Garcia scores 20 points, Odukale adds 18 to help Minnesota push past Iowa 72-67

Jan 22, 2026, 12:30 pm

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- — Dawson Garcia scored 20 points, Femi Odukale added 18 and Minnesota held off Iowa for a 72-67 victory on Tuesday night.

Minnesota led by double digits for most of the second half until Owen Freeman scored six points during Iowa's 13-3 run to cut the deficit to 70-67 with 30 seconds left. Garcia missed two free throws on the next possession, but Seydou Traore then missed at the line for Iowa. Frank Mitchell made a pair of free throws to seal it for Minnesota.

Minnesota (10-9, 2-6 Big Ten), which beat then-No. 20 Michigan 84-81 in overtime on Thursday, has won consecutive games since snapping a four-game losing streak.

Payton Sandfort scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Iowa (12-7, 3-5), which has lost three straight. Freeman also had 21 points to go with eight rebounds. Traore finished with 11 points.

Garcia scored seven points in a 14-3 run to open the second half to stretch Minnesota's lead to 45-31 with 14:23 remaining. A pair of Garcia free throws gave the Golden Gophers a 17-point advantage, 63-46, with 6:15 left. It was their largest lead of the game.

Iowa hosts Penn State on Friday.

Minnesota is at home against No. 15 Oregon on Saturday.

---- Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball