Sophomore center Daniel Oturu scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed seven rebounds as host Minnesota downed No. 19 Michigan 75-67 at Williams Arena on Sunday in Minneapolis.
Marcus Carr supplied 21 points and 12 assists for the Golden Gophers (9-7, 3-3 Big Ten), who lost all three of their meetings with the Wolverines last season. Alihan Demir added 13 points and five rebounds for Minnesota, which ended the game on an 11-2 run.
Zavier Simpson led the Wolverines (11-5, 2-3) with 19 points, six rebounds and nine assists, but his team remained winless in conference road games.
Freshman Franz Wagner contributed 17 points, including four 3-pointers, while Jon Teske and Eli Brooks chipped in nine points apiece.
The Wolverines led by as many as 11 points in the first half, but Minnesota used an 11-1 spurt to cut Michigan's lead to 31-30 by halftime. Oturu powered his way to 20 points before the break while his teammates shot 4 of 16.
Earlier in the half, the Wolverines relied on perimeter shooting as Wagner and David DeJulius each knocked down two 3-pointers.
There were 11 lead changes in the first four minutes of the second half with neither side leading by more than a point until Carr knocked down a 3-pointer. He then set up Oturu for a dunk, giving the Gophers a 45-41 advantage.
Oturu briefly left the game with a shoulder injury. Minnesota increased its lead to five after he returned but Simpson tied it at 54 with a 3-pointer and a layup.
Brooks gave Michigan a 65-64 lead with his first 3-pointer of the game after six misses. Oturu answered with an inside basket with three minutes remaining.
Minnesota then took advantage of two Michigan turnovers. Demir made a layup and Carr hit two free throws with 1:50 left to make it 70-65.
After a Teske miss, Payton Willis hit a 3-pointer with the shot clock about to expire to stretch the lead to eight points as part of an 11-0 run before Simpson made a layup in the final seconds.
--Field Level Media
Michigan | Minnesota | |
Zavier Simpson 19 | Scoring | Daniel Oturu 30 |
Zavier Simpson 9 | Assists | Marcus Carr 12 |
Zavier Simpson 6 | Rebounds | Daniel Oturu 7 |
Brandon Johns Jr. 2 | Free Throws Made | Marcus Carr 6 |
Colin Castleton 1 | Steals | Marcus Carr 1 |
Eli Brooks 1 | Blocks | Jarvis Omersa 1 |