Michigan basketball was alternating between two wins and two losses for the bulk of the schedule, but that came to a crashing halt at Maryland on Thursday night. The Wolverines had a chance to get back on the right side of things when Minnesota came to town.
The Wolverines won by 15 in Minneapolis on Dec. 8, and the 10-8 maize and blue team never needed a 7-10 Gopher squad to come to town more.
However, at least at the outset, things didn’t exactly go Michigan’s way. Would the Wolverines be able to weather the early storm?
It took awhile, but after being down 10, the Wolverines went on an 8-0 scoring run to cut the deficit to two, thanks to the defense clamping down and forcing Minnesota on a six-plus minute scoring drought. The maize and blue ended up tying the score for the first time with just 40 seconds left in the first half.
In the second half, the Wolverines were a bit smarter, and took their first lead just a minute and a half in, thanks to Hunter Dickinson and an 8-0 run. Michigan had a chance to take a solid lead, but a missed breakaway layup by Joey Baker resulted in a 3-pointer on the other end. It would continue to be a back-and-forth affair for the two teams.
The Wolverines finally pulled away late, and though Minnesota cut back into the lead, the maize and blue won 60-56. Here are our five takeaways.