MINNEAPOLIS _ Richard Pitino was in his first season as an assistant under his father, Rick Pitino, at Louisville and John Beilein was in his first season as Michigan coach the last time the Gophers men's basketball team beat the Wolverines at Williams Arena in February 2008.
Beilein owned Minnesota since then, winning 13 of 14 games and nine straight entering Sunday's matchup at the Barn. Michigan was the only Big Ten team Pitino, now in his fourth season with the Gophers, hadn't beaten.
That drought ended Sunday night.
The Gophers saw an eight-point lead with two minutes left in regulation vanish after D.J. Wilson's 3-pointer sent the game into overtime. But Minnesota edged out an 83-78 win against the Wolverines in the extra period at Williams Arena.
As poorly as the Gophers shot free throws in regulation (missed 12), they hit 7 for 8 from the foul line in overtime to escape. Minnesota shot 28 for 41 from the charity stripe in the game.
Amir Coffey went 4 for 4 on free throws in the last 1:25 in overtime, including two with 8.2 seconds remaining. Jordan Murphy, who finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds, nailed the final two free throws with 1.1 seconds left.
Dupree McBrayer and Eric Curry scored 15 and 12 points off the bench, respectively. Nate Mason had 13 points on 3-for-13 shooting and eight assists for Minnesota.
The Gophers (20-7, 8-6) have now won five straight Big Ten regular-season games for the first time since 1977-78, excluding the vacated 1996-97 season. But they had to persevere through their fifth overtime game this season to get there.
Mason's four-point play with 2:54 remaining in the game gave his team an eight-point lead in regulation.
Michigan's 7-2 run was capped by a three-point play from Derrick Walton Jr. to cut it to 70-67 with under a minute. The Wolverines scored on a second straight possession after tying up Amir Coffey on a jump ball, leading to Wilson basket on a jump hook with 12.8 left.
McBrayer calmly hit two free throws for a three-point advantage. But the Wolverines had 8.1 seconds left. That was more than enough time for Wilson to nail a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
Minnesota was fortunate to be leading 29-27 at halftime after starting guards Nate Mason, Amir Coffey and Akeem Springs combined to shoot just 2-for-14 in the first half.
Coming off his second 30-point game of the season in a 75-74 win Wednesday against Indiana, Mason didn't get a basket until 7:29 in the second half.
In the first half, Murphy and Reggie Lynch took advantage of their strength in the paint with a combined 17 points and 13 rebounds. But Lynch's foul trouble kept him from making an impact after the first 10 minutes.
Lynch, who fouled out eight times this season, picked up his fourth foul at 9:46 in the second half after giving his team a 49-48 lead on 1 of 2 free throws.
Akeem Springs made 2 of 3 for a 51-48 advantage. Michigan's Moe Wagner scored six straight points, including two free throws to cut it to 55-54 with 6{ minutes remaining.
The Wolverines (16-10, 7-7) were on a three-game win streak entering Sunday, which included a 64-58 win against No. 11 Wisconsin on Thursday. Wagner, who had 21 points against the Badgers, finished with 15 points and seven rebounds Sunday.
But Wagner was in foul trouble, too. He fouled out with 1:25 left in overtime. Wilson and Walton led the Wolverines with 16 points apiece.
A turning point for the Gophers came with 4:39 left when Beilein was called for a technical foul protesting a blocking foul. Coffey and Mason hit four straight free throws. Murphy followed with an emphatic baseline dunk for a 64-57 lead.
The Gophers hadn't beaten Michigan since a 69-64 victory Jan. 22, 2011 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Pitino was 0-5 against the Wolverines. The last time the Gophers defeated Michigan at the Barn was in a 69-60 won on Feb. 21, 2008.
