Wisconsin wiped away a 14-point, first-half deficit and held on to beat beforehand undefeated No. 2 Michigan 91-88 in Ann Arbor on Saturday afternoon.
The Badgers (11-5, 3-2 Big Ten) got here in ranked 242nd nationally in 3-point proportion (32.61%) however made 15-of-33 makes an attempt from past the arc, good for a forty five.45% clip on the highway towards Michigan (14-1, 4-1) after the Wolverines had blown out most of their competitors this season.
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In truth, the Wolverines entered with 10 wins by 20-plus factors, together with six by 40 or extra. Last week, they became the first team since 1996-97 to take down three ranked opponents by at least 30 points in a single season, according to The Field of 68.
But this week, (*2*), the Wolverines brushed with defeat at Penn State, the place they resisted a second-half Nittany Lions push to escape with a 74-72 victory.
Four days later, Michigan as soon as once more noticed a double-digit benefit dwindle. This time, its lead utterly vanished, and Dusty May’s crew was the one desperately looking for late-game heroics.
It practically acquired some from 7-foot-3 heart Aday Mara, who cleaned up Roddy Gayle Jr.’s missed layup with a putback dunk over Wisconsin freshman huge man Aleksas Bieliauskas. It would have tied the sport with 35.2 seconds remaining, however Mara was referred to as for basket interference.
The play was reviewed, as debate ensued about whether or not the ball was nonetheless hanging over the cylinder when Mara touched it. Ultimately, the decision stood, and Wisconsin maintained its two-point benefit.
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After a Michigan lure, the Badgers reset with a timeout. Then senior Andrew Rohde hurled a three-quarter courtroom go to fellow guard Braeden Carrington, who elevated for a football-like contested catch and secured it whilst he was fouled by Michigan guard Elliot Cadeau.
Carrington made each free throws to make it a 90-86 sport.
Eventually, the Wolverines countered with two pictures of their very own from the charity stripe with 15.6 ticks remaining.
Michigan fouled Carrington as soon as extra. He was quick on his first free-throw try but sank the second. That break up arrange a possible game-tying 3, however Gayle was off the mark within the contest’s waning moments.
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Wisconsin’s win was its first versus an AP top-two opponent since Jan. 9, 2019, virtually seven years to the day of one other Badgers upset victory over a second-ranked Wolverines squad.
The Badgers, who completed the primary half on a 20-7 run and shot 10 of 17 from deep within the second half, have been led by John Blackwell’s 26 factors. Bieliauskas, a 6-foot-10 freshman from Lithuania, had made certainly one of his final 11 triples earlier than Saturday’s sport. He hit 5-of-10 3s whereas scoring 17 factors towards the Wolverines.
Four Michigan gamers scored in double figures, with Cadeau’s 19 factors headlining. But a Wolverines crew that began the afternoon second within the nation in factors per sport missed eight of its last 9 field-goal makes an attempt, falling quick for the primary time in what’s been a historic Michigan season.