The Golden Gophers (4-0) advanced to the second round of the 76 Classic, where they will meet either Portland or UCLA.
Colton Iverson added 13 points and 11 rebounds for Minnesota, which held Butler without a field goal over the final 1:57.
Butler lost for the first time in four games despite a 23-point effort from Matt Howard. He made 15-of-18 free throw attempts.
The Bulldogs, however, shot just 33.3 percent from the field and made 5-of-23 tries from 3-point range.
Copyright 2009 by United Press International.
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