Hunter Dickinson, Michigan Wolverines hold off Minnesota
Ann Arbor — If you ask Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson, there’s no such thing as an ugly win.
But if there ever was one that would fit the description in the junior center’s book, Sunday’s 60-56 victory over Minnesota at Crisler Center would certainly qualify.
The Wolverines fell behind by double digits roughly six minutes into the game against the last-place team in the Big Ten. They apparently couldn’t buy a jumper throughout the first half.
BOX SCORE: Michigan 60, Minnesota 56
Things went from bad to worse when freshman wing Jett Howard, the team’s top 3-point shooter and one of its primary scorers, went down with a left ankle injury shortly before halftime and missed the entire second half.
Still, the Wolverines (11-8, 5-3 Big Ten) managed to persevere. They banded together after losing one of their key pieces and did enough in the second half to push past the pesky Golden Gophers.
“People from social media or the media would say that’s an ugly win for us. But as a player, I feel like any win in the Big Ten is a big win for us,” said Dickinson, who led the way with 23 points and nine rebounds to help Michigan sweep the regular-season series against Minnesota.
Minnesota went to Ohio State and beat them at home. They’re capable of beating good teams in the league. For us to battle back from adversity and defeat them was a big win for us. It’s something that we needed going into Purdue (on Thursday).”
Whether Howard will be back in the lineup against the Boilermakers, who sit atop the Big Ten standings, remains to be seen. After the game, coach Juwan Howard didn’t have an update on the severity of his son’s injury, though Jett eventually returned to the bench in the second half with a walking boot.
“I feel sorry for the young man because he hates missing basketball,” Juwan Howard said. He wants to help his teammates on both ends of the floor. But we’re not sure how long he’s going to be out.
Jett Howard’s injury occurred with 2:16 left in the first half when Michigan was making a late surge. As he deflected a pass and went for the loose ball, he stepped on Jamison Battle’s foot, rolled his left ankle, and went crashing down to the floor. Howard was down for several moments and couldn’t put any weight on his left leg as he was helped off the court.
Instead of falling apart without Howard, the Wolverines navigated the brutal blow. After battling back from a 10-point deficit and pulling even at halftime, Michigan kept pushing out of the break. Dickinson made back-to-back baskets during a string of eight unanswered points that gave the Wolverines their first lead, 31-26, with 16:19 left in the second half.
Minnesota (7-11, 1-7) briefly tied it twice before Michigan pulled ahead for good. Freshman guard Dug McDaniel buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key and kissed a floater off the glass. Dickinson had a three-point play and knocked down a short hook shot. The Wolverines grabbed a 43-35 lead with 9:12 remaining.
The Golden Gophers hung tough and didn’t let the Wolverines pull away, cutting the deficit to three points on three occasions. Each time Michigan answered with a needed stop and points, extending the lead to 49-44 on a pair of free throws by Dickinson with 4:38 to play.
Michigan widened the margin to 55-46 on a layup by sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin before things got tense in the final minute. After freshman center Tarris Reed Jr. Missed two free throws, Minnesota scored to make it a four-point game with 1:15 left. Then after McDaniel missed a long jumper, the Golden Gophers cut it to 55-52 on a free throw with 35 seconds left.
The Wolverines held on from there. Sophomore forward Will Tschetter, junior forward Terrance Williams II, and Bufkin combined to make five free throws as Michigan survived a shaky closing stretch.
Bufkin finished with 12 points and McDaniel added 10 points and eight rebounds for Michigan, which shot 36.7% from the field (22-for-60) and made just two 3-pointers.
Ta’lon Cooper had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Battle scored 14 and Dawson Garcia had 13 points for Minnesota, which shot 40.4% from the field (23-for-57) and committed 15 turnovers that led to 23 points for the Wolverines.
“It was one of those (games) where the ball is not going to always fall for you offensively. But defensively, sometimes you have to win in the mud,” said Juwan Howard, who compared the contest to the low-scoring affair at Michigan State earlier this month.
“I appreciate all kinds of wins, no matter what it looks like. … It was one of those defensive matches where you’re competing, and you’re fighting and clawing and scratching. Sometimes that’s Big Ten basketball that people do not like, but as a competitor, we embrace it.”
The Wolverines got off to a lackluster start. They were a slow step on defense, gave up a couple early 3-pointers, allowed Minnesota to score their first eight points, and made just one of their first 10 shots. By the 13:49 mark of the first half, Michigan fell into a 14-4 hole.
“I was telling my guys to wake up. We were playing very slow, lackadaisical,” McDaniel said. “I let them know we’ve got to have a sense of urgency or we’re going to lose this game. They woke up.”
After Garcia picked up his second foul and went to the bench, Minnesota’s offense went ice cold. The Golden Gophers made one shot over the final 10 minutes and went over seven minutes without scoring a point.
The Wolverines closed the half on a slow burning 13-3 run to knot it at 23 at the break. Dickinson capped an 8-0 burst with a pair of baskets inside. Then after disaster struck and Jett Howard exited with his injury, Dickinson scored again in the paint as Michigan dug out of the early hole and continued to dig deep the rest of the way.
“I’m proud of the guys that stepped up. Will, Tarris, Joey (Baker) came in there and gave us great minutes,” Dickinson said. “It was an all-around effort, but that’s what we talk about as a team is next-man-up mentality. For us to be able to do that and step up when our brother goes down was big for us.”
jhawkins@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @jamesbhawkins
