Road woes

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A whopping nine games went into overtime on Thursday. And no team was immune from a dramatic result.

Let’s get to it.

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1. Big Ten delivers big finishes — and a big upset

Few teams entered Thursday on a bigger roll than No, 20 Michigan, which had won five straight and had the nation’s best offense since mid-December. Playing a road game at the Minnesota, the league’s lone winless team, should’ve been straightforward.

And it looked that way for a while. The Wolverines led by nine at halftime, and by 10 with 12:30 to go. But Minnesota tied it just two minutes later, and the two traded baskets the rest of the way. Dawson Garcia’s two free throws forced OT, and it looked like Danny Wolf’s layup might get us to double OT.

Then Garcia made perhaps the shot of the season.

Minnesota’s 84-81 victory got it a league win, while Michigan (13-4, 5-1) suffered its first league loss.

The Wolverines’ 7-footers, Wolf (23 points, 10 boards, seven assists) and Vlad Goldin (18 points, eight rebounds), were productive. The defense was the issue. They allowed 1.2 points per possession, their worst night since a Dec. 18 loss to Oklahoma.

Coach Dusty May acknowledged Michigan’s shortcomings. "I thought their fans provided a nice jolt, but I thought their players played determined and desperate, with great physicality. And we didn't match their energy and physicality. And that's the most disappointing part of it all."

Minnesota (9-9, 1-6 Big Ten) got 27 points and 12 rebounds from Garcia, but the key were getting help from the supporting cast as Lu’Cye Patterson (22 points) and Mike Mitchell Jr. (20) also had big nights.

That wasn’t the only wild Big Ten games on Thursday night.

Northwestern was hosting Maryland, and seemed primed to snap a three-game skid. It led by 10 midway through the second half, but the Terps forced overtime. The last 20 seconds of OT was hectic, with three made baskets during that time. None were bigger than Nick Martinelli’s.

Martinelli finished with 22 points, Brooks Barnhizer added 20 as Northwestern (11-6, 2-4 Big Ten) ended that skid with the 76-74 victory. Ty Berry, who has struggled in the last week, had 15 points in 33 minutes off the bench.

Maryland (13-5, 3-4) got 32 points and 21 rebounds from its frontcourt duo of Julian Reese and Derik Queen, but it wasn’t enough to keep them from going 0-4 in Big Ten road games. That’s been an issue in the Kevin Willard era.

That didn’t apply to Rutgers (10-8, 3-4), which got a breakthrough Quad 1 road win at Nebraska, 85-82. Freshman stars Ace Bailey (24 points and 11 rebounds and Dylan Harper (21 points) had their typical good games, but they had another big freshman game from Dylan Grant, who chipped in with 15 points on 7-of-8 FG.

“We’re growing up,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said. “You have to go through some tough times to figure it out. If we can stay locked in like this and these guys can continue to believe in each other and stay connected, good things can happen.”

As for Nebraska (12-5, 2-4), this inches it toward the bubble. Brice Williams had 21 points, and Juwan Gary produced 20 points and seven rebounds.

2. Zags, Memphis falter on the road + more results

Most would say Gonzaga and Memphis are the two best teams this season outside of the power conferences. Playing on the road tends to equalize things.

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