In a game where Michigan trailed Minnesota most of the basketball game, their largest was 5 points. Michigan gets the big win in overtime against Minnesota 76-73.
Minnesota came into the game losing 7 out of their last 8 games. It was also arguably their best game since losing players to injury and losing center Reggie Lynch to suspension. But, many players had great performances for the Gophers. Isaiah Washington had 26 points on the game and was also 11 for 16 from field goal range. Nate Mason had 22 points in today’s game against the Wolverines. He was 9 for 18 from field goal range. Jordan Murphy had 12 points and had 6 rebounds.
Even though Minnesota lost, Head Coach Richard Pitino was proud of his team’s effort. “I thought we really, really fought and did a lot of great things,” Pitino said. “It came down to we missed a shot and they made a big play. I can’t fault our guys, they really battled,” Pitino continued.
Michigan trailed most of the game and started off slow once again and even took the game into overtime. In overtime, it was free throws by Muhammad Ali Abdur Rahkman that sealed it for the Wolverines despite ending the day with a 42.9% percentage from the free throw line. “We found a way to win,” Beilein said. “We gotta win so we can move forward with Northwestern. We get another bad start and we are having some trouble picking up some things early in the game. It’s not an attude, it’s just people trying to get to that next level of understanding the game as you play teams for the second time,” Beilein said
Muhammad Ali Abdur Rahkman had 17 points on the game and was 6 for 12 from the free throw line. Moe Wagner had a double double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Charles Matthews had 13 points and 10 rebounds and was also 5 for 12 from the free throw line. Zavier Simpson had 15 points and 4 rebounds. He was 7 for 14 from field goal range. Duncan Robinson had 10 points and went 4 for 6 from field goal range.
Michigan’s next game will be on the road against Northwestern on Tuesday. The game is at 7 pm and will be on BTN.