Williams Arena was humming on Saturday afternoon, and the Gophers men’s basketball team was the surprising reason why. That environment would have been a fictitious idea two weeks ago. Coming off two straight wins in the past 10 days, Minnesota fans seized the opportunity for something to cheer about, and the U building a 18-point first-half lead on 15th-ranked Oregon added to the buzz. The Ducks came back, but the Barn’s best crowd of the season was treated to a thrilling 77-69 win. Coupled with an upset of No. 20 Michigan on Jan. 16, the U has two straight Top 25 wins, and with a victory at Iowa — its first since 2015 — they have won three in a row. That statement didn’t seem plausible two weeks ago. After the final whistle, students rushed the court. “It says (attendance of 11,062 on the stat sheet), but it felt like 20,000 with the way they were loud and riled up,” said Parker Fox. “This is what we want. I think I told Mike (Mitchell) as we were running up to the court. ‘This is why we came back’ as seniors. This is the energy. This is the atmosphere.” The Gophers (11-9, 3-6 Big Ten) handed the Ducks (16-4, 5-4) their first road loss in conference play after a 4-0 start. Dawson Garcia poured in 31 points and added an exclamation point with a dunk in the final seconds, adding to his Big Ten-best 13th game with more than 20 points this season. Fox produced a double-double — 13 points and 11 rebounds — but fouled out with 1:33 remaining in the game. “I was talking to Dawson before the game: ‘There is no way we are losing this game’ because we just have way too much momentum, way too much positive stuff going on right now,” Fox said. “The way practices were — how physical and the cutting, the energy and the atmosphere in our locker room, on the practice (court) and in the training room. Everything was just right.” The Gophers won in the paint. Center Nathan Bittle, who was Oregon’s leading scorer at 13.6 points per game, did not score Saturday. Minnesota also outrebounded Oregon 35-26, including 10-4 on the offensive glass. The U had 11 second-chance points to Oregon’s zero. “That is what we have made our identity,” Garcia said. “We are just a tough, gritty team. When we bring that consistently, we feel like we are going to be in every single game and have a chance to win every single game.” The Gophers’ scorching shooting start built a 26-8 lead after the first eight minutes. Oregon chipped away at the lead, including a 9-0 run, but Minnesota weathered it and never trailed in the first half. Both teams shot over 50% from the field and from 3-point range in the first half. But Minnesota held Oregon to 36% shooting in the second half. The U was switching defenders on ball screens to try to take away guard Jackson Shelstad and Bittle. “That was the key,” Gophers coach Ben Johnson said. “I was so paranoid about just about their ability offensively. They have so many good pieces. Shelstad is a really good point guard. We wanted to not have two on the ball, so switch on ball screens with Bittle. Take away Bittle’s ability to pick and pop. Take away the 3. Kind of corral Shelstad.” Minnesota will face another Top 25 team on the road at No. 8 Michigan State (17-2, 8-0) on Tuesday night. The Spartans remained the only undefeated team in the conference with a 81-74 win over Rutgers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. After Minnesota’s 90-72 loss to the Spartans in the Big Ten opener on Dec. 4, the U will again be an underdog in East Lansing. But this isn’t the same team it was two weeks ago, much less two months ago. Related Articles College Sports | Bigger contributions from Gophers men’s basketball transfers propel two recent wins College Sports | Gophers men’s basketball hold off Iowa rally for second straight win College Sports | Men’s basketball: With health and a Top 25 win, now is time for Gophers to go ‘full blast’ College Sports | Dawson Garcia’s overtime buzzer-beater sends Gophers to win over ranked Michigan College Sports | Gophers can’t close out Maryland in a 77-71 loss