Featured Photo: UM Hoops
Michigan 65, Minnesota 75
The Michigan Wolverines basketball squad entered Saturday’s matchup against the Minnesota Golden Gophers as double digit favorites. Despite carrying a 7-1 record, Minnesota had not yet shown enough this season for fans to expect them to be able to hang with the talented Michigan Wolverines roster.
After a hard fought first half, Michigan took a 36-32 lead into the locker room. The first half score was close, but the Wolverines seemed to remain in control. The momentum of the game shifted with 14:48 to go in the second half when Minnesota hit back to back threes to take a 7 point lead. The Gophers briefly stretched their lead to 16 points led by sophomore Jamison Battle who netted a career high 27 points. Michigan fought back, but it was too little too late. Minnesota ultimately handed the Michigan men’s basketball team their fourth loss of the season, with a final score of 75-65.
Star center Hunter Dickinson was Michigan’s leading scorer with 19 points, while adding 10 rebounds for the double double. Guards Devante Jones and Eli Brooks added 14 points and 12 points respectively, while freshman Moussa Diabate led the Wolverines in rebounding with 13. As a team, Michigan only shot 16.7% from 3-point range, surpassed by the Gophers 33.3% shooting from beyond the arch.
Takeaway: This is bad news for Michigan. After the Nebraska blowout win, many fans(myself included) thought that Michigan had corrected their woes and would continue to build on that progress. It seemed as though they would preserve an unbeaten Big 10 record on Saturday and would perhaps use their late December cupcake schedule to do some last minute fine tuning before making a push at the Big 10 Championship.
After falling to Minnesota at home and dropping to 1-1 in the Big 10, the questions about whether or not this team will even make the tournament have resurfaced. Their point guard play has been inconsistent, turnovers continue to be an issue, team defense remains lackluster, and the rim appears to be shrinking for shooters.
There is still a lot of season left, and the Michigan Wolverines basketball team undoubtedly has one of the most talented rosters in the country. Fans can only hope that somehow Michigan is able to find some much needed chemistry. Next up for Michigan basketball are two very winnable games against Southern Utah and Purdue FW. Assuming these are both wins, Michigan should head into Christmas with an overall record of 8-4(but you know what they say about assumptions).
