Neither before nor after Jan. 3 did Ohio State suffer a loss by as many points as the 77-60 defeat at the hands of Minnesota. Only once in the other 25 games of the regular season – against Iowa on Feb. 28 – did the Buckeyes even lose by more than seven points.
Maybe it was the magic inside Williams Arena that aided Richard Pitino’s bunch to beat Iowa, Michigan, Purdue and Michigan State at home while losing all 10 games away from home. Whatever the reason, the Golden Gophers got the job done in blowout fashion that day in Minneapolis.