Half-time: Minnesota’s seniors score 25, lead 34-12

Tubby Smith elected to start all four seniors on Saturday, and the quartet needed little time to get the Barn rocking.

Minnesota’s four seniors combined for 25 of Minnesota’s 34 first half points to give the Gophers a big advantage over Penn State, 34-12.

Twelve points is the lowest scoring mark for a Minnesota opponent this season.  Northwestern scored 14 points at Williams Arena in the first half in early January.

Trevor Mbakwe, Rodney Williams, and Julian Welch scored seven points each in the opening half, while Ingram notched four points. Mbakwe also added seven rebounds.

Smith was impressed with his seniors on Saturday.  He left them in the game for the first seven minutes of the game.

Minnesota shot over 52 percent in the first half.

The Nittany Lions struggled mightily in the opening half.  Penn State missed a bevy of shots and did not get on the scoreboard until D.J. Newbill hit a jumper with 8:42 remaining in the half.  He missed his first five shots prior.

With the deficit growing for the Nittany Lions, head coach Pat Chambers went to a trap zone defense midway through the half.  The Gophers adjusted and began to make three-pointers, especially from its bench.

Andre Hollins came off the bench for the first time all season and notched six points of his own.  Maverick Ahanmisi added three points.

Minnesota dominated the rebounding battle, 19-9.