Michigan’s first Big Ten loss of the season came Thursday night on a 40-foot buzzer-beater in overtime that gave the opponent its first league win.
Final: Minnesota 84, Michigan 81
Record: 13-4 (5-1)
MVP: Danny Wolf
Unsung hero: Will Tschetter
Arch nemesis: Dawson Garcia
Top highlight: Tre Donaldson strips a Gopher to start a fast break and feeds Danny Wolf, who twists his body for a layup through a foul, giving Michigan a 10-point lead with 12:50 left.
Rhyme time: First Big Ten loss, who could believe // To last-place Gophers on a buzzer-beating heave
After Danny Wolf’s spinning layup tied the game with seven seconds left, Minnesota’s Dawson Garcia connected on a shot from just a couple of steps inside half court as the overtime buzzer sounded.
Head coach Dusty May and Michigan’s perfect Big Ten record and five-game win streak were no more in Minneapolis. Minnesota (9-9, 1-6) had its first win of 2025.
Michigan, the best 2-point shooting team in the country, made just 17 of 40 from inside the arc on Thursday. Even so, the Wolverines were in control for parts of the game and right in it throughout. They led by as many as 11 and by 10 with 12:50 to go.
Garcia’s free throws with seven seconds left in regulation sent the game to overtime and his last-second heave — with his foot on the midcourt ‘M’ logo — won it. The fifth-year center poured in 27 points and 12 rebounds, both game highs.
Wolf finished with 23 points (20 after halftime), 10 rebounds, and seven assists. Will Tschetter, a Stewartville, Minnesota, native, about 100 miles south of Minneapolis, scored 15 points.
Vladislav Goldin had 18 for Michigan but shot just 5 of 15 from the field. The Big Ten’s leader in field-goal percentage even missed an open dunk, a signal that perhaps this wasn’t going to be Michigan’s night.
The Wolverines made 11 of 22 3-pointers, including a couple of clutch triples from Wolf late in regulation. Their 13 turnovers (to Minnesota’s six) didn’t help.
Minnesota opened the overtime scoring with a 3. Michigan tied the game at 78 when Nimari Burnett split a pair of free throws with 1:13 left. Lu’Cye Patterson’s midrange fadeaway gave Minnesota a two-point lead with 47 seconds left. Goldin split a pair of free throws and Roddy Gayle Jr. took his fifth foul with 18 seconds left.
Patterson split his pair as well, giving Michigan one last chance. Wolf took it himself, and drove for a left-handed finish. Michigan needed one more stop to send it to a second overtime but couldn’t get it.
Michigan led by four early in the second half before Michigan held Minnesota scoreless for 4.5 minutes. Tre Donaldson (14 points) stripped a ball handler, raced the other way, and fed Wolf for a layup that made it 51-41 with 12:50 left in the second half.
Minnesota answered with a 10-0 run to tie the game midway through the half. Michigan rebuilt the lead to six with 6:34 left in the half, but the Gophers took advantage of more missed Michigan layups to grab a one-point lead with 4:13 to go in regulation.
With Michigan down 3, Wolf picked and popped for a trying triple.
The game was still tied late when Wolf spun and hit a cutting Burnett for a layup to make it 68-66. Patterson answered with a 3 to put Minnesota ahead with 50 seconds left. Wolf fed a rolling Goldin, who drew a foul on the catch. He missed the front end, giving possession back to Minnesota with 39 seconds left — at least that’s how much time was left after a video review, the third in 11 seconds of game play. Minnesota turned it over on the inbounds and Wolf drained another 3. Michigan led 71-69 with 28 seconds left.
Garcia drove and drew a foul, making both to tie it again with 7.4 seconds left. Minnesota called its final timeout; Michigan didn’t have any. Donaldson took the inbounds and got to the opposite block, but he fell to floor as he released a wild heave that hit the backboard and nothing else just before regulation ended.
Michigan had an uneven start inside Williams Arena, including three straight early turnovers; Wolf had four turnovers in his first seven minutes of action. The Wolverines settled in and had none in the final 7:29 of the first half.
Michigan had a 10-0 run late in the first half, with Donaldson and Wolf each connecting from deep, to take a 40-29 lead. The score was 40-31 at half. Michigan had a 15-point advantage from the 3-point line in the first half. Tschetter and Donaldson each had 11 points by then.
An inability to hold a double-digit lead — a problem for the Wolverines this season — bit them again on Thursday. They’ll try to regroup before hosting Northwestern on Sunday.
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