Garcia beats buzzer with long 3-pointer to lift Minnesota past No. 20 Michigan, 84-81 in OT

Minneapolis, MN-MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota defeated No. 20 Michigan 84-81 in overtime Thursday night thanks to a 3-pointer from Dawson Garcia from the near edge of the center-court logo.

With seven seconds remaining, Danny Wolf’s clutch layup gave the Wolverines the lead. However, Lu Cye Patterson found Garcia for the game-winning basket from the “M” logo after the Gophers had time to carry the ball upcourt. Coach Ben Johnson defeated a ranked squad for the first time in his tenure thanks to the jumper.

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – JANUARY 16: Following the game at Williams Arena on January 16, 2025, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Dawson Garcia #3 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers (C) celebrates his game-winning basket against the Michigan Wolverines. The Golden Go

Garcia finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Gophers (9-10, 1-6 Big Ten), and his two free throws with 7.4 seconds remaining leveled the game at 71 going into overtime. Mike Mitchell Jr. contributed 20 points, and Patterson scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half.

Wolf scored 23 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead Michigan (13-4, 5-1). Tre Donaldson contributed 14 points, Will Tschetter scored 15, and Vladislav Goldin finished with 18 points and eight rebounds.

Takeaways

Michigan: A total of eight points have separated the Wolverines’ four losses.

Minnesota: Johnson’s transfer-plagued team showed perseverance by rallying from a 10-point deficit in the second half, one year after the Gophers’ unexpected middle-of-the-pack finish.

Key moment

With Michigan ahead 51-42 halfway through the second half, Patterson made two free throws and a 3-pointer before Goldin missed a wide-open dunk. Patterson made a baseline jumper, and Garcia scored in transition to knot the score at 51 following a Wolverines mistake.

Key stat

The Wolverines made 11 of 22 3-pointers, their sixth consecutive game with 10 or more 3-pointers, after shooting a sizzling 46.3% on 3-pointers in their previous five games.

Up next

On Sunday, Michigan will host Northwestern. On Tuesday night, Minnesota will travel to Iowa.