Against a shorthanded Minnesota team playing its third game in three days, Michigan took care of business and won in a blowout. The Gophers were up for it early and the game was tied at 13 midway through the first half, but the Wolverines ran away from there: they went on a 25-6 run to end the half and Isaiah Livers caught fire in the second half to turn it into a rout. It was the second time in as many days that Michigan’s suffocating defense overwhelmed their opponent, and it sets up a Big Ten Tournament championship game against Michigan State — really the only team to find sustained success against the vaunted Wolverine defense.

The decisive run in today’s win over Minnesota didn’t come in a flurry of points, but in a prolonged series of stops. Over the final 15 possessions of the first half, Minnesota only scored on three possessions, two of which came late in the half on Jordan Murphy baskets after the Wolverines had already doubled up the Gophers. Minnesota missed a couple of open shots (a Gabe Kalscheur layup was a particularly brutal miss), there were a couple Gopher turnovers, and the Wolverine defense challenged plenty of shots (like a physical Murphy take at Ignas Brazdeikis that ended in a block). It was reminiscent of the second Michigan-Minnesota matchup a couple weeks ago: the Gophers scored just 16 first half points in that game.

The difference today is that Michigan’s offense was consistently efficient, and the Wolverines didn’t settle into a funk offensively. Jordan Poole was aggressive early and scored 9 quick points: he found Iggy on a pick and pop for Michigan’s first bucket, made a couple of layups (including one where he shook Kalscheur with a beautiful series of moves), and banked in a three. Poole cooled off, but Zavier Simpson took over and controlled the game as the Wolverines went on their run. Simpson has been fantastic in the Big Ten Tournament thus far — 25 points on 10-14 shooting, 20 assists, and 1 turnover. Of course, he’s played his brand of physical defense as well.

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Today, he looked like the best player on the floor. He made the right play in Michigan’s ball screen offense and finished an assist short of a double double, but his scoring may have been even more impressive. In the first half, he scored a tough bucket over Kalscheur, flipped a layup in over Daniel Oturu, and knocked down a three after a botched switch by Minnesota; in the second, he hit two more threes, including one from way beyond the arc that beat the buzzer after a nice save by Livers. It was Michigan’s most efficient offensive output (1.25 points per possession) since early January, and the main reasons why (61% shooting on twos and just 7 turnovers) can be traced back to Simpson.

He was the one to extend Michigan’s lead to 38-19 by halftime. With Minnesota’s fatigue, inability to run good offense, and limited contributions from their top players, the game was pretty much over by that point. Minnesota’s offense finally woke up after halftime — Murphy went to work down low and Dupree McBrayer hit the Gophers’ first three — but Michigan kept pace and wouldn’t let them trim the lead. That Simpson three to beat the buzzer pushed the score to 50-30, and Michigan’s defense resumed its dominance. The lead eventually grew to 35. The reserves were in with six minutes left.

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The highlight of garbage time was Livers. Michigan’s sixth man poured in 21 points off the bench, including 17 in the second half, good for a career high for the sophomore. With the return of Charles Matthews, Livers is clearly the second choice at center behind Jon Teske, and while Colin Castleton has received spot minutes, Livers’s work as a small-ball five has been key on both ends for Michigan thus far in the Big Ten Tournament. He had maybe his best half of basketball as a Wolverine today, knocking down a couple of threes in short succession and getting out in the open floor for transition buckets against the tired Gophers.

The Wolverines have won with defense all season, and their performance thus far in the Big Ten Tournament — just 0.79 points per possession allowed over two games — has been about as solid as it’s been all year. Michigan State handled their first two BTT games comfortably as well, and Sunday’s game will be another huge matchup in this rivalry. Michigan’s been playing some fantastic basketball in Chicago this weekend, but nobody’s looked better against the Wolverines this season than the Spartans have. Either Michigan will avenge a season sweep and win its third straight BTT title, or State will capture the regular season and conference tournament titles and beat the Wolverines for the third time.

[Box score after the JUMP]