ANN ARBOR – Wisconsin came to the Crisler Center on Tuesday with its top five, No. 9 in the national ranking and a lot of experience in big games.
Does not matter.
Michigan did what it did to almost every opponent, especially in recent times, dominating at both ends on the way to a 77-54 victory to improve to 11-0.
The Wolverines’ 36-3 run, spanning the two halves, resulted in yet another explosion of the Big Ten. They led by up to 40 points.
Four Wolverines scored between 12 and 16 points while Michigan hit 52 percent of the field and hit 9 of 16 3s. Wisconsin soared only 31 percent, and even that number was driven by hot gunfights after the outcome was decided.
Good luck finding a team playing better than No. 7 Michigan now. UM came from a 25-point win over Minnesota and a 19-point win over Northwestern before that. Both opponents were ranked at the time.
Wisconsin, the last team to win at Crisler, on February 27 last season, was expected to present a more difficult challenge.
Instead, the Wolverines reached 6-0 at the conference with an altruistic attack and a stifling defense. The series of 14-0 to close the first half gave the team an advantage of 17 points and left the home bench hysterical. Wisconsin scored the first three points of the second half. That was when the Wolverines went to the jugular.
Chaundee Brown’s dunk ended a 22-0 run in the next 6:38 am and would have taken Crisler’s roof off if there were fans present in addition to the small number of family members.
Wisconsin lost nine consecutive goals and committed three twists during the attack. The Badgers entered as one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country, but started only 3 out of 17 from the bottom (they finished 9 out of 28). Wisconsin dropped to 10-3 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten.
Franz Wagner produced 15 points and 10 rebounds for the winners. Mike Smith scored 16 and added six assists. Isaiah Livers had 13 points and six boards.
D’Mitrik Trice led Wisconsin with 20 points. Micah Potter added 12, the only other two-digit Badger.
The teams combined for just 10 free-throw attempts.
In addition to Michigan’s monstrous victory, center-back Austin Davis returned after losing his last five games to a foot injury sustained on December 9. The redshirt senior played 12 minutes off the bench, scoring four points and four rebounds.
Davis’ absence coincided with Hunter Dickinson’s appearance. Michigan’s top scorer of the season scored just two points in the first half, but continued in the second half to finish with 12 points. Dickinson also recorded three of Michigan’s nine blocks.
The Wisconsin pitches that hit the basket were mostly contested. Badgers were unable to obtain any offensive rhythm. One of the country’s best at limiting turnover, they had more draws (10) than assists (eight) on Tuesday.
After Wisconsin stopped the aforementioned 22-0 explosion, Michigan scored the next seven points. In total, it was a 43-6 run that put Michigan at 69-29 with 10:23 remaining.
Michigan will try to maintain momentum in a rematch against No. 23 Minnesota on Saturday in Minneapolis.
Tuesday’s clash looked like it was going to be competitive early. Livers showed his full repertoire early on, scoring seven points as Michigan reached the 11-5 lead. Wisconsin’s third 3-point basket tied the game at 15 with 12:13 left before half-time before Michigan found its bottom rhythm.
Brown got a 3 right after check-in. Wagner buried one. Livers crossed his defender – who fell and received a warning on the flop – before passing to Brandon Johns Jr. for a triple corner, and Michigan led 26-19 with 8:31 left.
Wisconsin cut the deficit to three with 6:19 am left before Michigan’s 14-0 run to close the first half. It included consecutive robberies and escapes, a Wagner flying high, a beautiful 3-step back from Smith and a blocking defense. Michigan led by 40-23.
The Michigan bank exploded on the court and made its presence felt throughout the night.