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We lost out on the possibility of a Michigan versus Michigan State matchup here in the Semifinals of the Big Ten Conference Tournament. While the Michigan Wolverines did their part to make it happen, the Spartans fell short against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Gophers will be happy to see the Wolverines as their next opponent in place of the Purdue Boilermakers, but Michigan will be running high off their Quarterfinal victory leading to what should be a very interesting—although unexpected—showdown.
Don't miss the Big Ten Conference Tournament action on the hardwood from the Verizon Center in Washington, DC at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 11, 2017. Catch every moment of the game live on CBS.
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A three point underdog going into their Quarterfinal game against Purdue, the Wolverines came out victorious, 74-70 in overtime as D.J. Wilson had a monster game.
Michigan will once again have an uphill battle on the push towards the Conference Final given the competition against Minnesota, but they’ve already topped the No. 1 seed by beating the Boilermakers so one could argue the Gophers should offer an easier road forward.
With the win over the Boilermakers, the Wolverines have now covered the spread in three straight games and although still under-.500 ATS this season, Michigan is 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games.
The Gophers, on the other hand, suffered a difficult loss to the Badgers just before the start of tournament action. There were some struggles in Friday afternoon’s contest against Michigan State, but the Gophers were able to overcome them to push their ATS record to 19-11 this season and 8-2 in their last 10 games.
Letdown Situation
It’s hard to anticipate a true letdown in a conference tournament, but the Wolverines pulled off quite a feat on Friday afternoon, toppling the Boilermakers in overtime. Wilson shot 11-for-18 from the floor in the game while adding a team leading eight rebounds.
While the performance wasn’t the best game of the season for Wilson, it was pretty darn close and out of line for the 6’10” forward’s performance leading into the tourney. In fact, prior to the game against Purdue, he’d scored more than nine points just once in his last four games.
Beyond Wilson, who performed well both inside the paint and on the parameter, Zak Irvin also put together a very good game, shooting 6-for-13. All in all, Michigan entered the half with a one-point lead and played tough the entire game, keeping the pressure on the conference’s top seed.
In the end, they got the upset victory, despite being outshot from the floor. Purdue failed from the free throw line and Michigan took advantage. Can the Wolverines count on a similar self-destruction by the Gophers? It doesn’t seem likely. But the bigger question: does the win over Purdue serve as a confidence booster to carry the Wolverines through the tournament or does the run end here do to fatigue coming off such a tight game from start to finish?
Last Meeting
We saw the Golden Gophers and the Wolverines last meet up on the hardwood a month ago in Minnesota. While the Gophers were victorious, Michigan gave Minnesota a run for its money, ultimately falling in overtime, 83-78.
It was a high scoring second half that brought the game to overtime. In total, the Wolverines shot fifty-percent from the floor, getting at least 10 points apiece from each and every starter. Much like the team’s win over Purdue, D.J. Wilson was the focal point, scoring 16-points while shooting 7-for-11, but he was certainly not alone.
In the game, the Gophers did get the better production off the bench and that likely helped the team stay a bit fresher heading into overtime. In the game, Jordan Murphy nabbed a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds while Nate Mason led the team in minutes with 43, though he did struggle, shooting just 3-for-13, but made up for that some with eight assists and by sinking six shots from the free throw line.
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Going into the tourney, the Wolverines weren’t expected to go far. They’ve already topped the favorite and will take a crack at a Minnesota team that seems to be lesser by comparison.
Nevertheless, don’t look for the Wolverines to all of a sudden become the de facto favorites now that they top the No. 1 seed. The Golden Gophers are one of the nation’s better defensive teams and they also bring a fast-paced half-court offense to the floor to allow them to compete on both sides of the ball.
Big road losses have plagued Minnesota this year, but all in all Minnesota is the better team. Besides, they’ve already one-upped Michigan—and this game isn’t exactly a road affair, taking place in a neutral environment and the Wolverines haven’t been the kings of the road either.
In the end, this game will be close. It always is between these two teams, but ride the size and athleticism mismatch on paper and take the Gophers, but don’t give too many points in doing so.
College Basketball Odds: Minnesota 75, Michigan 72
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