Minnesota Golden Gophers Vs. Michigan: Overtime Gives Wolverines The Win

The Minnesota Golden Gophers fought incredibly hard for 90 minutes at the 2012 Big Ten Tournament, but it wasn't enough for Tubby Smith's team. After forcing overtime for a second consecutive game, the Gophers fell to the Michigan Wolverines by a final score 73-69.

The Wolverines went on an 8-1 run to start overtime and by the time the Gophers were able to answer with a pair of 3-pointers of their own from Rodney Williams and Andre Hollins, it was just a little too late.

Trey Burke scored a career-high 28 points for the Wolverines while Minnesota was once again led by freshman Andre Hollins with 21 points in a losing effort.

The Wolverines will play the winner of Friday night's game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Purdue Boilermakers for a chance at the Big Ten championship and automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. That game will take place on Saturday afternoon on CBS Sports.

For more on the Minnesota Golden Gophers, check out The Daily Gopher. You can also learn more about college basketball around the nation at SB Nation's College Basketball hub.

Big Ten Tournament Score Update: Minnesota Golden Gophers Head To Overtime With Michigan Wolverines

The 2012 Big Ten Tournament has witnessed one upset through already and may be on the way to another. The Minnesota Golden Gophers knocked out the Northwestern Wildcats in overtime on Thursday and the No. 10 are trying to do the same on Friday, heading to overtime with the Michigan Wolverines on Friday night.

The Gophers had the ball with just 1.1 seconds left in the game and the ball out of bounds before Rodney Williams had a decent look at a buzzer-beater that rimmed out, keeping the score tied at 56 points apiece.

The Gophers took the lead with nine minutes and 11 seconds left in the second half. Tubby Smith's team pulled ahead by nine with a huge Rodney Williams dunk on the fast break, but Evan Smoctryz hit a 3-pointer to force overtime when the Gophers couldn't finish on the final play.

The winner will play the winner of Friday night's game between the Ohio St. Buckeyes and Purdue Boilermakers for a chance at the Big Ten championship and automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. That game will take place on Saturday afternoon on CBS Sports.

For more on the Minnesota Golden Gophers, check out The Daily Gopher. You can also learn more about college basketball around the nation at SB Nation's College Basketball hub.

Big Ten Basketball Tournament: Gus Johnson Makes Things Exciting

Big Ten Tournament, Minnesota Vs. Michigan Halftime Score: Gophers Lead In First Half

The Minnesota Golden Gophers were able to upset the Northwestern Wildcats in overtime during the first half of Thursday's 2012 Big Ten Torunament opener. They're brewing another upset on Friday night, too, holding a three-point lead over the Michigan Wolverines at halftime.

The Gophers were able to get off to an excellent start, leading 13-4 nine minutes into the game, but the Wolverines rebounded to close the gap to 23-20 at halftime. Minnesota didn't necessarily let up, but foul trouble to starting bigs Rodney Williams and Elliott Eliason didn't help.

Williams and Austin Hollins scored eight points apiece in the first half while Thursday's hero, Andre Hollins, had a solid seven points. Michigan was led by Trey Burke as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year scored 13 of the team's 20 points in the first half.

For more on the Minnesota Golden Gophers, check out The Daily Gopher. You can also learn more about college basketball around the nation at SB Nation's College Basketball hub.

Big Ten Basketball Tournament: Minnesota's Starting Lineup Announced By Trevor Mbakwe

The 2012 Big Ten Tournament is in its second day and, a bit surprisingly, the Minnesota Golden Gophers are still in action even without their top two big men in Trevor Mbakwe and Ralph Sampson III. The former has been out for most of the season, unfortunately, but he hasn't lost his sense of humor.

Mbakwe took to Twitter on Friday afternoon to do his version of the starting lineups. He doesn't make it clear, but it seems like he used the *Will Ferrell voice* while typing up the following tweets.

Starting at PG from Memphis, TN Freshman sensationMr. Career high man. Mr. I look like Cam Newton but throw like Tebow (ouch) Dre Hollins

— Trevor Mbakwe (@TMbakwe32) March 9, 2012

Starting at SG weighing in at 79 lbs Austin no my name isn't Andre and no you can't meet get tix to a grizzlies game bc of my dad Hollins.

