The Charlotte transfer flexed to the crowd after muscling in a layup on Goldin for Minnesota’s first lead of the second half, 62-61 with 4:12 to play.
After Mike Mitchell’s jumper made it a three-point advantage with 3½ minutes to play, the Wolverines took a 68-66 lead on Nimari Burnett’s layup a minute later before Patterson answered from deep.
It had been a season of missed opportunities for the Gophers (9-9, 1-6 Big Ten), who entered the night as one of seven teams winless in major conference play in the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East and SEC.
The Wolverines (13-4, 5-1) arrived in the Twin Cities undefeated in the Big Ten and tied for first place with Michigan State, but they hadn’t played a close game recently.
During a five-game winning streak, Michigan’s margin of victory was 25 points while averaging 94 points behind the 7-foot tandem of Goldin and Wolf.
The Gophers made it a tough game taking care of the ball Thursday for Wolf, who had 23 points and 10 rebounds, but he also had six turnovers.
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