Golden Gophers: Unleashing the Spirit of Minnesota Athletics!

Dawson Garcia’s buzzer-beating three-pointer from the periphery of the midcourt emblem secured Minnesota (9-9, 1-6 Big Ten) its inaugural Big Ten triumph of the season in an astonishing, come-from-behind 84-81 overtime victory against No. 20/19 Michigan (13-4, 5-1 B1G) at Williams Arena. This win marked Minnesota’s second consecutive victory over Michigan, having triumphed 73-71 in Ann Arbor on January 4, 2024.
 
The Gophers, who experienced a gut-wrenching 89-88 loss to Ohio State in double overtime in their prior home contest on January 6, staged a comeback from a 40-31 halftime deficit to clinch the victory. This was Minnesota’s first triumph against a Top 25 team during head coach Ben Johnson‘s leadership. The last time the Gophers bested a Top 25 opponent was a 71-68 victory over No. 24 Purdue on February 11, 2021. The last occasion the Gophers defeated the Wolverines at Williams Arena was January 16, 2021, when they achieved a 75-57 win.

 
Garcia led all players with 27 points and contributed a season-high 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. He shot 10-of-23 from the field, which included two three-pointers, finished 5-of-6 at the free-throw line, while also recording four assists, three steals, and two blocked shots. Garcia was among three Gophers players who scored at least 20 points, with Lu’Cye Patterson registering a season-high 22 points and Mike Mitchell Jr. adding 20. Patterson successfully made 8-of-13 attempts from the field, which included 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, while contributing six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Mitchell Jr. was 8-of-19, including 4-of-12 from long-range, accompanied by four assists, two rebounds, and two steals. Femi Odukale ended with seven points, a team-leading seven assists, and five rebounds, while Isaac Asuma scored four points.
 
Danny Wolf led Michigan in scoring with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists, with 20 points coming after halftime. Vladislav Goldin contributed 18 points and eight rebounds for the Wolverines, who incurred their first Big Ten loss.
 
Patterson initiated the scoring for Minnesota, followed by a Garcia layup and a free throw from Odukale, which allowed the Gophers to take their initial lead at 5-2. Michigan responded with an 8-0 run to go ahead 10-5 before Asuma achieved consecutive scores, narrowing it down to 10-9 with 13:57 remaining in the half. The Wolverines once again widened their lead to five points, but Trey Edmonds banked a shot off the glass, Garcia had a breakaway dunk, and Odukale provided a fast-break layup, allowing the Gophers to take a 15-14 lead. Michigan’s third three-pointer restored its advantage midway through the half, with their fourth extending it to 20-15. Mitchell Jr. scored on back-to-back possessions, and Frank Mitchell’s layup narrowed the gap to 22-21. Another 5-0 run by Michigan increased the lead to six points until Mitchell Jr. succeeded in making the Gophers’ first three-pointer in 11 attempts, narrowing it to 27-24. After a three-point play, Michigan pushed back out to a six-point lead, but Garcia drained a jumper from just inside the arc and then a shot from just outside the arc, bringing Minnesota within one. A further run by the Wolverines, totaling 10-0 over a two-minute and 20-second span, extended their lead to 40-29 with 1:23 to go. A baseline jumper by Mitchell Jr. with 1:02 left halted Michigan’s run and sent the Gophers into halftime down 40-31.
 
At halftime, Garcia and Mitchell Jr. led Minnesota with nine points each, Garcia also recording three rebounds, three steals, and two assists. The Gophers made 14-of-35 (.400) from the field but struggled with a 2-of-14 (.143) shooting from three-point range. Michigan dominated the boards, holding a 27-14 advantage, although Minnesota outscored them 16-12 in the paint. Will Tschetter and Tre Donaldson each added 11 points, while Goldin finished with 10 points and six rebounds. The Wolverines completed 14-of-33 (.424) from the field, with 7-of-13 (.538) from long-range, and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.
 
Mitchell Jr. opened the second half with a three-pointer, and Odukale scored on a putback dunk, narrowing the gap to 42-36. Patterson nailed a long-range three, and Odukale contributed a layup, bringing the Gophers within four points at 45-41. Michigan then expanded its lead to 51-41 during a four-minute, 39-second drought for the Gophers, before Garcia hit 1-of-2 at the line with 12:27 left. Down by nine, Patterson made two free throws, hit a three-pointer with a hand in his face, scored a baseline jumper, and Garcia scored on a fastbreak layup, resulting in a 10-0 run that tied up the score with 10:17 remaining, prompting a Michigan timeout. Garcia equalized at 53-53, but the Wolverines reclaimed a six-point lead with 6:34 to play, before a three from Mitchell Jr. reduced Michigan’s advantage to 59-56. A pair of free throws and a putback layup from Garcia brought the Gophers within one, and a layup from Patterson with 4:13 remaining gave Minnesota a 62-61 lead, igniting the crowd and necessitating another Michigan timeout. A baseline jumper from Mitchell Jr. on an inbounds play put the Gophers up 64-61, but a three-pointer from Michigan tied the game at 3:05 on the clock. Garcia’s layup as the shot clock wound down put the score at 66-64, but Goldin’s free throws tied it again, and the Wolverines led 68-66 with 1:13 left after a layup by Nimari Burnett. Patterson sank a crucial three-pointer from the key with 50 seconds remaining, placing the Gophers ahead 69-68. Minnesota successfully defended on the next possession, although they committed a turnover, leading to Wolf’s three-pointer from the top of the key to give Michigan a 71-69 lead with 28.9 seconds remaining. Garcia converted a pair of free throws with 7.4 seconds left, tying the game, but Michigan’s final shot attempt failed, taking the game into overtime.
 
Mitchell Jr. hit a three-pointer and Patterson scored along the baseline early in overtime, putting Minnesota ahead 76-75, while Garcia’s floater in the lane increased the Gophers’ lead to three. Wolf hit two free throws and Burnett made one, leveling the score at 78-78, leading Minnesota to call a timeout with 1:05 remaining in overtime. Patterson’s jumper in the paint with 0:47 left edged the Gophers ahead 80-78. Each team converted a free throw, making it 81-79 when Wolf’s layup with 0:07 remaining tied the score, but Garcia’s last-second three-pointer from near the logo won the game for Minnesota. This marked Minnesota’s first buzzer-beater win since March 2, 2023, against Rutgers.
 
Minnesota will next travel to Iowa for a game on Tuesday, January 21, at 8:00 p.m. on Big Ten Network.