Michigan 77, Wisconsin 54: With swarming defense and scoring inside and out, the Wolverines built a 40-point lead
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Wisconsin coach Greg Gard raved about Michigan’s defense before his team traveled to Ann Arbor.
“They make it hard for you to score at the rim,” Gard said. “Part of it is by system and part of it is by personnel.”
UW’s players learned firsthand Tuesday night at the Crisler Center how well the Wolverines can defend.
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The fifth-ranked Wolverines held No. 9 UW scoreless for the final 6 minutes 18 seconds of the first half in building a 17-point lead and cruised to an easy 77-54 victory.
Michigan entered the game No. 1 in the Big Ten field-goal percentage defense (37.5%) and fifth in scoring defense (67.0 ppg) and, after the first 13-plus minutes of the opening half, made life miserable for UW’s shooters.
“Our guys have bought in from Day 1,” Michigan coach Juwan Howard said before the game when asked about his team’s defensive prowess. “Our first day of practice I mentioned to the group, along with the staff, that to give ourselves a chance to compete night in and night out we have to do a better job defensively.”
UW (10-3, 4-2 Big Ten) dropped into fourth place in the league, one-half game behind third-place Illinois (9-4, 5-2).
Michigan (11-0, 6-0) retained sole possession of first place, one full game ahead of Iowa (11-2, 5-1).
The Badgers hit 11 of 23 three-point attempts (47.8%) and 29 of 54 shots overall (53.7%) in an 81-74 victory over the Wolverines last season.
They entered Tuesday second in the Big Ten and sixth nationally at 41.4% from three-point range and eighth in the league in scoring at 76.5 points per game.
Michigan held UW to 21.4% three-point shooting (3 of 14) and 30.3% shooting overall (10 of 33) in building a 40-23 halftime lead.
UW finished 32.1% from three-point range (9 of 28) and 30.8% overall (20 of 65).
D’Mitrik Trice, who scored 28 points in UW’s 81-74 victory over the Wolverines last season, led UW with 20 points Tuesday.
Four players scored between 12 and 16 points for Michigan, led by guard Mike Smith. The graduate transfer from Columbia contributed 16 points and six assists,
The Wolverines shot 56.3% from three-point range (9 of 16) and 51.6% overall (32 of 62).
UW appeared to be in decent shape when Nate Reuvers scored with 6:19 left to cut Michigan’s lead to 26-23. The Badgers weren’t sharp on either end of the court but were within three points.
Michigan’s lead by halftime was 40-23. The Wolverines dominated the final six-plus minutes on both ends of the court.
Smith scored five points and Franz Wagner (15 points, 10 rebounds) added four to key a 14-0 run that allowed the Wolverines to build the lead to 17 points.
UW missed its final eight shots of the half and suffered turnovers on back-to-back possessions from that to run-outs and easy baskets. That sequence allowed Michigan to push the lead eight points to 12.
Aleem Ford’s three-point play 18 seconds into the second half appeared to give UW life but the Wolverines reeled off 14 consecutive points to push the lead to 54-26.
Gard called a timeout with 15:30 left but Michigan was rolling, swarming on defense and scoring inside and outside and eventually built the lead to 40 points at 69-29.
Game over.
“They can hurt you in a lot of different ways,” Gard said before the game. “They’re playing at a high level.”
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Michigan 77, Wisconsin 54: With swarming defense and scoring inside and out, the Wolverines built a 40-point lead