— Trevor Mbakwe (@TMbakwe32) March 9, 2012

Starting at SF *girls run to tv crying* Joe no shot is a bad shot, I should be in a boys band and (cont) tl.gd/gbeqbo

— Trevor Mbakwe (@TMbakwe32) March 9, 2012

Starting at PF Mr. Conehead himself. Mr. Highlight reel. Mr. I had a 50 inch vertical when I was 4. Rodney ba ba ba ba Williams

— Trevor Mbakwe (@TMbakwe32) March 9, 2012

Starting at Center from Chadron, Nebraska aka Sleeze aka I make gallons of corn in my bath tub Elliot la la la la Elliason

— Trevor Mbakwe (@TMbakwe32) March 9, 2012

For those that didn't catch that: Andre Hollins, Austin Hollins, Joe Coleman, Rodney Williams and Elliott Eliason will be the starting five for Friday night's game against the Michigan Wolverines.

For more on the Minnesota Golden Gophers, check out The Daily Gopher. You can also learn more about college basketball around the nation at SB Nation's College Basketball hub.

Big Ten Tournament: NBA No Longer A Distraction For Minnesota Golden Gophers' Rodney Williams

The 2012 Big Ten Tournament has huge implications for the Minnesota Golden Gophers as they look to string together some victories and earn a miracle entry in the Big Dance. Gophers forward Rodney Williams has recently cleared his plate to focus on the tournament, too, as he's decided he won't attempt to go to the NBA when the season is over.

Williams had been talked about as a possible candidate to enter the NBA Draft following the season, a la Ralph Sampson III last year, but the rules change made it impossible for him to withdraw had he submitted his name. So, according to comments he made to the Pioneer Press, he's decided instead to stay at Minnesota for another season.

"That's definitely a big monkey off my back because that was the talk all season," the 6-foot-7 Williams said Thursday. "Now I can really focus on getting these last couple wins down the stretch so that we can make it to postseason play."

Williams scored just 12 points to go with six rebounds and three steals in Thursday's opening-round victory, but capped off overtime with a big dunk to put the final nail in the coffin of the Northwestern Wildcats. It'll be interesting to see what he does on Friday against the Michigan Wolverines.

For more on the Minnesota Golden Gophers, check out The Daily Gopher. You can also learn more about college basketball around the nation at SB Nation's College Basketball hub.

Big Ten Tournament 2012: Michigan Vs. Minnesota Time, TV Coverage, Bracket And More

A couple of weeks ago, it looked like the Minnesota Golden Gophers were pretty much dead in the water when it came to their chances at making the NCAA Tournament after a lackluster end to the regular season. Their win over Northwestern on Thursday changed the perceptions a bit, though, and a win over the Michigan Wolverines on Friday could raise some eyebrows and push the Gophers back into tournament contention.

The second-seeded Wolverines claimed a share of the Big Ten regular season title, which earned them their highest seed ever in Big Ten tournament play. They're firmly entrenched in the tournament, but seem to be the least respected of the three title sharing teams and a loss to Minnesota would chip them down a few pegs on the brackets.

The game will be on BTN at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time.

The current Big Ten bracket can be found here.

For more on the Minnesota Golden Gophers, check out The Daily Gopher. For more on the Michigan Wolverines, head to Maize N Brew. For complete Big Ten tournament coverage, keep checking this StoryStream.

Big Ten Tournament Bracket Update: Gophers Will Play Michigan On Friday

The Minnesota Golden Gophers started the 2012 Big Ten Tournament off on the right foot Thursday afternoon, using overtime to upend the Northwestern Wildcats. That game meant that the No. 10 seeded Gophers will advance in their bracket to play the Michigan Wolverines on Friday evening.

The Gophers and Wolverines played each other just once in the regular season, back on New Year's Day, with Michigan freshman Trey Burke scoring 27 points as the Wolverines eked out a five-point victory.

The Gophers got huge contributions from freshman Andre Hollins and Eliott Eliason on Thursday as each were instrumental in helping lead the Gophers to victory. Hollins finished with a game-high 25 points while Eliason pulled in 10 rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end.

The Iowa Hawkeyes and Indiana Hoosiers have also advanced through the first round.

For more on the Minnesota Golden Gophers, check out The Daily Gopher. You can also learn more about college basketball around the nation at SB Nation's College Basketball hub.