Head coach Niko Medved had suspicion the Gophers men’s basketball team was going to get Purdue’s best after the former top-ranked Boilermakers suffered an uncharacteristic loss to Iowa State on Saturday.

“I thought Iowa State played terrific, and if Purdue was being honest, they missed a lot of plays that they normally make,” Medved told the Pioneer Press on Tuesday. “I’m fairly confident we will see and ‘A’ effort from Purdue on Wednesday.”

That top letter grade expressed itself in the second half as No. 6 Purdue used a 21-0 win to cruise to a 85-57 win over Minnesota at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.

Minnesota (5-5, 1-1 Big Ten) had a strong close to the first half — a 17-5 run to trail 35-32 at the break — to tease a potential upset after knocking off No. 22 Indiana at Williams Arena last Wednesday.

The Boilermakers (9-1, 2-0 Big Ten) showed why they were picked to win the Big Ten and were ranked No. 1 until the 81-58 loss to now-No. 4 Iowa State at home last weekend.

“Purdue was preseason No. 1 in the country and playing like the No. 1 team in the country for a reason: They’ve got an elite culture, an elite coach, veteran players who have played together and knows what it’s like, got a great system,” Medved said. “They’ve got all the pieces to play at the highest level.”

The Boilermakers emphasis in the second half was getting the ball in the paint and exploiting their size advantage. They had 40-24 advantage in points in the paint

The Gophers continue to be shorthanded without two starters — point guard Chansey Willis Jr. (foot) and center Robert Vaihola (knee) — and two backups BJ Omot (leg) and Chance Stephens (illness).

Similar to the Indiana game, Minnesota continued to deal with extensive foul trouble. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, Isaac Asuma, and Grayson Grove each had four fouls with eight minutes left in the game.

Crocker-Johnson battled early foul trouble but paced Minnesota with 11 points, including three treys, in the first half. He finished with 13.

Purdue’s quality was on display in the first half, too, and the Gophers were down 27-15 with six minutes to go. But Minnesota started to hit shots and ended the half with a big run to make it a one-possession game at the break.

Related Articles

Gophers basketball: That time Niko Medved and Gene Keady played H-O-R-S-E

Barnstorming: Gophers upset No. 22 Indiana 73-64 in Big Ten opener

Men’s basketball: With Chansey Willis Jr. out for season, what does Gophers rotation look like now?

Men’s basketball: Big Ten slate looks more daunting with Gophers struggling in nonconference play

Men’s basketball: Gophers fall to Stanford