Michigan’s Twin Towers are ready to make things difficult for the Gophers on Thursday night at Williams Arena

Few Big Ten men’s basketball programs have a deeper history of frontcourt talent than the Gophers, who were led in the 1970s and 1980s by legends such as Mychal Thompson, Kevin McHale and Randy Breuer.

Basketball has evolved to become more perimeter-oriented, but there are Big Ten teams considered throwbacks to that big man era.

The Gophers (8-9, 0-6 Big Ten) host No. 20 Michigan on Thursday night having to figure out how to match up against a rare starting lineup featuring two 7-footers, Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin.

“It’s going to be a really challenging defensive game,” Gophers coach Ben Johnson said. “Everybody’s gone to more small ball, but they’ve made it work.”

The Wolverines’ Twin Towers have terrorized the Big Ten under first-year coach Dusty May, who brought the 7-1, 250-pound Goldin with him from Florida Atlantic. The 7-foot, 250-pound Wolf transferred from Yale to take the Big Ten by storm as a center who can play point guard.

“We felt like we were unique,” May said. “We could play a different style that teams didn’t see every night, which makes it difficult to prepare.”

The Wolverines, who are tied for first place with Michigan State in the Big Ten at 5-0 entering Thursday, aren’t just about throwing the ball inside, either. Auburn transfer Tre Donaldson, Ohio State transfer Roddy Gayle Jr. and Alabama transfer Nimari Burnett lead them on the perimeter. Stewartville, Minn., native Will Tschetter adds depth off the bench.

But Goldin is tied for the Big Ten scoring lead with 22 points per game in league play, which included a career-high 36 points in a 94-75 win vs. No. 22 UCLA. Wolf, projected as a first-round NBA draft pick, averages 15.4 points in league play, but he also ranks second in the Big Ten in rebounding (10.0) and seventh in assists (4.4).