The Charlotte transfer addressed the crowd after muscling a layup over Goldin to give Minnesota its first lead of the second half, 62-61 with 4:12 remaining.
After Mike Mitchell’s jumper took a three-point advantage with 3 1/2 minutes left, the Wolverines took a 68-66 lead on Nimari Burnett’s layup a minute later before Patterson responded with depth.
It’s been a season of missed opportunities for the Gophers (9-9, 1-6 Big Ten), who entered the night as one of seven winless teams in ACC major conference play, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East and SECOND.
The Wolverines (13-4, 5-1) came to 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 with an average of 94 points behind the 7-foot tandem of Goldin and Wolf.
The Gophers made the game difficult by taking care of the ball Thursday for Wolf, who had 23 points and 10 rebounds, but he also had six turnovers.
