Michigan Basketball Instant Recap: Minnesota Beats U-M In Overtime
Michigan got good looks early at Minnesota, but it took the Wolverines a while to heat up. They missed their first three triples, all wide open, and didn't heat up until the second half of an eventual 83-78 loss.
The Golden Gophers struggled to shoot the ball, as well. They made only two of their first seven. Redshirt junior guard Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman finally opened the scoring minutes in with a finish in transition following a Walton steal, and it was 5-4 at the first TV timeout on a fade-away jumper by redshirt sophomore D.J. Wilson.
The Golden Gophers got a number of good looks inside, including some put-backs, to take a 7-5 lead. Reggie Lynch scored seven early points for the Golden Gophers on the way to a 7-0 run and 11-5 lead. U-M, meanwhile, missed its first six three-pointers.
The Wolverines finally heated up. Sophomore Moritz Wagner hit back-to-back triples to give the Wolverines a 13-12 lead. Redshirt junior Duncan Robinson’s dish to Wilson for a dunk made it 15-12 Wolverines. U-M was only shooting 35.7 percent at that point, but the Golden Gophers were only 5-for-16 for 31.3.
Minnesota got the lead back with a Dupree McBrayer three at 8:00, making it 17-15.
The two teams continued to struggle to shoot the ball, but Walton finally got going. He tied it with a long triple at 4:00, making it 21-all. They started trading buckets, but neither team opened more than a three-point lead. The Wolverines picked up foul after foul, 10 total in the half, but Minnesota only made 5-of-12 free throws.
The half ended 29-27 Golden Gophers.
Wagner notched seven points, Wilson six for the Wolverines, who shot 10-for-25 (40 percent) in the stanza. Minnesota was only 11-for-29 from the floor.
SECOND HALF
Lynch scored inside to open the scoring, and the Gophers took a five-point lead before Abdur-Rahkman drove and finished to make it 32-29. Both Lynch and Wagner picked up their third fouls in the first four minutes.
The Wolverines took a 35-34 lead on four straight, including a drive and finish by senior Zak Irvin.
Walton’s second triple made it 38-36 at the first TV timeout, but back-to-back triples gave the Golden Gophers a three-point lead. Michigan scored four straight to take the lead back at 12:15, and got a huge triple in transition from Irvin to take its biggest lead, 47-43, at 11:44.
The Wolverines were 9-for-13 in the second half at that point and on a 7-0 run, but the Golden Gophers scored the next four to tie it up. Minnesota went to the bonus at 9:15, but Lynch had also just left the game with his fourth foul.
The Gophers got another break when Robinson blocked a three-point shot, only to be whistled for a foul. Minnesota’s Akeem Springs made two out of three to make it 51-48.
U-M struggled from the line, however, including Walton. He went 0-for-4 from the line, including missing the front end of a one-and-one. Irvin’s 1-for-2 made it a 56-55 game and put U-M at 4-for-9 in the second half.
Another phantom foul on an apparent turnover at 4:30 led to two Minnesota free throws and a three-point lead.
Yet another questionable blocking call gave Minnesota two more free throws and Michigan a bench technical foul, to boot. The Gophers opened it to 64-57 before Walton hit a three from the corner to cut the lead to four.
A four-point play made it eight, but steals and finishes by Walton and Wagner cut it to four again with 1:30 remaining before Minnesota answered again.
It still wasn’t over. Walton drove and finished, and-one, and completed the three-point play to make it 70-67 at 1:04. Walton’s triple missed, but a tie-up gave the ball back to U-M and Wilson scored inside to cut it to one at 12.8.
It appeared over after two McBrayer free throws, but Wilson's 30-foot triple with 1.8 seconds remaining sent it to overtime.
OVERTIME
Minnesota opened the scoring, but Abdur-Rahkman's three at 3:15 gave the Wolverines a one-point lead. But Abdur-Rahkman missed two free throws after a Minnesota follow-up dunk, and Wagner fouled out with a reach on the next possession.
Irvin missed a pair of triples in the last few minutes, and Minnesota had the ball and a three-point lead with 40 seconds remaining. Irvin had a rebound go off his hand, and Michigan was forced to foul. The Golden Gophers made one of two.
Wilson answered again, hitting a triple from the top with 10.2 seconds remaining to cut it to 79-78. Two Amir Coffey free throws pushed it back to three, but Walton's triple rimmed in and out and the Golden Gophers iced it with two free throws.
Wilson and Walton scored 16 each, Wagner 15 and Abdur-Rahkman 14 in the loss. U-M made only nine of 18 free throws to Minnesota's 28 of 41.
