Michigan Basketball: Ugly loss to Wisconsin costs Wolverines No. 1 ranking

Michigan basketball was going to need to play one of its best games to beat Wisconsin and instead, the Wolverines played one of their worst.

Over the previous 32 games, Michigan basketball has been so good, it’s hard to remember seeing the Wolverines struggle the way they did Saturday against Wisconsin.

The Badgers, who scored a 64-54 upset win over Michigan basketball, ended any hopes the Wolverines had at being the nation’s No.1 team. UM led in the second half 43-40 and had multiple chances to make it a two-possession game.

However, missed shots, turnovers and missed opportunities would cost the Wolverines. After failing to extend the lead, Ethan Happ and the Badgers took over. The Wisconsin big man finished with 24 points and an 11-2 run by Wisconsin gave it a 51-45 lead.

3-point makes by Jon Teske and Isaiah Livers kept Michigan basketball within striking distance until the final minute. With 59 seconds to go, the Badgers led 57-54. Yet, instead of trying to get a stop and playing it out, John Beilein tried to foul Happ, a 47-percent free-throw shooter.

Unfortunately, Ignas Brazdeikis ended up fouling Happ away from the ball and it was called an intentional foul. Happ made 1-of-2 free throws and Wisconsin scored on the ensuing possession to get up six. Zavier Simpson was then blocked on a 3-pointer and the Badgers added two layups to put the final margin at 10.

The Wolverines, who average just over nine turnovers a game, finished with 16 against Wisconsin, which ended up with 11. Michigan also shot just 27 percent from three (5-of-18) and its three leading scorers, Jordan Poole, Matthews and Brazdeikis, combined to score just 19 points and went a miserable 8-of-25 from the field, as well as 1-of-8 from beyond the arc.

Those three guys came in averaging a combined 44 points, so 19 points and 32 percent shooting isn’t going to get it done against a top-20 team in the Kenpom rankings on the road.

Teske and Simpson each did their best to keep Michigan in the game. The 7-foot-2 big man, who was bested by Happ, still finished an impressive stat line that included 15 points, seven rebounds, four blocks, and two steals.

Simpson also pitched in with 11 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals. Poole finished with 14, yet was awful in the second half. Matthews wound up with five and Iggy had zero. Livers added five points and five boards.

While any loss in conference play hurts a team that is gunning for a Big Ten regular season championship, it stings even more because it cost the Wolverines a chance at being the top-ranked team in the AP poll for the first time in six years (Jan 2013).

Had Michigan won and Duke beat Virginia (Saturday night), the Wolverines likely would have been No. 1 come Monday. Instead, UM will take the floor for a key game Tuesday against Minnesota.

With an extremely challenging schedule on the horizon, the Wolverines need to make sure this loss is an anomaly. UM will host Minnesota Tuesday, before paying a visit to Indiana. Michigan will then host Ohio State, before back-to-back road games against Iowa and Rutgers.

In the Big Ten, wins don’t easy, especially on the road. And while the Wolverines defense was good enough to win at the Kohl Center Saturday, the offense wasn’t nearly good enough. 27 points in each half is abysmal and so was the 45-percent mark at the charity stripe.

Ultimately, an uncharacteristically poor performance cost Michigan basketball. The good news is that the Wolverines and their fans can get over it quickly with the Golden Gophers coming to the Crisler Center in just a few days.