Michigan Basketball: 3 takeaways from a Big Ten championship win over Wisconsin

The Badgers ran out of juice in the second as they only scored 13 points in the final 13 minutes. Michigan basketball outscored them 32-15, even though Wisconsin was the first to reach the 50-point barrier. The Wolverines made their move with a trio of triples from three different players. They concluded it by going six for six at the charity stripe to win another nail-biter.

Here are three of the takeaways from an entertaining run throughout the Big Ten tournament for a celebratory championship.

1. Michigan's defense on John Tonje was superb

The man who entered Sunday's championship scoring 76 points in Wisconsin's three wins, was held to nine points, half of what he had in the Kohl Center last year. It's been two months since Tonje went scoreless in a win over USC. He was without a point for the first 25 minutes or so and made his only basket of the day at the 4:37 mark with a authoritative dunk that put Wisconsin up by three.

Credit goes to Rubin Jones, L.J. Cason and Nimari Burnett who blanketed him all day long. Fatigue was probably a factor too. Michigan's defense won't get the attention it deserves in the stat sheet as they kept the Badgers to 22% from the floor and just seven made trifectas on 39 attempts. The Badgers shot an identical percentage of 22% from three in the first meeting of the season.

Wisconsin blew a nine-point lead in the December loss and was up by 11 in the second half of this one.

2. 72 three pointers were contested

Wisconsin was the league leader in shooting threes in the Big Ten going into Sunday. They shot 27 of them in the 3-point loss to Michigan basketball in 2024. They went 13-66 in two matchups against the Wolverines this season. That's 20% for those keeping track. Their average for the year is 10-28 and is a reason why they score more than a typical Badger squad does.

Friday's performance did not carry over to Sunday for the Badgers. The 19 triples were a Big Ten tournament record. For the maize and blue, Vlad Goldin knocked down a couple of jumpers, while Tre Donaldson was clutch when Michigan basketball needed them the most over the three days they played. Even L.J. Cason, Roddy Gayle Jr., and Rubin Jones added to the output as well.

For Gayle it's been almost two months without one single shot falling from beyond the arc. Cason only canned one triple in March until Sunday. While Jones hit more threes then he did all of last month. When that trio contributes at that rate, not just defensively, then it's well aware of what they can accomplish as a core.

3. 17 Big Ten wins in year one for Dusty May is a program record

Now that the Big Ten season is settled, Dusty May has certified himself as one of, if not the best first-year coach in college basketball history. He revamped the roster in the NIL era and already has a five-star commitment on board for next season.

He didn't figure out Michigan State or Illinois yet, but took down just about everyone else in a murderer's row of a conference. Outside of winning a national championship, this is an absolute remarkable reward for all of his hard work behind the scenes.

His first draw in the big dance is going to be a doozy. The last time they prepped for a Big West school, they lost. At Florida Atlantic he was never higher then an eight seed, so all of this is new territory for the real coach of the year. He and Vlad Goldin have won 50 games over the last two years and 85 if you count their march to the final four. Goldin should invite May to be one of his groomsmen in his wedding to thank him. I'm sure if it was humanly possible to give him another extension, Warde Manuel would do everything in his power to give May a lifetime contract.