Coleman Leads No. 21 Minnesota Over FSU 77-68

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — After a week on the road, Minnesota coach Tubby Smith is happy to be finally headed home — especially with another win.

The 21st-ranked Gophers were playing their fourth game in six days, but showed no signs of being the least bit weary. They bolted to an early double-digit lead that they held for most of the game on the way to a 77-68 win over defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion Florida State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

Minnesota jumped to a 7-0 lead and built its biggest lead in the half at 35-20 on Austin Hollins’ 3-pointer with 2:56 left in the half. Andre Hollins’ 3 made it 30-19 with 6:22 remaining and the Gophers held a double-digit lead for most of the game.

Minnesota (7-1) led 38-25 at halftime and by as many as 21 points in the second half. The Gophers’ lone loss was to No. 2 Duke in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Joe Coleman scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half and Rodney Williams added 14 for Minnesota. A 6-foot-4 sophomore guard, Coleman made 8 of 13 field goals in the game and his 12 second-half points helped the Gophers build a 58-37 lead midway through the half.

Austin Hollins added 13 points and Andre Hollins had 12 for the Gophers, who never trailed. Elliott Eliason had 10 rebounds. Austin Hollins also kept Florida State’s Michael Snaer in check.

Reserve Terrance Shannon led Florida State (4-2) with 14 points and 11 rebounds while Snaer finished with 12 points on 3-of-9 shooting. Terry Whisnant and Okaro White both had 10 points for the Seminoles.

Minnesota shot 47.3 percent in the first half while Florida State finished with a chilly 37.9 percent.

Florida State, which won its first ACC title last season, has lost five straight games in the annual ACC-Big Ten challenge dating to a 75-61 victory over the Gophers in Smith’s first season at Minnesota in 2007.

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