MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- This was not the right night for Minnesota to play Big Ten leader Ohio State.
Especially if the Gophers were going to let the sixth-ranked Buckeyes go on a 20-0 run during the first half.
William Buford scored 24 points and Jared Sullinger backed him up inside with 23 points to guide Ohio State to a 78-68 victory Tuesday over Minnesota.
Buford also had eight rebounds and five assists for the Buckeyes (22-4, 10-3), who snapped back after a humbling home loss to Michigan State. With Sullinger drawing double and triple teams in the post, Buford hit the kick-out jump shots on the wing.
Just like in last week's overtime loss to Wisconsin and other conference games before that, an early double-digit deficit overshadowed a late rally.
"I think all the losses feel the same. If you're not winning you're never happy," said Rodney Williams, who had 21 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
The Buckeyes pulled away with 20 straight points over 7-plus minutes of the first half and eventually built a 21-point lead. Minnesota overcame the daze and used a 12-1 spurt to sneak back before the half. The Gophers (17-9, 5-8) got within eight points late, but the damage was already done. They fell to 10th place in the conference race.
"I think it's more frustrating because we know how good we are but we don't always play up to par," Williams said.
Julian Welch had 11 points, nine assists and five rebounds, and Oto Osieneks added 10 points and four rebounds off the bench.
Gophers coach Tubby Smith has long used the mass substitution to keep players fresh and establish chemistry among the backups, but that scripted move sure backfired against the athletic, relentless and talent-rich Buckeyes. Giving up 20 straight points will demoralize many teams, particularly against a Top 10 opponent like Ohio State, and that's what happened to the Gophers after a strong start forged a 12-all tie.
By the time four of their five starters were back in the game, the score was already 23-12 and the energy was sucked out of the building. Big Ten steals leader Aaron Craft had three takeaways and five assists in just 12 minutes, and the lead was up to 37-16 near the 3 minute mark.
The Gophers showed some life after that, cutting the lead to 38-28 and reviving the Williams Arena noise level. But Buford knocked down a bad-angle baseline jumper from almost behind the backboard right before the break to push the lead back to 12.
Sullinger is hard for anyone to handle. The 6-foot-9, 265-pound sophomore, who entered the week third in the Big Ten in scoring and second in rebounding, averaged 16.5 points and 12.5 rebounds over two games against the Gophers as a freshman last season -- and that was when they had Trevor Mbakwe.
Minnesota's best remedy against Sullinger's brawn and finishing touch was sitting on the bench, surgically repaired right knee not close to being ready for action again. Mbakwe, the conference's leading rebounder last season, tore his anterior cruciate ligament on Nov. 27.
Smith even joked the day before this game, when asked how the Gophers will guard Sullinger, he was going to give Sampson a mask of Mbakwe's face for him to wear. But while Minnesota made Sullinger work for most of what he got, they just couldn't keep up.
Andre Hollins, coming off a career-high 20-point game in an overtime loss to Wisconsin on Thursday, moved into the starting lineup at shooting guard for the Gophers instead of fellow freshman Joe Coleman, who didn't score a single point in any of the three previous games. Hollins was flustered at times by Craft, but he finished with eight points despite four turnovers.
"I thought he did pretty good to start the game. He picked us up because we did come out slow," Welch said.
Hollins drew a roar from the crowd early in the second half when, with nobody open on an inbounds play from the baseline, chucked the ball straight at Sullinger's midsection, causing the big guy to tumble backward and giving the Gophers a fresh try.
A fresh try is what they'll need for the season this Saturday at Northwestern. Smith said he was "really disappointed" by the way his backups played. He criticized them for pressing and failing to trust in the principles they're taught. Instead, they showed too much panic and too many forced shots.
"I need you to play better defense, and I need you to rebound and get some stops and that's what we didn't do," Smith said.
