Game thread: No. 5 Iowa 75, Minnesota 71

A live ticker of updates from the Iowa-Minnesota men's basketball game Sunday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Refresh the page throughout the game for extended updates and highlights below.

Postgame Reading

● Uthoff, Jok guide Hawkeyes past Gophers

● Hlas: For a change, winning wasn't pretty for Hawkeyes

● Iowa avoids similar fate as Michigan, Wisconsin in previous Big Ten shockers

Final - Iowa 75, Minnesota 71

Not exactly the way Iowa fans thought it would go down, but the Hawkeyes enter the week alone in first in the Big Ten regardless.

Iowa (20-5, 11-2) was a 21 1/2 point favorite, but never could pull away from the pesky Gophers (6-19, 0-13), leading by as much as 10 in the second half.

Peter Jok (27) and Jarrod Uthoff (24) combined for 51 points for the Hawkeyes, who never trailed after closing the first half on a 12-2 run. Uthoff also had 15 rebounds and six blocked shots.

Uthoff with the first 20/15 game in Big Ten play by a Hawkeye since Jared Reiner vs Indiana in 2002-03.February 15, 2016

Uthoff with the first 20/15 game in Big Ten play by a Hawkeye since Jared Reiner vs Indiana in 2002-03.

— Matt Benson (@mbenson6)

Minnesota got as close as two (66-64) with 2:58 left before the Hawkeyes answered with six of the next eight points in 90 seconds to effectively close things out.

Iowa fouls then helped Minnesota get within three, and Fran McCaffery wasn't exactly pleased:

3:16 2nd - Iowa 66, Minnesota 62

We could have an exciting finish here as Minnesota, in search of its first Big Ten win, simply won't go away.

Iowa has been sluggish defensively and hasn't gotten much offensive production outside its big two (Jok, 23; Uthoff, 20).

Three Gophers are in double figures, led by Dupree McBrayer and Nate Mason with 12 apiece.

Foul trouble could plague Minnesota as Bakary Konate, Jordan Murphy and Ahmad Gilbert each have four fouls.

The Gophers have piled up 23 total personal fouls and the Hawkeyes have made 17 of 22 free throws.

7:44 2nd - Iowa 59, Minnesota 54

This game hasn't exactly been the most beautiful iteration of the sport, but hey, it could be worse...

Both Iowa (5-of-16) and Minnesota (4-of-15) outshooting West All-Stars (1-of-12) from 3-point range so far. But East is 7-of-16.February 15, 2016

Both Iowa (5-of-16) and Minnesota (4-of-15) outshooting West All-Stars (1-of-12) from 3-point range so far. But East is 7-of-16.

— Mike Hlas (@Hlas)

You just keep expecting the fifth-ranked Hawkeyes to pull away at some point, but credit the Gophers for hanging in there.

Minnesota is 0-12 in the Big Ten, but six of the last seven losses were by single digits.

Jarrod Uthoff is up to 17 points and 11 boards for the Hawkeyes.

11:42 2nd - Iowa 49, Minnesota 43

The Hawkeyes have missed their last eight shots and haven't scored in 3:02.

Minnesota is shooting 54.5 percent in the second half, but has two turnovers and has allowed six offensive rebounds.

Two of those came via Nicholas Baer on the same possession. That kind of energy is big for Iowa's bench, which significantly under-performed Thursday at Indiana and in the first half tonight.

Peter Jok leads all scorers with 23 points. Jarrod Uthoff has 13. For Minnesota, Jordan Murphy leads the way with nine, but he has yet to score in the second half.

15:35 2nd - Iowa 42, Minnesota 37

Peter Jok is Iowa's offense. He has the first eight of the half for the Hawkeyes and 20 total on 6-for-8 shooting.

Half - Iowa 34, Minnesota 28

And there's Jarrod Uthoff. Nine straight Iowa points from the Big Ten player of the year candidate has Carver-Hawkeye Arena feeling good again.

Uthoff's first basket -- he missed his first seven shots -- gave Iowa the lead back, and he followed with another drive and finger roll to put the Hawkeyes up three.

