Michigan Takes Down Minnesota, Clinches Share Of Big Ten Title

For the first time since 2021, the Wolverines will be Big Ten regular season champions.

Pulling away in the second half, the No. 3 Michigan men's basketball team (26-2 overall, 16-1 Big Ten) defeated Minnesota (13-15, 6-11) by a final score of 77-67, clinching a share of the Big Ten Title.

The Golden Gophers' plan of attack was clear from the get-go: They wanted to minimize Michigan's frontcourt impact. They started the game in a zone defense, daring the Wolverines to shoot and taking away post-isolation scenarios away from the Wolverines' big men.

On the offensive end, Minnesota was content to fire away from 3-point land. It lacked the size to be able to truly compete down low, so its best chance to take down Michigan was to shoot lights out.

For a large portion of the first half, their plan worked. With just under eight minutes to play in the half, the Gophers boasted a slim 20-19 lead. They had made four of their 10 3-point shots, and Michigan's frontcourt was really yet to get involved. The Wolverines found some success when attacking the middle of the zone, but they were settling from 3-point looks more often than usual.

But Michigan found its stroke for a moment down the stretch of the first half, and at the same time, the Gophers went ice cold. Three 3-pointers — one from graduate guard Nimari Burnett and two from freshman guard Trey McKenney — along with a dunk from sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. sent the Wolverines on an 11-0 run. Meanwhile, Minnesota missed eight straight shots, allowing Michigan to open up a 30-20 lead with 2:56 to play in the period.

They couldn't keep the margin, though. The Gophers closed out the final minutes of the half on an 8-2 run of their own.

It wasn't a pristine half from the Wolverines, and it probably didn't want to get dragged into a 3-point shootout, but they still entered halftime sporting a 32-28 advantage.

The first five minutes of the second half was a game of call-and-response. If Michigan scored, Minnesota had an answer. If the Gophers got a stop, so did the Wolverines. Neither team was shrinking, but neither team held an advantage. With 15 minutes to play, Michigan owned a 44-39 lead.

Sophomore guard L.J. Cason provided a nice spark out of the under-16 minute timeout, however, that helped the Wolverines open a more sizeable lead. First, he knocked down a left-corner triple, then he completed a lob to junior center Aday Mara on the ensuing possession. To cap off his run, he immediately collected a steal and an easy transition layup to give Michigan a 51-42 lead.

The Gophers worked their deficit back down to four, but the Wolverines responded by unloaded a barrage of 3-pointers. McKenney and junior guard Elliot Cadeau both knocked one down, but not to be outdone, Cason added two more of his own to stretch the lead to 63-49 with 7:26 to play.

That 14-point lead was sizeable enough for Michigan to glide to the finish line without too much resistance from the Gophers — although they did cut the deficit down to 10 by the final buzzer.

As time expired, the Wolverines collected not only another Big Ten win, but a share of the Big Ten regular season title. A share of the title isn't the final goal — they want it all, and they'll have a chance to earn that in the coming weeks — but it certainly is testament to the season this squad has put together thus far.