Wolverines withstand late Wisconsin surge, win first at Kohl since 1999, 77-70

Jan 18, 2014; Madison, WI, USA; Michigan Wolverines forward Jon Horford (15) dribbles the ball against Wisconsin Badgers forward Nigel Hayes (10) at the Kohl Center. Michigan defeated Wisconsin 77-70. Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports

Michigan’s tough non-conference schedule paid dividends Saturday night, as the Wolverines withstood a late Wisconsin rally and defeated the No. 3 Badgers, 77-70, at Kohl Fieldhouse.

It was the first win for the Wolverines in Madison since 1999, but more importantly, the third straight Big Ten win on the road.

Before the conference season, the Wolverines’ tough losses at Iowa State and Duke prepared them for playing at Kohl, where the Badgers are nearly unbeatable. After Saturday’s loss, Wisconsin’s record under coach Bo Ryan at Kohl is 191-18, behind just behind Duke, Kansas and Gonzaga.

U-M vs. MSU Showdown

The win over Wisconsin (16-2, 3-2) places Michigan in a 5-0 conference tie with Michigan State.  After U-M and Iowa tip off at Crisler Wednesday (Jan. 22),  the Wolverines will travel to East Lansing (Jan. 25) for a mid-season,  Big Ten showdown.

The Wolverines’ biggest lead Saturday night was 15 (60-45) with 10:39 left in the game. But a pair of untimely turnovers and missed threes allowed the Badgers to surge within one when the clock read 1:54.

Michigan, however, refused to fold.

Nik Stauskas, who led the Wolverines with 23 points, hit a precious trey at the :50 mark, then calmly sank six consecutive free throws to ice it away.

Wolverines showed ‘sense of urgency’

Michigan coach John Beilein remembered last year’s heartbreaking half-court buzzer-beater that set up Wisconsin’s 65-62 win.

“I thought our guys came in here saying that this is a really good program, number one, and we are going to make up for the loss last year by doing everything we can,” Beilein said in his post-game press conference. “And they really played with that type of sense of urgency. So I think it affected our guys, our returning guys, it certainly affected them, but I like the way they responded. Obviously it was very positive.”

Caris LeVert was outstanding on both sides of the floor, scoring 20 points, dishing out four assists, and grabbing seven rebounds. Glen Robinson III, was his usually steady self,  hitting six of eight shots  in a 14-point performance. Probably without post man Mitch McGary for the season, Michigan’s two headed center (Jordan Morgan and Jon Horford),combined for 12 points and 15 rebounds, as Michigan surprisingly outrebounded Wisconsin, 31-30.

Michigan 13-4, 5-0
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
52 Morgan, Jordan...... f  3-3    0-0    0-0    1  7  8   4   6  1  1  3  0  21
01 Robinson III, Glenn. g  6-8    0-0    2-2    0  0  0   3  14  1  2  0  0  31
10 Walton Jr, Derrick.. g  1-3    0-0    0-1    0  2  2   0   2  2  0  0  0  31
11 Stauskas, Nik....... g  7-17   3-9    6-6    0  4  4   2  23  4  2  2  1  37
23 LeVert, Caris....... g  7-15   3-3    3-3    1  6  7   2  20  4  4  0  4  38
02 Albrecht, Spike.....    1-2    1-1    1-2    0  0  0   1   4  0  0  0  1  10
15 Horford, Jon........    3-3    0-0    0-0    0  7  7   2   6  0  2  2  0  17
21 Irvin, Zak..........    1-2    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   2  0  0  0  0  14
44 Bielfeldt, Max......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
   TEAM................                         1  1  2
   Totals..............   29-53   7-13  12-14   3 28 31  14  77 12 11  7  6 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 17-28 60.7%   2nd Half: 12-25 48.0%   Game: 54.7%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-5  80.0%   2nd Half:  3-8  37.5%   Game: 53.8%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-5  100 %   2nd Half:  7-9  77.8%   Game: 85.7%   1,1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Wisconsin 16-2, 3-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
15 Dekker, Sam......... f  5-13   0-3    0-0    2  8 10   1  10  1  1  0  0  37
44 Kaminsky, Frank..... f  6-12   1-3    1-1    2  2  4   2  14  3  2  2  0  29
01 Brust, Ben.......... g  5-10   2-4    2-2    2  6  8   0  14  1  1  0  1  36
12 Jackson, Traevon.... g  3-11   0-2    1-2    0  3  3   4   7  5  2  0  1  34
21 Gasser, Josh........ g  4-7    4-5    4-5    0  1  1   5  16  0  2  0  0  38
10 Hayes, Nigel........    2-4    0-0    3-4    1  1  2   3   7  1  1  0  1  16
13 Dukan, Duje.........    1-3    0-1    0-0    0  1  1   0   2  0  0  0  1   6
24 Koenig, Bronson.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   4
   TEAM................                         1     1
   Totals..............   26-60   7-18  11-14   8 22 30  15  70 11  9  2  4 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-32 43.8%   2nd Half: 12-28 42.9%   Game: 43.3%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  5-9  55.6%   2nd Half:  2-9  22.2%   Game: 38.9%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-6  83.3%   2nd Half:  6-8  75.0%   Game: 78.6%    0

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Mike Kitts, Larry Scirotto, Steve McJunkins
Technical fouls: Michigan-None. Wisconsin-None.
Attendance: 17,249
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Michigan......................   43   34  -   77
Wisconsin.....................   38   32  -   70

Points in the paint-MICH 26,WIS 32. Points off turnovers-MICH 8,WIS 9.
2nd chance points-MICH 4,WIS 9. Fast break points-MICH 9,WIS 10.
Bench points-MICH 12,WIS 9. Score tied-2 times. Lead changed-1 time.
Last FG-MICH 2nd-00:50, WIS 2nd-00:10.
Largest lead-MICH by 15 2nd-11:46, WIS by 2 1st-19:48.

Box score courtesy of Wisconsin Athletic Department, Standings courtesy ESPN.

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Written by GBMWolverine Staff — Joel Greer