Michigan basketball on top in gritty battle vs. Wisconsin to win Big Ten Tournament
If you had told Michigan basketball fans on Thursday that the Wolverines would be playing on Sunday in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game, they wouldn't have believed you. However, after beating Purdue on Friday and Maryland on Saturday, the maize and blue are facing Wisconsin in a trophy game.
The red-hot Wolverines had the unenviable task of facing an equally red-hot Badger squad, led by star guard John Tonje. The hot shooting would need to continue for Michigan basketball while turnovers would need to be diminished.
First half
The Wolverines controlled the tip and jumped out to a 7-3 lead, but Wisconsin hit a second 3 to cut it to 7-6. Both teams played fast and both teams started out the first five minutes of the game with three turnovers a piece.
Wisconsin tied the game at 7-all on a free throw coming out of the under-16 media timeout, but the turnovers continued for the maize and blue. Both teams struggled to shoot with the Badgers settling often for 3 attempts that wouldn't drop. Both teams were on four-plus minute scoring droughts from the floor but Vladislav Goldin broke the impasse with 12:20 remaining in the first half with a hook shot just outside the key. He quickly followed that up with a 3 to put Michigan up by five. But Wisconsin stayed persistent from beyond the arc and hit its third 3 of the game to close it to two.
At this stage, Michigan was shooting sub-30% while the Badgers were shooting sub-20% as the sloppy, defensive battle continued. Wisconsin took its first lead of the game on yet another 3 -- every Badger make to this point was a longball. The Wolverines quickly retook the lead, 14-13, before Wisconsin finally hit a two-point make. At the under-eight media timeout, Wisconsin had a tenuous, one-point lead.
The impasse continued, but Michigan got some negative news with Danny Wolf picking up his second foul of the half with just under six minutes remaining. Down three, Rubin Jones hit Michigan's third 3-pointer to tie the game at 19 with 4:45 remaining in the half.
The slugfest still on, Michigan guard Roddy Gayle Jr. went to the locker room around the two-minute mark with a tweaked hamstring. The bulk of both teams' shots were from 3 to this point (17 of 32 shots for Michigan, 24 of 37 shots for Wisconsin) and the teams went into the locker room at halftime with the Badgers leading, 23-21 -- season lows for both teams. The only good news for Michigan is that it held Tonje to 0 points in the first and only was down two at the half.
Second half
After a missed 3 by the Wolverines to open up the half, both teams started trying to drive to the basket. Wisconsin was successful first, taking a team-high four-point lead and then a six-point lead. The Badgers had a 10-rebound advantage on the Wolverines and had thus taken six more shots than Michigan. Wisconsin started getting some success getting underneath and got an eight-point lead, but LJ Cason drained a 3 to cut it back to five. After Wisconsin responded in kind, Cason hit another -- still a five-point game.
John Tonje finally got his first points after making two free throws, and it was a seven-point Wisconsin advantage. Two more minutes later (there was no scoring between the earlier attempts), and it was a nine-point advantage.
Wisconsin hit two more free throws to go up 11 but Will Tschetter finally stopped the bleeding with a three, and with 12:11 remaining in the game, it was 38-30, Badgers. Goldin got a layup just before the under-12 timeout and the deficit was six.
Coming out of the break, Cason drove the lane and ended up being fouled and attempted Michigan's first two free throws of the game, draining both to cut the deficit to four -- a 7-0 run for the Wolverines. Wisconsin's only scoring came from the line as it was on a seven-plus minute field goal drought -- ended by a Blackwell 3 to push the lead back to seven. Down five at the under-eight, Michigan hadn't scored from the floor in over four minutes.
A Will Tschetter 3 and Danny Wolf layup in the ensuing minutes helped Michigan cut the Wisconsin lead to two. Wolf scored again, and all of a sudden, the game was tied at 45 -- erasing the Badgers' lead of 11. But after a Badger timeout, Tonje went 1-of-2 from the line and then got his first field goal of the game to go up three. Michigan responded, with Nimari Burnett hitting a 3 on the other end -- 48-all. But Wisconsin came right back and hit another to take another three-point advantage. Tre Donaldson hit his first field goal, driving the basket for a layup, to cut the deficit to one at the under-four timeout.
With two minutes remaining, Michigan took its first lead since the first half, with Donaldson draining a pivotal 3. However, he picked up his fourth foul on the other end, sending Max Klesmit to the line, where he tied the game back up at 53 with 1:34 remaining in the game.
After multiple attempts by Michigan, the Wolverines kept getting the ball back on out of bounds calls on Wisconsin. Finally, the maize and blue went to the line in the double bonus, where Vlad Goldin put Michigan up by two with 46 seconds left.
Michigan had a defensive stand, but Tonje caused Goldin to turn the ball over. The Badgers had another chance but John Blackwell missed the layup and Tre Donaldson came up with the rebound. He was fouled and went to the line, where hit both free throws to push the lead to four with 14 seconds left.
The Wolverines would hang on to win the Big Ten Tournament championship, 59-53.
Notes and what's next
Dusty May is the first first-year head coach in the Big Ten to win the tournament. The Wolverines will now wait for the selection committee's seeding in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
Wisconsin did not make a field goal in the final 3:55 of the game. Tonje went 1-for-9 from the floor after leading the Badgers against MSU. It was an 11-2 run for the Wolverines to win the game.
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