The Michigan Wolverines suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday in Ann Arbor, falling to the Wisconsin Badgers 91-88. The Wolverines are now 14-1 overall and 4-1 in Big Ten play.
Here’s what happened.
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first half
Michigan’s offense was on fire, scoring on seven of its first eight possessions and leading 13-6 at the first media timeout. The Wolverines seemed to make an emphasis on running the game through Aday Mara, who dunked on the opening possession and hit a floater on his next possession.
Shortly after, Moretz Johnson completed a dunk of his own over two Wisconsin defenders. Near the middle of the half, Trey McKennie and Axel Lundberg hit consecutive three-pointers, extending the lead to 21-10. Michigan extended its lead to 14 points, and Wisconsin went on a 7-0 fast break to narrow the gap to 31-24.
Johnson did his best to score back-to-back baskets to regain momentum, but the Badgers weren’t going away. They went on a 6-0 run in the final minutes of the half, and Michigan led 38-37 at halftime. Johnson scored 13 points on 6-for-6 shooting in the first half, but the Wolverines committed eight turnovers and allowed Wisconsin to stay ahead.
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Halftime: Michigan 38, Wisconsin 37
second half
Wisconsin’s offense came out firing early in the second half, with Alexa Biliuskas and Nolan Winter combining for five 3-pointers in the first five possessions to take a 59-56 lead. Elliot Cadeau scored 12 points in a scoreless first half, including nine straight points, to keep Michigan within striking distance.
Caddo had an incredible start to the first half, hitting a three-pointer to make it 65-65 with 13:17 left. Not only did he completely take over the offense, he drew two fouls to help Michigan regain the lead. After the timeout, Lundborg hit a hook shot and the Wolverines led 71-70 with 10 minutes and 50 seconds left in the game.
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The teams traded blows for the next few minutes — and every time Wisconsin scored, Michigan seemed to respond. John Blackwell hit a jumper to put Wisconsin up 81-79, but Nimari Burnett quickly tied the game with a dunk at the other end. Roddy Gayle Jr. hit a three-pointer to give Michigan a brief 84-83 lead, but Wisconsin immediately answered with a 5-0 run.
Wisconsin missed several free throws in the final minutes, opening the door for the Wolverines, but Gayle’s potential game-tying shot on the final possession fell short. Michigan led 45-24 from beyond the arc, and Wisconsin shot 10 of 17 from beyond the arc in the second half.
Final score: Wisconsin 91, Michigan 88
michigan leaders
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G. Elliott Cardo: 19 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds
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F. Moretz Johnson Jr.: 18 points, 4 rebounds
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F Axel Lundborg: 14 points, 6 rebounds
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G Nimari Burnett: 10 points, 2 rebounds
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Wisconsin Statistics Leaders
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G John Blackwell: 26 points (game-high), 5 rebounds
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Nick Boyd: 22 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds
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F Aleksas Bieliauskas: 17 points, 3 rebounds
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G. Brayden Carrington: 12 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists
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The Wolverines will look to bounce back from that loss when they head to the West Coast to face the Washington Huskies on Wednesday (10:30 p.m., Big Ten Network) and on the road next Saturday at Oregon State (4 p.m., NBC).