On Minnesota's next possession, Uthoff blocked two shots, then added a 3-pointer from NBA range a minute later.

Uthoff capped a 12-2 Hawkeyes run to close the half with another bucket in the lane in the closing seconds.

Peter Jok leads Iowa, which shot 40 percent, with 12 points.

Minnesota finished the half 1 for its last 13 from the field, shooting 29 percent overall. Jordan Murphy leads the Gophers with nine points.

3:28 1st - Minnesota 26, Iowa 25

Dom Uhl's swat and coast-to-coast bucket -- Iowa's first bench points since last Sunday against Illinois -- seemed to get the Hawkeyes and the Carver crowd going.

Minnesota called timeout and scored the next four points.

Jarrod Uthoff had a couple nice drives, but was unable to convert. He's now 0-for-7, still without a point.

Peter Jok is single handedly keeping Iowa in it with 12 points. His second 3 brought Iowa within one prior to the last media timeout of the half.

7:58 1st - Minnesota 18, Iowa 16

Jarrod Uthoff is 0-for-5 and Iowa as a whole is shooting 29.4 percent as it finds itself trailing Minnesota at the under-8 first-half media timeout.

Peter Jok has been the lone bright spot, with seven points.

Minnesota's bench has outscored Iowa's 8-0 after Indiana held a 28-0 advantage in that category Wednesday.

The Gophers have a 14-8 edge on the boards.

Minnesota leads Iowa 18-16, 7:58 left 1H. I DVR'd the Walking Dead for some reason but now I'm stuck watching the zombies in person.February 15, 2016

Minnesota leads Iowa 18-16, 7:58 left 1H. I DVR'd the Walking Dead for some reason but now I'm stuck watching the zombies in person.

— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman)

11:02 1st - Iowa 14, Minnesota 12

Ahmad Gilbert gave Minnesota its first lead with a 3 out of the break, but Anthony Clemmons righted the ship with six straight points for Iowa.

The Gophers prevented an extended run, finding an open baseline lob for the second time in the first eight minutes. This time it resulted in an alley-oop from Nate Mason to Jordan Murphy.

Iowa staying in the zone defensively, burned for a lob dunk from Mason to Murphy. Fran screams "wake up" to Uthoff on the bench.February 15, 2016

Iowa staying in the zone defensively, burned for a lob dunk from Mason to Murphy. Fran screams "wake up" to Uthoff on the bench.

— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman)

Murphy will have a chance to tie the game at the free-throw line after the media timeout.

15:43 1st - Iowa 8, Minnesota 7

Peter Jok scored Iowa's first five points -- including a pair of free throws five seconds into the game -- and Mike Gesell knocked down a trey to account for the Hawkeyes' early lead.

This one isn't quite at an NBA All-Star game level of play so far. Minnesota has turned it over thrice and Iowa started 1-for-6 before Gesell's 3.

Energy level so far for this game: yawn-worthy. Iowa up 8-7, 15:43 left, 1HFebruary 15, 2016

Energy level so far for this game: yawn-worthy. Iowa up 8-7, 15:43 left, 1H

— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman)

Preview

Matchup: Minnesota (6-18, 0-12) @ No. 5 Iowa (19-5, 10-2)

Time: 6:30 p.m.

TV: BTN (Online: BTN2Go)

Fascinating look at Jarrod Uthoff on NEW February 14, 2016

Fascinating look at Jarrod Uthoff on NEW #BTNJourney TONIGHT 930p ET. https://t.co/DrR4ZQOlRB @IowaHoops @theiowahawkeyes @iowaonbtn

— The Journey (@BTNJourney)

Pregame Reading: Iowa-Minnesota breakdown

Hawkeyes were aggravated by lackluster start at Indiana

Maryland's loss to Wisconsin on Saturday and Michigan State's victory over Indiana earlier Sunday means the Hawkeyes can enter the week alone in first in the Big Ten by keeping the Golden Gophers winless in conference play.