Chase Audige scored 24 points and Boo Buie added 21, leading Northwestern to a 81-61 victory against Minnesota on Saturday in Evanston.
The Wildcats’ third straight was their 15th of the season, matching last season’s total, and moved NU (15-5, 6-3) into a tie for second place in the Big Ten with Rutgers.
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Audige shot 9 of 14 with three 3-pointers. Buie went 9 of 20 and had eight assists. Robbie Beran added 14 points.
Jason Battle scored 20 points and Ta’Lon Cooper had 12 to lead the Golden Gophers (7-13, 1-9), who have lost five straight. Minnesota was without leading scorer and rebounder Dawson Garcia for the second straight game. Garcia has a bone bruise in his right foot. Pharrel Payne returned from concussion protocol and started after missing Wednesday’s loss to Indiana.
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Northwestern led 45-28 at halftime after shooting 55%, outscoring the Gophers 14-3 off 11 Minnesota turnovers with Audige leading the way with 15 points.
The Wildcats led by as many as 25 in the second half after an Audige 3-pointer with seven minutes remaining. They finished 31-for-60 (52%) shooting, made 9 of 20 3-point attempts and had just four turnovers to 15 for the Gophers.
Minnesota had a four-point lead six minutes into the game before Northwestern outscored the Gophers 29-7 over the next nine minutes, including eight straight points from Audige.
Northwestern plays at No. 1 Iowa on Tuesday. Minnesota is Ruat Rutgers on Wednesday.
