Wisconsin basketball rolled into the halftime break after one of their most complete efforts of the season. The only problem was that there were 20 minutes left at the Kohl Center.
After building a 39-27 lead at the half thanks to incredible half court defense and going 5-7 from beyond the arc, everything came tumbling down for the No. 21 Badgers. Coming off of a three-week COVID-19 pause, Michigan played with renewed intensity as they charged towards a 67-59 win.
The wild stat that defines a number of the Wisconsin issues on Sunday is that Nate Reuvers and Micah Potter combined for 0 rebounds. You read that correctly. The two Badger bigs did not record a rebound through 40 minutes. Michigan outrebounded Wisconsin by 8 in the second half, and it was a number of Hunter Dickinson offensive boards that decided the game down the stretch.
The first half saw Aleem Ford play his best 20 minutes of the past few weeks as he led the Badgers with 13 at the break and had it going from deep. Trice pitched in 11, and Potter looked in rhythm offensively.
The second half saw Wisconsin’s offense go stagnant as Michigan pounded the Badgers on the glass on the other end. Franz Wagner got it going to lead Michigan back, but it was all-around intensity and effort that led to a Wolverine win. The Badgers led by three with 4 minutes left, but 5 second chance points in the final 4 minutes decided things in Madison.
Dickinson dominated Reuvers down the stretch and No. 3 Michigan took another step towards a Big Ten title. The Wolverines improved to 14-1 (9-1) while the Badgers fell to 15-7 (9-6). Iowa enters the Kohl Center on Thursday night as Wisconsin’s gauntlet continues.