Photo by Aaron J. Thornton
The Michigan Wolverines went on the road to Madison, Wisconsin to play their first conference game of the season in the Dusty May era last night. Looking for their sixth straight victory after winning the Ft. Myers Tip Off tournament last week, Michigan’s matchup against the No. 11 ranked Wisconsin Badgers served to tell a lot about the program. Would the Wolverines, with eleven new players under new Coach May, be able to come together and play as a team to be a force in the Big Ten this year? When the final whistle blew, it’s safe to say Michigan will indeed be a threat within the conference and could see a vast amount of success.
Both teams battled the entire forty minutes of play, going on several runs and trading leads throughout. Wisconsin held a nine-point lead at one point in the first half as Michigan missed 7 of 8 shots, however the Wolverines put together a 12-1 run to bounce back and lead 20-18 before the Badgers went on another run before the break. In a low scoring performance, Michigan trailed at halftime by eight points (32-26).
At the break, Danny Wolf led the Wolverines in scoring with nine points along with blocking five shots and adding six rebounds. Wisconsin had four players score six points in the opening half. Despite shooting 21% (7 of 33) from the floor which includes 13% (2 of 16) from three, Michigan was able to keep the game within reach. Defense helped the Wolverines as they had a total of 7 blocks and pulled down 5 more rebounds than the Badgers in the first half as well.
Coming out of the locker room, the Wolverines started the second half with five straight points to pull within one point. And a few minutes later, the Wolverines found themselves with a one-point lead after about four minutes of play just after the break.
The teams traded baskets for most of the second half, keeping the fans at the Kohl center, and those watching or listening from afar, on the edge of their seats. With Michigan up by three points with 6.8 seconds left, Roddy Gayle Jr. was fouled and went to the line with a chance to increase the Wolverine lead to five and potentially seal the victory. However, his first free throw, on a one and one, was short and gave life to Wisconsin to tie the game. After a timeout, Wisconsin’s Nolan Winter was fouled and went to the line, but he missed the first free throw and Goldin rebounded. Goldin was then fouled and went to the line for a one and one with just under two seconds left. He also missed his free throw and Wisconsin’s Jon Tonje would end up throwing up a prayer, coming close to tying the game, but the ball bounced off the rim at the buzzer giving Michigan the upset win and a 1-0 conference record.
This team that Coach May has assembled is fairly deep, has talent, and with two 7-footers in the starting lineup, will not make it easy for teams to score inside. Both of them, Goldin and Wolf, made their presence known in the game against the Badgers not only on the defensive end with a combined eight blocks, but also offensively where each scored over twenty points (Goldin with a career high 24 points and Wolf with 20 points).
After the game, Coach May spoke about how the Wolverines took care of the ball better than they had been in earlier games and also mentioned how the individual defense was the difference down the stretch.
Michigan (7-1) will return to Ann Arbor and continue their conference play hosting the Iowa Hawkeyes (7-1) at home on Saturday. Wisconsin (8-1) will travel and play the No. 5 ranked Marquette Golden Eagles (8-0) on Saturday as well.
Final Score: Michigan 67 – Wisconsin 64
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