Michigan 84, Minnesota 77
A masterful Walton kept Minnesota off-balance all afternoon. [Paul Sherman]
Can we get a recount?
Minnesota's Nate Mason beat out Derrick Walton for a spot on the All-Big Ten first team last week. Today, the difference between those two guards proved to be the difference in the conference semifinal. Walton was productive and efficient, scoring a career-high 29 points on 8-for-15 field goals and a perfect 10-for-10 mark from the line, dishing out nine assists against a lone turnover, and pulling down four rebounds.
When the Gophers mounted their second-half comeback, Walton's cold-blooded outside shooting and impeccable passing put Michigan back out in front and kept them there. Mason was productive, and nobody would accuse him of not playing well, but he needed 23 shots from the field and a pair of free throws to score 23 points. He tried to match Walton shot-for-shot down the stretch, and that played to Michigan's advantage.
Michigan came out of the gate on fire. Walton had five assists in the opening five minutes as John Beilein's offense created layup after layup. Moe Wagner hit all five of his first-half shots for 14 points, Zak Irvin went 4-for-5 to net nine, and Walton took what the Gopher defense gave him for ten of his own. While Minnesota generated almost all of their offense in the paint, they didn't make any of their four three-point attempts in the half, and that's no way to keep pace with this Michigan squad; the Wolverines threatened to turn this into a laugher with a 47-36 halftime lead.
A plane accident, the hectic travel that ensued, and three games in three days appeared to catch up to Michigan in the second half, however. While the Gophers continued to get what they wanted inside, the Wolverines left a lot of open shots short and failed to pick up shooters on the other end. A wide-open Mason three knotted the game up with 13:11 remaining.
Duncan Robinson broke a six-minute Michigan shooting slump two possession later. While the Gophers would keep it tight they couldn't close the gap again, even with Wagner limited to nine second-half minutes with foul trouble. Walton poured in 17 points after Minnesota tied it up, going 4-for-6 from the field and 6-for-6 from the line with a steal and two assists in that span to shut the door on the Gophers in Burke-like fashion.
Wagner (17), Irvin (13), and Robinson (10) all finished the game in double figures, as did all five starters on a shorthanded Minnesota squad that lost starting two-guard Akeem Springs for the year yesterday. Michigan overcame a severe disadvantage on the boards—Minnesota had a 15 to 2 edge in offensive rebounds—with superior outside shooting, transition offense, and having the only Derrick Walton on the floor.
Walton's Wolverines will face the winner of Wisconsin and Northwestern in tomorrow's Big Ten title game. The unbelievable nature of this week almost obscured the equally unbelievable turnaround by both Walton and the team as a whole in the latter half of the season. This has turned into a banner-worthy squad. They can secure one tomorrow afternoon.
I'm starting to get excited.
to get excited?
I am fully at attention!
#TMISaturday
#FlagPole
This is turning into one of the most remarkable few days I've ever seen in sport. GO BLUE!!!
What time is the championship game tomorrow?
3:00pm EDT
Ok, I did the homework. 3pm on CBS
Is still alive and well.
Are we witnessing Walton/Michigan go all Kemba/UCONN right now
for a Shabazz Napier-type run.
His team was a 7-seed too...
In typical Donnal fashion he alternated bad stretches with good ones. But today I think there was a lot more good. Very proud of the way he played today as he came up with some tough defense and important points.
Probably fresher legs than most at this point with relatively limited playing time. He is probably going to be very important tomorrow when almost everyone else on that court is going to be dragging.
March 12th, 2017 at 12:41 PM ^
I fear the fatigue will catch us today against the best team we've played yet. That being said they seem to be taking turns getting hot. Paging MAAR. Regardless one of the hottest teams in the country going into the tournament and I fully expect a deep run.
That stuff of Murphy's layup was one of the biggest plays of the game.
Lunardi has them as a 7 seed now on the updated braketology. Keep movin' up!
That shows us playing Kentucky in the 2nd round. Let's win tomorrow and move up to 6.
March 12th, 2017 at 12:43 PM ^
I don't think these guys fear anything right now.
Walton poured in 17 points after Minnesota tied it up, going 4-for-6 from the field and 4-for-4 from the line
great, but just getting to Sunday is a pretty nice accomplishment for this team. I hope Bamba has been watching this.
First 3rd game in 3 days win in Beilein career per the thread yesterday. A-MAIZE-ING.
This is like something out of the movies. We have a near-death experience and barely make it to the arena for the first game, and then we go on a run to the final. When Minnesota hit those three 3's in a row, I feared we weren't going to have the legs to hang on. But we keep digging deep. Whatever happens tomorrow, this has been a special moment.
I'm worn out just watching.Don't forget the ridiculous 8PM road game start time last Sunday (we put student-athletes interest first.my ass) Re Seeding:Getting a Fri/Sunday rather than Thurs/Sat more important than whether we get a 6 or 7 seed.
I think Beileins best shot to win it is when he had the National Player of the Year, 5 more players that got drafted, and a first half lead in the national championship game.
But this team isn't bad.
While Walton played well in the MSU game in EL, that one was 90% Nik---who lit it up with swagger.
And despite your self-congratulations, you were no where near alone in predicting Mo's upside; in fact, I'd suggest he was always a popular pick for success even when he wasn't playing much.
he was on a tear there wasn't he? lol
Poor guy. His mortal enemy, John Beilein, keeps winning.
what you put on the internet stays there, and people might remember.
Go Blue!
That was the best part! His hesitation dribble would freeze the defense and then he'd basically trot up to the basket and casually lay it in like he didn't have a care in the world.
That's when the will to compete took over. They need some rest after tomorrow.
May not be first team all big ten but
how about first team All American. Great job.
Team effort, and Walton truly led this team to victory.
Find a way to get one more.
I was thinking the same thing. Minnesota was getting to the rim pretty much all game. No UM defender could stay in front of his man it seemed. UM being a better outside shooting team was the difference.
How about starting the big ten tournament on a Wednesday. Two game's on Wednesday. Top two team's play the seventh and eighth place team's. Thursday the third and fourth place team's play the fifth and sixth place team's. Saturday the semi-finals and Sunday the championship game. The bottom six teams are eliminated from tournament because of conference finish. Give the fellas a day off between game's. Michigan or any big ten team having to play three or four game's in same amount of day's is stupid. After two straight day's the quality of the game is going to suffer. Not a fan of the tournament in this type of scheduling.
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