Biggest takeaways from Minnesota's frustrating loss at No. 9 Michigan

The Gophers came to play in the first game of 2026 at No. 9 Michigan, but some of the same issues resulted in a frustrating 70-60 loss. Here's what we learned.

Turnovers

The Gophers entered Monday tied for first in the entire country with only 9.8 turnovers per game this season. Michigan opted to go into a press, and Minnesota topped that average with 10 first-half turnovers. The issues carried well into the second half, and their 17 turnovers were far too many to overcome in a game with a ranked opponent on the road.

Olivia Olson handing it to her hometown team

Olson was a dominant prep basketball player at Benilde-St. Margaret's in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. She was the top recruit state in the 2024 cycle and the No. 3-ranked recruit in the country. She earned Minnesota Miss Basketball before signing with Michigan over top offers from the Gophers, Arizona, Iowa, UConn, Notre Dame, and Stanford, among others.

She scored 19 points last season against Minnesota as a true freshman, and she led the Wolverines again on Tuesday night with 21 points on 9 of 16 shooting from the field. She looks like another local star in women's college basketball.

Defense is still impressive

The Gophers entered Monday's game with the No. 1-ranked scoring defense in the entire country, allowing only 49.9 points per game. Michigan came into the game with the No. 9-ranked offense in the country, averaging 89.3 points per game. Their defense showed up again in Ann Arbor, with only 10 points allowed in the first quarter. It's probably good enough to keep them in just about every Big Ten game this season, but the offense will have to be better in order to compete with the conference's best.

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WHOLE LOT OF ACTION IN THIS ONE 🍿#NCAAWBB x 🎥 BTN / @GopherWBB pic.twitter.com/BIOtxEvmsf
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) January 6, 2026

Losing streak grows to 34 against ranked opponents

You have to go all the way back to Nov. 19, 2019, to find Minnesota's last win over a team ranked in the Associated Press (AP) top 25 poll. It beat No. 19 Arizona State 2,239 days ago. Tonight's loss to No. 9 Michigan adds to a 34-game losing streak against ranked opponents, which comes after a double-overtime collapse against then No. 7 Maryland in December.

Mara Braun's struggles

Braun continues to struggle this season to find the form she had early in her Gophers career. She came into Monday's game averaging only 10.9 points per game on 35.1% shooting from the field. She had 14 points against Michigan, but her 4 of 11 shooting and four turnovers were far from inspiring. We still haven't seen a true star performance that was commonplace from 2022 to 2024.