Eleven days and one starter can make a huge difference.

GAME DAY UPDATE

The Wolverines will be without the services of the "Professor" Eli Brooks for this afternoon's game at Minnesota after he strained his (right) foot in practice; he is day-to-day ...

As coach always says ... NEXT MAN UP#GoBlue 〽️?#HailFromHome pic.twitter.com/DkzYkWNxFK

— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) January 16, 2021

Less than two weeks ago, Michigan beat Minnesota 82-57. This afternoon, it was the Gophers holding the Wolverines to 57 points, their season low and only the second time they've been held below 80. Michigan shot 16-for-34 on two-pointers, hitting their lowest percentage this season. They committed 20 turnovers, tied with the hideous Oakland junk zone game for the season worst.

After a slow start for both teams, Minnesota put the game's first six points on the board, riding that run to a seven-point halftime lead. Michigan could never get enough going on offense to put the outcome in serious doubt. A three-pointer by Chaundee Brown, who started in place of Eli Brooks, cut the deficit to six points with 14 minutes to play, and he subsequently forced a ten-second violation pressing Marcus Carr. 

But Liam Robbins stoned Austin Davis in the post, leading to a transition three-pointer for Gabe Kalscheur, before a couple poor plays from freshman Zeb Jackson preceded back-to-back dunks by Robbins and Carr. Michigan couldn't get within eight points afterwards, and the Gophers lead ballooned as high as 23 points before the bench mob hit a couple shots.

Hunter Dickinson had the worst game of his remarkable freshman season, scoring nine points on 4/5 shooting but turning it over five times, committing three fouls, and getting limited to 23 minutes. His seven-foot counterpart, Robbins, was the best player on the court, pouring in 22 points with two blocks and two steals in 22 minutes. That scoring matchup went 28-5 in favor of Dickinson in the game at Crisler.

Turnovers were an issue for everyone on the court except Franz Wagner, who had trouble getting good looks against Gabe Kalscheur, scoring eight points on ten shooting possessions. Mike Smith, in charge of running the offense for most of the game, had ten assists and three turnovers while going scoreless on six shots. Brown and Isaiah Livers combined for five three-pointers—and five turnovers.

The absence of Brooks also resulted in some untested lineups. Zeb Jackson tied his season high with nine minutes and got in for some of the first high-leverage playing time of his college career; he went 0/3 from the field with an assist and two TOs. When Brown got into foul trouble after Jackson's rough stint, Terrance Williams took the court. Austin Davis scored six early points but his defense was, as usual, targeted during his 14 minutes.

This is hopefully a game Michigan can write off—on the road, coming off a couple huge wins, and missing a starter, not to mention hitting only 6/22 three-pointers and coughing up 20 (TWENTY!) turnovers. An undefeated season was exceptionally unlikely. Even without Brooks, though, it was a disappointing, disjointed game from a team that had been hitting on all cylinders since Christmas. The Wolverines are still capable of beating anyone at any time. They're not perfect, though, and today put plenty of stuff on film for the team to work on.

Michigan (11-1, 6-1) maintains a half-game lead over 5-1 Iowa in the Big Ten pending Sunday's game between the Hawkeyes and Northwestern. They face a quick turnaround before facing another feisty team looking for revenge, Maryland, on Tuesday evening at Crisler. If Brooks isn't available, Juwan Howard is going to have to get creative.

[Hit THE JUMP for the box score.]