Gophers run out of Mackey Arena in 84-60 loss to Purdue
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. --Dakota Mathias matched his career high with 25 points and left to a standing ovation in his final home game as No. 9 Purdue blew out Minnesota 84-60 on Sunday.
Carsen Edwards had 18 points for the Boilermakers (26-5, 15-3 Big Ten), who won their third straight after a three-game skid.
Minnesota (15-16, 4-14) was led by Nate Mason with 18 points and Jordan Murphy who had 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Golden Gophers have lost 10 of their last 11.
For Mathias and his teammates, it was almost a perfect ending to one of the best seasons in school history. The one glaring omission: no championship celebration.
Their slim hopes slipped away when No. 2 Michigan State beat Wisconsin earlier in the day.
Otherwise, there was little to complain about.
Mathias made a career high seven 3s, five in the second half when the Golden Gophers quickly fell out of contention.
After taking a 37-29 halftime lead , the Boilermakers opened the second half on a 24-7 run that included six 3s -- four from Mathias. When it ended, Purdue led 61-36 with 13:25 to go and injury-plagued Minnesota never got close again.
Purdue's 26 regular-season wins are tied for second most in school history, one short of the record posted by the 1987-88 team.
The Boilermakers' senior class became the fourth group to earn 100 career wins, and the 62nd home win of their career broke another school record. The seniors from the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons each won 61 games at Mackey Arena.
Murphy extended his own school record for double-doubles to 24, the most in the nation.
BIG PICTURE
Minnesota: A miserable conference season ended with a thud. All the short-handed Golden Gophers can do now is hope to regroup for the conference tournament and get enough wins to earn a postseason bid.
Purdue: After winning their first 13 league games, the Boilermakers wound up finishing tied for second. But they have regained some momentum heading into postseason play, and getting Vincent Edwards back from an injured ankle could help greatly.
UP NEXT
Minnesota: Will make its third trip of the season to New York when it opens Big Ten Tournament play against a to-be-determined opponent Wednesday.
Purdue: Gets an extended break as it waits to see who it plays Friday in New York.
