Michigan Basketball is coming off a tough road game at Wisconsin where they lost their first game of the year. Can they bounce back at home against a good Minnesota team?
Matchup: Minnesota Golden Gophers (14-4, 4-3 Big Ten) at Michigan Wolverines (17-0, 6-1 Big Ten)
Date and time: Tuesday, Jan. 22 at 7:00 p.m. ET
TV schedule: BTN
Location: Crisler Center, Ann Arbor, MI
Michigan comes into their game on Tuesday after suffering their first loss of the year at Wisconsin on Saturday. The Badgers were the first team to take down the Wolverines this year and they did it by limiting what Michigan could do offensively. They got them to force shots and not work their offense. That combined with another big game from Ethan Happ and it was too much for the Wolverines to overcome.
The Wolverines will need to have a short memory as they need to get right back at it when The Golden Gophers visit them this week. Minnesota is coming off a one point win against Penn State over the weekend but that was after an embarrassing 27 point loss to an Illinois team that had lost five straight games. Minnesota does come in with a 14-4 record but many do not see them as good as their record would indicate. The Gophers have four guys averaging in double figures for the year including Amir Coffey (15.7 ppg) and Jordan Murphy (14.6 ppg).
One loss does not ruin a season and the Wolverines need a big bounce back game to show that they are still just as good as everybody saw through the first 17 games. Michigan should come out extremely focused to put their bad game behind them and get back on track and keep up with Michigan State.
We look at three keys for the Wolverines as they welcome Minnesota into Ann Arbor on Tuesday.