How it Happened: Indiana gets blown out by Minnesota 71-48 to resume Big Ten play

In its last game of the 2025 calendar year, Indiana resumed Big Ten play with a 71-48 loss to Minnesota.

This marked the second loss by 20 or more points to a Big Ten opponent, with the Hoosiers doing so in as many games. Indiana didn’t look competitive after the first quarter, as impressive starts by Shay Ciezki and Lenee Beaumont quickly turned into abysmal offense due to a lack of scoring from the supporting cast.

Just four players on the Indiana roster made a basket, with just 15 points coming outside the Hoosiers’ two stars. Indiana shot 15 of 39 as a team, with a 9 of 21 mark from beyond the 3-point line.

Minnesota shot 29 of 71, as it didn’t play well on the offensive side of the ball, but with a clear rebounding advantage at 39-25, coupled with strong defense, this one wasn’t close for the final 20 minutes of action.

The Golden Gophers ran away with the game, as they exposed most, if not all, of Indiana’s problems.

From Assembly Hall, here’s how it happened.

Minnesota holds halftime lead with strong defense

Minnesota held a halftime advantage, not necessarily due to any sort of scoring ability, but because it out-defended Indiana early on, especially in the second quarter.

Indiana got out to a hot start from 3-point range, going 4 of 5 in the first period, but its lack of scoring otherwise came back to bite it. Just four field goals came from inside the arc in the first half, as the Hoosiers went 9 of 21 from the floor with nine turnovers.

Seven of those came in the second quarter, as the Gophers turned them into six points, exactly the point difference between the two teams at the break. Minnesota wasn’t playing great offense, but its defense was doing enough to take a lead into the second half.

Ciezki and Beaumont both played well, totaling 23 of Indiana’s 28 points, but the rest of the team simply couldn’t get it together, despite Minnesota’s subpar start as well.

Minnesota made just 14 of 37 field goals, as Indiana was guarding well but was extremely poor on the glass. The Gophers outrebounded the Hoosiers 21-14 in the first half, with the absence of forward Zania Socka-Nguemen looming large.

When the first 20 minutes were up, both teams had a chance to win, but Minnesota’s edge in forcing turnovers and rebounding the basketball allowed it to develop an edge.

Indiana crumbles offensively in second half

In the first half, Ciezki and Beaumont were the only forms of offense, but in the second half, even they couldn’t seem to score against Minnesota.

The third quarter saw the Hoosiers shoot 2 of 11 and turn the ball over eight times, as the Gophers figured out that only two players could actually score, and it worked wonders for them.

Minnesota had played impressive defense all game long, but it turned it up to another level once it compensated for Ciezki and Beaumont. With double teams coming left and right, it was up to the other Hoosiers to pick up the slack, and they failed miserably.

The fourth quarter wasn’t much better, and at that point, the game was practically over. With an inability to score, there was no chance Indiana was going to be able to keep up with Minnesota, even with the Gophers not having a great game offensively.

Indiana finished 6 for 18 from the field in the second half, with an even worse 12 turnovers. Double the amount of giveaways as made field goals is never a winning recipe, and for the Hoosiers, it was a complete disaster.

With their two guards locked down, Indiana looked lost. It’s been a theme all season long, but a lack of scoring from everyone else resulted in a putrid 20 points after the half in the brutal loss to Minnesota.

Hoosiers’ lack of physicality on full display

In addition to offensive woes, the Hoosiers continued to get out-rebounded and out-defended by Minnesota. They were getting beaten down in the paint, and a lack of physicality was apparent throughout the ballgame.

The Gophers totaled 16 rebounds to Indiana’s 11, as even with the game already decided, Minnesota was able to out-tough IU on the glass. It wasn’t just rebounding, though, as IU was clearly outplayed on the defensive end.

With a starting forward out and a lot of young players, this isn’t necessarily surprising, but it was still disappointing nonetheless. Indiana couldn’t keep up with what Minnesota was doing, as it was clear that the Hoosiers were physically outmatched once the Gophers made adjustments.

The Hoosiers didn’t make the necessary changes, and it resulted in not just a loss, but a bad one. The schedule doesn’t lighten up anytime soon, meaning that if Indiana plays like this again, it might want to get used to 20-point defeats like this one against Minnesota and its Big Ten opener with Illinois.

Physicality was never this team’s strength, but with Minnesota’s applied pressure, the Hoosiers looked extremely poor in this one-sided loss.

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