Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Divisional Round
Minnesota will try to snap out of its losing patch when it travels to Michigan on Sunday afternoon. The Golden Gophers have lost four of their last five games, including a 61-39 setback against No. 3 Purdue on Thursday. Michigan has lost three of its last four games, falling to Maryland in its last game.
Minnesota got off to a 4-1 start this season, taking care of business against a bad schedule. The Golden Gophers have been struggling since then, which started with a five-game losing streak. They added a pair of wins against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Chicago State in mid-December before losing four of their five games since then. Minnesota’s lone conference win came on the road against Ohio State on Jan. 12 in a shocking upset, but it has fallen back to its losing ways with setbacks against Illinois and Purdue since then. The Golden Gophers lost to the Fighting Illini by 18 points before getting crushed by the Boilermakers in a 61-39 final on Thursday.
Dawson Garcia just couldn't stop dishing out assists last week. #Gophers x @pncbank pic.twitter.com/gSzPQfYhFR
— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) January 20, 2023
Their 39-point output against Purdue encapsulated some of the offensive issues that they have been having throughout the season. They rank outside the top 230 nationally in effective field goal percentage, turnover rate and offensive rebounding rate. Minnesota has also been dreadful from the free-throw line, knocking down just 59.3% of its attempts. It is facing a Michigan defense that is No. 83 in field goal percentage and No. 336 in turnover rate. Sophomore forward Dawson Garcia leads Minnesota with 15.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, while junior forward Jamison Battle (11.9) and junior guard Ta’Lon Cooper (10.6) are both in double figures as well.