Michigan basketball survives Minnesota scare: Game recap, box score

Michigan basketball found itself in a more competitive game than the last time it met the Minnesota Golden Gophers but emerged from Sunday with a 60-56 win to move to 11-8 (5-3 B1G) on the season.

Senior center Hunter Dickinson led the way with 23 points and 9 rebounds, while sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin chipped in with 12 points. Freshman point guard Dug McDaniel was the only other Michigan player in double figures, scoring 10 points.

The win was overshadowed by the loss of freshman wing Jett Howard, who appeared to sprain his ankle towards the end of the first half. The severity of the injury is not known at this point.

Here is a recap of what went down in Ann Arbor on Sunday.

First half

Michigan stumbled out of the gates to a 1-for-7 mark from the floor while Minnesota hit some of its open looks offensively, taking a 10-2 lead at the under-16 media timeout. Dickinson hit a pair of free throws after the timeout to bring the score to 10-4 in favor of the Gophers. Minnesota would hit a pair of jumpers to extend its lead to 14-4, followed by an inbound play dunk from sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin. Minnesota’s Ta’lon Cooper got into the paint for a layup on the other end, answered by a layup from U-M freshman big Tarris Reed. Minnesota led 16-8 at the under-12 media timeout.

The Gophers extended their lead to 20-10 at the 10:16 mark of the first half, but a run would follow from Michigan. The Wolverines went on an 8-0 run over the next four minutes to pull within 20-18 and force a Minnesota timeout with 5:18 to go. It would stay 20-18 at the final media timeout with 3:58 remaining.

Minnesota pulled ahead 23-18 before Michigan closed the half out on a 5-0 run of its own on a three-pointer from freshman point guard Dug McDaniel and hook shot from Dickinson. The Wolverines and Gophers were tied 23-all at the half.

The half ended with a scare, though. Howard appeared to roll his ankle badly on the defensive end of the floor and was down in pain for a few minutes. Trainers got him over to Michigan’s bench. He was last spotted with his left shoe off near the tunnel right before the half.

Second half

Graduate wing Joey Baker was inserted into the lineup to start the second half with Howard injured. The Wolverines grabbed their first lead of the day at the 18:13 mark after layups from Terrance Williams II and Dickinson. Michigan would lead Minnesota 29-26 after another made basket from Dickinson at the 17:30 mark. Baker hit a layup to extend the lead to 31-26 – and then missed a fast break bunny on the next possession – before a 5-0 run from Minnesota’s Jamison Battle. Bufkin stopped the run with a jumper of his own, followed by a layup from Minnesota’s Pharrel Payne. Michigan came back with its own 6-0 run to push its lead to 39-33, forcing a Minnesota timeout at 12:29 remaining.

A runner from McDaniel and hook shot from Dickinson helped Michigan to a 43-35 lead with 9:12 to go. The Gophers used a 7-2 run to pull within 3 at 45-42 with 7:04 left in the game. Michigan began to pull away thanks to 6 made free throws from Dickinson, followed by layups from Williams and Bufkin. The Wolverines held their largest lead of the day at 55-46 at the final media timeout with 3:02 to go. Minnesota’s Joshua Ola-Joseph hit a three-pointer and Battle followed it up with a layup, trimming the deficit to 55-51 in favor of Michigan with 1:13 remaining. Minnesota tacked on a free throw with 35 seconds left to make things a bit tighter.

A pair of free throws from sophomore forward Will Tschetter and one out of two made from Williams stretched Michigan’s lead to 58-52 with 20 seconds remaining. Minnesota got within 58-54 on a layup, but U-M closed it out at the free throw line with a pair of makes from Bufkin. The Gophers got a layup at the buzzer, but fell 60-56 in Ann Arbor.

Michigan vs. Minnesota box score, final statistics

Next up is a showdown with No. 3 Purdue on Thursday night at home. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.