Bobby Durkin drills wild buzzer-beater to lift Minnesota past Cincinnati, remain undefeated

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Bobby Durkin silenced Fifth Third Arena on Monday night.

Durkin drilled the first great buzzer-beater of the 2026-27 college basketball season on Monday, lifting Minnesota to a wild 63-61 win over Cincinnati. With the Gophers down by a single point in the final seconds, Durkin caught a perfect pass from Isaac Asuma, dribbled once and fired. 

That sparked a huge celebration from the Minnesota bench, while Cincinnati fans could only look on in disbelief.

The field goal was only the second that Durkin had made all night. He finished with five points and shot just 1-of-6 from the 3-point line. Durkin averaged 10.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game last season, his first with the Gophers after spending two seasons at Davidson. 

Minnesota went just 15-18 last season, the first under head coach Niko Medved. The program hasn’t been to the NCAA tournament since 2019 when Richard Pitino was in charge, and they’ve only had a single winning season since then. 

While they still have a long way to go, the Gophers are now a perfect 3-0 on the season with a key early win under their belt. And that’s all thanks to Durkin.

This post will be updated with more information shortly.