The Gophers and No. 20 Michigan Wolverines played on Thursday night in Williams Arena, with the Gophers winning 84-81 in overtime.
For the first time since February 2021, Minnesota’s men’s basketball team beat a top-25 team led by seniors Dawson Garcia, Mike Mitchell Jr. and Lu’Cye Patterson.
Garcia led the team with 27 points and 12 rebounds, including this game-winner from over 40 feet away.
College basketball show The Field of 68 featured Minnesota’s win and Garcia’s shot.
“It all starts with Dawson Garcia, and I am thrilled for him,” said Mike LaTulip, co-host of The Field of 68: After Dark. “He could’ve gone somewhere else, but he stuck with it.”
Mitchell Jr. did most of his work during the first half and early in the second, scoring 20 points and adding four assists.
Patterson came up clutch for the Gophers, scoring 22 points with 10 points in the final 10 minutes of the second half and overtime.
Minnesota started the game slow and missed their first 10 3-point attempts. After finally getting a shot to drop, they shot 9/19 from 3-point range the rest of the game.
The Gophers were down 11 early in the second half but continued to fight until they tied the game 51-51 with 10 minutes remaining after going on a 10-0 run.
After the 10-minute mark, the game was back and forth for the final 15 minutes of game time.
Michigan was led by Danny Wolf, who finished the game with 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. In overtime Wolf kept them in the game, scoring four points, dishing out two assists and grabbing a couple of rebounds.
Garcia, Patterson and Mitchell Jr., took control of overtime for the Gophers, scoring all 13 points themselves.
Mitchell Jr. got the team started by hitting a three early in overtime, then Patterson and Garcia took the reins. They went back and forth over the next few minutes and each finished the extra period with five points.
Since being hired, head coach Ben Johnson exuded confidence and positivity and this game seemed to confirm those feelings for him.
“I’ve been telling people we’re getting better, and no one probably believes me, I’ve been telling people we’re this close, and no one probably believes me,” Johnson said.
The people who never waver on Johnson are his players. He earned praise from his starting guard Patterson after the game.
“He could get after us, yell at us, scream at us… but he’s been cool and he’s been with us,” Patterson said. We’ve been leaning on each other when we’re down, and it obviously helped us tonight.”
The Gophers move to 9-9 on the season and 1-6 in Big Ten games. With over 10 games remaining, Minnesota is looking to make a late-season push.
“It means we got something to build off, continue to build off it and we look forward to keeping this thing rolling,” Garcia said.
