[jwplayer xJITZUXe-XNcErKyb]
Utilizing a 43-6 run, which spanned approximately the final six minutes of the first half and the first ten of the second, the No. 7 Michigan Wolverines trounced the No. 9 Wisconsin Badgers, 77-54, on Tuesday at the Crisler Center.
The Big Ten Conference’s lone unbeaten team, Michigan improved to 11-0 (6-0 Big Ten), while Greg Gard’s Badgers dropped to 10-3 (4-2).
Leading by as many as 40 points, head coach Juwan Howard was able to play 13 student-athletes, including redshirt senior center Austin Davis, who returned after missing the last five games while battling plantar fascia in his right foot.
Point guard Mike Smith, another redshirt senior, was the Wolverines’ leading scorer, recording 16 points. Sophomore forward Franz Wagner was right on his heels, however, registering his third career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Placing a tally in just about every statistical column, Wagner also chipped in four steals, one blocked shot, and an assist in his 28 minutes of action, all without turning the basketball over.
Wisconsin has not lost a game by 30-plus points since falling to the eventual national champion Maryland Terrapins, 87-57, on March 17, 2002 in the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament, a streak that quite possibly would have come to an end had Michigan not emptied their bench late.
The win was the Wolverines’ third-straight over a ranked foe, as well.
“You definitely don’t expect it coming into the game,” Wagner said of the wide margin. “Knowing how we worked, what we did over in summer, I’m just happy that it pays off. We really worked hard, sacrificed a lot, obviously, time with the family, time with friends because of (the coronavirus). It just makes me more happy that the hard work pays off.”
Dispatching their opponents in such an impressive fashion, Michigan is beginning to generate more nationwide attention. As Wagner pointed out, though, the coaching staff has done an excellent job of keeping the young men from taking anything for granted and stressing the bigger picture and constant need for improvement.
“The coaching staff, and everybody we see every day, does a great job of making such we don’t get bored with the basics, that was our motto for this week,” he said. “Not get complacent with what we’ve done because, really, the season just started, so, we’ve got to keep that in the back of our mind. We’re playing great, but I think everybody sees we’ve still got things to improve upon. The coaching staff did a great job of making sure the mind is in the right place.”
[listicle id=32370]
Surrendering 65.8 points-per-game, the Wolverines rank second in the league defensively, behind only, coincidentally, Wisconsin’s 62.6. This mark is two-and-a-half points better than the 2019-20 total of 68.3, and Wagner credits this improvement to the familiarity he and many of his teammates have with one another and the schemes the coaching staff likes to deploy.
“I think I can speak for everybody on the team, now, being used to the terminology Coach Howard uses and to the different schemes and stuff, having played that first year under him I think helps me a lot,” he said. “Now that we have five, six players on the team that played this style of defense before, it’s very easy to help others that haven’t, like the freshmen or Mike (Smith) and Chaundee (Brown). It takes people to buy-in and lock-in to what we want to do, and I think we have a lot of people that do that.”
Their fourth consecutive game against a ranked program, Michigan will next be in action on Saturday against the No. 23 Minnesota Golden Gophers (10-4, 3-4) at Williams Arena in Minneapolis at 2 p.m. EST on ESPN2.
This will be the second meeting between the two in an 11-day span, with the Wolverines cruising to a 25-point victory, 82-57, on Jan. 6 in Ann Arbor.
[vertical-gallery id=32372]