Nebraska's Sam Griesel drove towards the bucket and with 9:31 left drew a foul on Gophers big man Jamison Battle. Minnesota head coach Ben Johnson made the decision with the season on the line to keep Battle in the game despite that being his fourth foul of the night. Thirty seconds later Battle fouled out.
But the gamble didn't cost the Gophers their season. Seeded No. 14 (dead last) in the Big Ten tournament, Minnesota held off No. 11 Nebraska behind Ta'lon Cooper (15 points, 12 assists) and Dawson Garcia (18 points. 13 rebounds).
Nebraska's Keisei Tominaga nearly made a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that would have tied the game but the Gophers survived the Cornhuskers' late rally in Wednesday night's 78-75 win.
With the win the Gophers became the first No. 14 seed to win in the Big Ten men's basketball tournament in five years.
Minnesota advances to play No. 6 Maryland Thursday night in Chicago.
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