ANN ARBOR, MICH. -- Minnesota Gophers men's basketball coach Richard Pitino might not talk about the tournament, but the team would have to be living under a rock to be unaware of its position on the bubble.
Saturday, the Gophers threatened to push themselves to the Big Dance on sheer grit, but they instead set the stage for a much more difficult path, falling at Michigan, 66-56.
The victory gave the Wolverines a share of the Big Ten regular- season title, after Michigan State lost at home to Illinois earlier in the day. Michigan (21-7, 13-3 Big Ten) has to win one of its final two games to claim its first outright conference championship since 1986.
The Gophers had seven turnovers in the first half and allowed a high-flying Michigan offense to shoot nine three-pointers and 50 percent from the field, but managed to keep it tight throughout.
After falling behind 31-20 at the half, the Gophers brought it within two with 7:22 to go when Andre Hollins followed a three-pointer with a pair of free throws on the next possession, and then withstood the first Michigan surge to hold that deficit with 4:34 left when Mo Walker scored to make it 54-52 Wolverines.
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But the Gophers could only hold on so long. Jordan Morgan floated in a layup off a Spike Albrecht offensive rebound to ignite a 12-4 run -- keeping the Gophers without a basket for a 3:40 stretch.
The Gophers are 2-7 in Big Ten road games this season, with Penn State and Northwestern marking their only two wins away from home.
With the Wolverines -- which have struggled with slow starts all year -- clanking on nine of their first 11 shots, the Gophers jumped out to a 13-7 lead, but the advantage was short-lived.
Michigan followed with a 14-3 run to go up 21-16. The Gophers, getting good production from Elliott Eliason in the post, were still within four with 1:46 left in the first half, but rather than leaving the door open, the Wolverines headed into halftime with a statement on the backs of Nik Stauskas and Glenn Robinson III.
The former tossed a lob to Robinson, who finished at the rim to get the crowd on its feet. And less than a minute later, the latter sandwiched a three-pointer from Stauskas with a layup to give Michigan an 11-point lead at the break.
The Gophers have an opportunity to exit conference play with an 8-10 record with a win over Penn State in their final regular-season game. Doing so would still give them the chance for an NCAA invite, if they can follow it with a victory in the Big Ten tournament.
MINNESOTA (56)
An.Hollins 3-10 2-2 10, D.Mathieu 4-9 1-2 9, Au.Hollins 6-12 2-2 16, Eliason 4-5 0-2 8, Jy.King 0-3 0-0 0, Buggs 1-1 0-0 3, Mu.Walker 3-4 2-3 8, Mi.Smith 0-3 0-0 0, D.McNeil 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 22-48 7-11 56.
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MICHIGAN (66)
Stauskas 7-13 2-2 21, LeVert 5-13 2-2 13, Robinson III 6-10 0-0 12, Jr.Morgan 2-3 1-3 5, Albrecht 2-3 2-2 7, D.Walton 3-5 0-0 8, Z.Irvin 0-3 0-0 0, Horford 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-50 7-9 66.
Minnesota 20 36 -- 56
Michigan 31 35 -- 66
3-Point Goals Minnesota 5-18 (Au.Hollins 2-6, An.Hollins 2-6, Buggs 1-1, Jy.King 0-1, D.Mathieu 0-1, Mi.Smith 0-3), Michigan 9-23 (Stauskas 5-8, D.Walton 2-4, Albrecht 1-2, LeVert 1-5, Robinson III 0-1, Z.Irvin 0-3). Fouled out None. Rebounds Minnesota 27 (D.Mathieu 7), Michigan 28 (Jr.Morgan 10). Assists Minnesota 10 (D.Mathieu 5), Michigan 14 (LeVert 5). Total Fouls Minnesota 15 (Mu.Walker 4), Michigan 14 (Jr.Morgan, D.Walton 3). A--12,707.
