MINNEAPOLIS—By the time Austin Hollins swished his fifth 3-pointer in a span of 3 1/2 minutes, that sluggish start by Minnesota was long forgotten.The ninth-ranked Gophers smothered Northwestern with their usual relentless defense and ran away with the game once they found their shot.Hollins scored 17 of his 19 points during Minnesota’s big second-half surge and the Gophers won 69-51 on Sunday night, picking up more momentum in their long quest to join the Big Ten’s elite under coach Tubby Smith.

“This was a good test for us. There are going to be games like that when we’re going to struggle, and fighting through it shows what kind of a team we are,” said Hollins, who established his career high in 3-pointers.

Hollins powered a 26-7 run over an 8-minute stretch that gave the Gophers, who had only 17 points in the first half, a 45-25 lead. Minnesota (14-1, 2-0) has won 10 in a row, the program’s longest winning streak since it opened the 2008-09 season with 12 straight victories.

“That’s the beauty about this team. Any game, somebody can step up big,” said Trevor Mbakwe, who had four points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. “We needed that from Austin. Offensively it was a struggle. It was ugly.”

Dave Sobolewski had 10 points, five assists and four steals for the Wildcats (9-6, 0-2), who were outrebounded 47-20, the fewest rebounds by a Gophers opponent all season. Reggie Hearn returned for Northwestern after missing two games because of a sprained left ankle, finishing with 11 points.But the Wildcats, missing star Drew Crawford because of season-ending shoulder surgery, couldn’t keep up down the stretch.

“They are a good team. That’s why they are top 10 in the nation,” Sobolewski said. “They’ve got a lot of weapons. I think for the first … 25 minutes we did a great job on defense. Then kind of all hell broke loose.”

Hollins hit his first four 3-pointers from almost exactly the same spot on the left wing. Then he moved to the right corner and swished one from there, too, drawing a chant of his name from the impressed crowd.

“I was definitely starting to feel it, and it just kept on falling so if I was open I was going to let it fly,” he said. “I was a little shocked how open I was on the fifth one, so I couldn’t pass that up.”

Northwestern hasn’t won at Minnesota since Smith took over for the 2007-08 season.