unforgiving.”

Former Gophers guard Braeden Carrington put on a dazzling shooting display, finishing with 21 points on seven three-pointers.

The former Park Center standout and Minnesota Mr. Basketball winner heard loud boos every time he touched the ball in the first half. By the second half, those boos had turned to groans.

Carrington made five three-pointers in the half to help the Badgers erase an 11-point deficit. He made four consecutive threes to start the half, celebrating demonstratively after several of them.

“I’ve probably never been so anxious to play a game,” Carrington said. “This one had me up all night.”

Carrington said he expected to hear boos in his return. He averaged only 5.2 points in 51 games in two seasons with the Gophers before transferring to Tulsa.

Medved noted the scouting report highlighted Carrington’s ability as an outside shooter. A few of his makes came on wide-open looks.

“You’ve got to give him a lot of credit for making the shots,” Medved said, “but you can’t let that guy get 12 threes off. You’re asking for trouble.”

Defensive breakdowns were the primary culprit for letting the game slip away. Medved made a strategic adjustment late in the first half by switching to zone, which disrupted the entire Badgers offense. Wisconsin coach Greg Gard countered by adjusting his zone offense at halftime, leading to more flow and better shots.

“Little bit of a chess match,” Medved said.

Medved pointed to positives with his own offense. The Gophers outscored the Badgers 40-20 in the paint, shot 52% from the field and committed only five turnovers compared to 20 assists.

Especially on Blackwell, who scored a game-high 27 points in a variety of ways.

“Blackwell is an all-Big Ten player for a reason,” Medved said.

Lakeville North’s Nolan Winter recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Badgers (12-5, 4-2).

Crocker-Johnson led the Gophers with 20 points, while Langston Reynolds recorded his own double-double (12 points, 10 assists).

BOXSCORE: Wisconsin 78, Gophers 75

“It was a high-level college basketball game,” Medved said. “Lot of shot making on both sides, teams going back and forth, two rivals going at it, a packed arena, the fans into it. Man, what more can you ask for — other than coming out with a win?”