Michigan has feasted on former Pac-12 schools to fatten its Big Ten record. The 20th-ranked Wolverines begin playing more traditional conference opponents on Thursday when they visit Minneapolis to face Minnesota.
The Wolverines bring a five-game winning streak with them, including victories over West Coast-based conference newbies Southern California, UCLA and Washington.
First-year coach Dusty May has installed a high-octane offense that has produced 85 or more points in the last eight games. Yet May believes there’s plenty of room for improvement.
“We’re improving our ball fakes, our eye fakes, our spacing, when to cut, when not to cut, it’s getting better,” he said. “But no, we’re not functioning on an elite level offensively yet. We’re not crashing with the aggression we need to be at a championship level. We have a long ways to go.”
Opposing teams may argue that point. Michigan (13-3, 5-0 Big Ten) entered the week leading Division I in field-goal percentage (51.9 percent).
“I feel like because everybody is trying to play the right way, we take great shots and nobody is trying to stat chase,” big man Vladislav Goldin said. “If we play the right way, if we want to do the right things every single time, all the records are going to come with that.”
The 7-foot-1 Goldin has led the team in scoring the past two games. He followed up a 36-point outburst against the Bruins with a 19-point outing against the Huskies.
Goldin leads the team in scoring at 15.4 points per game, and four other Wolverines are also averaging double figures. That group includes Tre Donaldson (12.6), Roddy Gayle Jr. (12.5), Danny Wolf (12.4) and Nimari Burnett (10.9). The 7-0 Wolf, who forms an imposing interior duo with Goldin, is also averaging 10.1 rebounds.
The Golden Gophers are still looking for their first conference victory. Minnesota (8-9, 0-6) has lost four straight overall, including a 77-71 defeat at Maryland on Monday.
The Golden Gophers have also fallen to conference opponents Purdue, Ohio State and Wisconsin this month.
“We know we’re really close to breaking through,” coach Ben Johnson said. “That’s got to be the singular focus and the mindset. What extra, what more do we have to do as a staff to help these guys and what do we have to do as a collective group to finally break through?”
The Golden Gophers feature 6-11 Dawson Garcia, who will have to deal with Goldin and Wolf to find his offense. Garcia is averaging 18.6 points and 7.3 rebounds.
Guard Mike Mitchell (11.3) is the team’s second-leading scorer but he’s been held to six or fewer points in three of the last four games. Lu’Cye Patterson (10.6) is the only other player averaging double figures.
Turnovers have been an issue lately for Minnesota. Over the last three games, the Gophers have averaged 14.3 turnovers. They committed 16 against Maryland, which the Terrapins converted into 15 points.
Mitchell had a game-high 18 points in Minnesota’s 73-71 win at Michigan last season.
–Field Level Media
