Michigan Basketball suffered its first loss of the season, falling to Wisconsin, 91-88, at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor. Here’s how it all went down:
The Michigan Wolverines suffered their first loss of the season, falling to the Wisconsin Badgers 91-88 on Saturday in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines are now 14-1 overall and 4-1 in Big Ten play.
Here’s how it all went down.
FIRST HALF
Michigan’s offense came out firing on all cylinders, scoring on seven of its first eight possessions to build a 13-6 lead at the first media timeout. The Wolverines seemingly emphasized playing through Aday Mara, who threw down a dunk on the opening possession and scored a floater the next time down to floor.
Just moments later, Morez Johnson threw down a dunk of his own over a pair of Wisconsin defenders. Nearing the midway point in the half, Trey McKenney and Yaxel Lendeborg hit back to back three-pointers to push the lead to 21-10. Michigan extended the lead to as much as 14 points before Wisconsin on a quick 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 31-24.
Johnson did his best to regain momentum by scoring straight points, but the Badgers wouldn’t go away. They put together a 6-0 run in the final minutes of the half, and Michigan held a 38-37 lead at halftime. Johnson led the way with 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field in the first half, but the Wolverines committed eight turnovers to allowed Wisconsin to hang around.
HALFTIME: Michigan 38, Wisconsin 37
SECOND HALF
Wisconsin’s offense caught fire early in the second half, as Aleksas Bieliauskas and Nolan Winter combined to make five three-pointers on their first five possessions to take a 59-56 lead. Elliot Cadeau kept Michigan within striking distance though, scoring 12 points — including nine straight — following a scoreless first half.
Cadeau’s incredible start to the half continued, as he hit a three to make it 65-65 with 13:17 left. Not only was he completely taking over on offense, he also drew a pair of fouls to help Michigan regain the lead. Coming out of a timeout, Lendeborg sank a go-ahead hook shot to put the Wolverines up 71-70 with 10:50 to go.
The following minutes saw both teams trade punches — every time Wisconsin scored, Michigan seemed to respond. John Blackwell drilled a fallaway jumper to give Wisconsin a 81-79 lead, but Nimari Burnett finished a dunk on the other end to quickly tie it. Roddy Gayle Jr. hit a go-ahead three-pointer to briefly put Michigan up, 84-83, but Wisconsin immediately answered with a 5-0 run.
Wisconsin missed several free throws in the final minutes to leave the door open for the Wolverines, but a potential game-tying shot from Gayle came up short on the last possession. Michigan was outscored 45-24 from the three-point line, as Wisconsin shot a blistering 10-of-17 from beyond the arc in the second half.
FINAL SCORE: Wisconsin 91, Michigan 88
MICHIGAN STAT LEADERS
- G Elliot Cadeau: 19 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds
- F Morez Johnson Jr.: 18 points, 4 rebounds
- F Yaxel Lendeborg: 14 points, 6 rebounds
- G Nimari Burnett: 10 points, 2 rebounds
WISCONSIN STAT LEADERS
- G John Blackwell: 26 points (game-high), 5 rebounds
- G Nick Boyd: 22 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds
- F Aleksas Bieliauskas: 17 points, 3 rebounds
- G Braeden Carrington: 12 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists
UP NEXT
The Wolverines will look to bounce back from this loss with a trip to the West Coast against the Washington Huskies on Wednesday (10:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network), followed by a road game at Oregon next Saturday (4 p.m. on NBC).
Category: General Sports
