University of Michigan Athletics

» Michigan will appear in its third straight Big Ten Tournament final after the win over Minnesota.
» Isaiah Livers scored a career-high 21 points against the Golden Gophers.
» Zavier Simpson dished out nine assists and had zero turnovers in 26 minutes of play.
» Michigan will meet up with Michigan State for the third time in a month for the B1G Tournament championship.

Site: Chicago, Ill. (United Center)
Event: Big Ten Tournament (Semifinal)
Score: #10 Michigan 76, Minnesota 49
Records: U-M (28-5), Minnesota (21-13)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, March 17 -- vs. Michigan State - Big Ten Tournament Final (Chicago, Ill.), 2:30 p.m. CDT (TV: CBS)

CHICAGO, Ill. -- The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team rolled to its third straight Big Ten Tournament championship game appearance by defeating Minnesota, 76-49, in the semifinal round Saturday afternoon (March 16) at the United Center.

The No. 3-seeded Wolverines will compete for their third straight Big Ten Conference Tournament title Sunday (March 17) against No. 6-ranked and No. 1-seeded Michigan State. Tipoff is set for 2:30 CDT with the game to be televised on CBS.

The Wolverines shot an impressive 51.6 percent (32-of-62) from the floor against Minnesota behind a career-best 21 points from Isaiah Livers, 15 points from Zavier Simpson, and 13 points from Ignas Brazdeikis.

Simpson was once again the trigger of Michigan's attack as he dished out nine assists and did not commit a turnover in 26 minutes of play. Sophomore Jordan Poole was also an integral part of the Wolverines offense this afternoon, scoring nine points in the first half, dishing out seven assists and adding three steals.

After a close first 12 minutes of the game, the Wolverines broke out on a 15-2 run that included nine straight points to take its first double-digit lead, 28-15, with 5:02 remaining in the first half. Poole and Brazdeikis were key on both ends of the floor as both tallied early blocks and had a quick nine points each on a combined 8-for-11 shooting.

Five straight Michigan points followed by a Simpson layup just ahead of the halftime buzzer allowed the Wolverines to take a commanding 38-19 lead into the half. Brazdeikis, Poole and Simpson all had nine points in the first half, while the defense forced four turnovers and had three steals in the opening 20 minutes.

The Golden Gophers made their first few shots of the half before Michigan settled back into the game and closed the door early on the Minnesota comeback. Michigan's hot offense continued as it built its lead to as many as 35 with 6:07 remaining in the contest as Livers drained back-to-back three-pointers before Brooks made back-to-back layups for U-M.

Junior Jon Teske led Michigan on the glass with eight rebounds, and Eli Brooks added six boards for the Maize and Blue.

Two games into the postseason, Michigan is outscoring its opponents, 150-102, and the defense has given up just three three-pointers, allowing Minnesota to only make two today while forcing the Golden Gophers into eight turnovers.