No. 20 Michigan men’s basketball (13-4) took its first loss in the Big Ten (5-1) Thursday night against Minnesota as it lost 84-81. The Golden Gophers (9-9, 1-6 Big Ten) pushed the game to overtime and won with a buzzer beating three pointer from senior forward Dawson Garcia. The Wolverines couldn’t have done much more on the final possession; Garcia released his shot just a few feet away from half court.
Michigan men’s basketball falls to last-place Minnesota in overtime
Minnesota matched Michigan’s physicality, and it didn’t bode well for the maize and blue. Wolverines center Vlad Goldin was coming off a week in which he was voted Big Ten co-player of the week, but he turned in his worst shooting performance of the season Thursday (5-of-15, 33%). With that being said, the seven footer was Michigan’s most effective scorer in overtime and led his team with five points.
Michigan shot 42 percent from the field in the first half, and from behind the arc it shot 54 percent. Forward Will Tschetter made 3-of-4 threes and tied for a team-high of 11 first half points. The Wolverines went into the lockers up 40-31.
Michigan held a lead for nearly 20 straight minutes of game time until Minnesota tied it at 51 at the 10:17 mark of the second half. Garcia and senior guard Lu’Cye Patterson were unstoppable down the stretch for the Golden Gophers. From the six minute mark of the second half and beyond, Garcia and Patterson combined for 23 of Minnesota’s 28 points to close the game out.
Garcia finished with game-highs of 27 points and 12 rebounds to go with four assists, three steals and two blocks. Patterson added 22 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Michigan forward Danny Wolf led his team with 23 points, 20 of which came after halftime. Tschetter finished with 15 points off the bench to tie the season-high he set in the season opener against Cleveland State.
The Wolverines don’t have much time to shake off the loss, as they host Northwestern on Jan. 19 at 2 p.m.
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