Big Ten Tournament: Michigan Fends off Determined Minnesota in Overtime Battle

Michigan 73, Minnesota 69 (OT)

After overpowering Northwestern in an overtime thriller, Minnesota came out determined to make its way into the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament and appeared to be running away with this game, another overtime showdown, in its early stages. 

Minnesota came out with a vengeance in the first half, with tone-setting three-pointer from Andre Hollins on the Golden Gophers' first possession. Applying full-court pressure, Minnesota kept Michigan's offense to a minimum and didn't allow the Wolverines a field goal until seven minutes into the first half. 

Nevertheless, Michigan's offense stayed afloat with the swift guard play of freshman Trey Burke, who scored all of the Wolverines field goals in the first 14 minutes of the game and had 13 of the team's 20 points at the half. 

With upset on the mind, Austin Hollins' big three-pointers (3-for-4 on the night) kept Minnesota atop the Wolverines 23-20 at the half, despite the Golden Gopher's occasionally sloppy offensive play that included seven turnovers in the first half. 

Although Michigan trailed for the entire first half, the Wolverines came out of the locker room playing very determined basketball and soon found themselves with the lead after Tim Hardaway Jr. scored seven points out of the half to put his team up 27-25. 

However, the unrelenting Golden Gophers battled back and the lead would swing back and forth between both teams, spanning within five points, for the majority of the second half.

With four minutes remaining in the game, Minnesota broke away from Michigan with two key three-pointers from Julian Welch, which would prove to be his only points of the game, that put the Golden Gophers up by nine and had the crowd pumped up as an upset was brewing in Indianapolis. 

However, Michigan did not subside and made its way back into the game with its own pair of three-pointers in the final minutes of the game. After senior Zack Novak nailed a long bomb to put the Wolverines within three, 56-53, the Wolverines set up a three-point opportunity with 22 seconds left for Evan Smotrycz, who nailed the triple to tie the game and send it into overtime. 

The Wolverines then prevailed over Minnesota in overtime despite some clutch threes from Rodney Williams and Andre Hollins to keep the Golden Gophers in the game. 

The Numbers: 

	FG%	3P%	REB	AST	TO	PF
Michigan	49.0	47.1	22	9	9	16
Minnesota	45.3	39.1	31	17	16	21

Top Performers:

Michigan: Trey Burke (45 minutes, 30 PTS, 3 AST)

Minnesota: Andre Hollins (44 minutes, 21 PTS, 6 AST)

What's Next?:

Big Ten tournament semifinals vs. Ohio State: Saturday, March 10, 4:00 p.m. ET, CBS

Preview: 

Michigan and Ohio State split their conference series with each team winning on its home court. The Wolverines rely heavily upon their backcourt production, and Ohio State is a very good defensive team that plays a very strong inside game on offense. 

Comparing the teams' Big Ten tournament games, Ohio State has an advantage coming into the game having won a more defining win against Purdue tonight, whereas Michigan had to battle it out in overtime with a lesser team. 

The fact that guys like Trey Burke played 45 minutes the day before may put a damper on the Wolverines, but there's no doubt that Michigan will come out hard against its toughest Big Ten rival. 

The Wolverines are going to have to draw up a good game plan to slow down Jared Sullinger, who scored 30 points with 12 rebounds. Jordan Morgan will have to come out with his best defense, as he did in Michigan's last contest against Ohio State, in order for the Wolverines to head to the championship in the Big Ten tournament. 

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