It took a late 9-2 run for Minnesota to put away a stubborn Arkansas State team in a battle between two of the nation's most-improved programs.

Dupree McBrayer made 6 of 10 shots from the field and led the Gophers with 19 points in an 82-75 victory on Friday night in Minneapolis.

The Gophers saw a 17-point second-half lead shrink to five on a Salif Boudie tip-in with 3:24 to go. But an Akeem Springs 3-pointer and layups by Amir Coffey and Eric Curry stretched Minnesota's lead back to 12.

Arkansas State made 13 of its first 16 shots from the field in the second half and shot better than 60 percent in the final 20 minutes to stay within striking distance.

Minnesota shot 53 percent from the field for the game and made 7 of 14 from beyond the arc. Arkansas State entered as No. 2 in the nation in 3-point defense.

The Red Wolves' Devin Carter led all scorers with 23 points.

Jordan Murphy had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Gophers.

Arkansas State was called for 29 fouls to Minnesota's 18.

The Gophers showed little rust after a nine-day vacation.

In the first half, Minnesota shot 50 percent from the field, including 5 of 8 from behind the 3-point line. The Gophers outscored the Red Wolves 14-6 in the final 5:33 to take a 40-26 lead at the break.

Arkansas State shot just 33 percent from the field in the first half.

Minnesota, which was just 8-23 a year ago, takes a 12-1 record into their Big Ten schedule. The Gophers host Michigan State on Tuesday.

Arkansas State (9-4) needs just two wins to equal last season's win total. Next up for the Red Wolves is a Dec. 31 date with Louisiana-Lafayette, the Sun Belt Conference opener for both schools.