Michigan 67, Wisconsin 59
Michigan looked every bit of a team coming off a three-week layoff. They fell behind by 14 points at the infamous Kohl Center. Eli Brooks had one of the worst games of his career. Hunter Dickinson made 33% of his shots. Isaiah Livers missed a free throw. Chaundee Brown scored one point. Brandon Johns barely saw the floor.
The Wolverines won.
Even as the rest of the team got off to a shaky start, Livers came out hot and never cooled off, leading all scorers with 20 points and going 4/7 from beyond the arc. Wisconsin had a scorching start all around, drilling 5/7 threes in the first half—Aleem Ford hit three of those and made all five of his attempts from the field. Michigan's offense looked ragged, missing a series of midrangers they don't normally take at such high volume, while the defense had some uncharacteristic breakdowns to open up the perimeter.
On the final play of the half, the Badgers blew up Michigan's initial set out of a timeout. Livers created something out of nothing with a pullup 18-footer to beat the horn. That basket cut the Wolverine deficit to 12 points, and it was easy to see a similarly rough second half leading to an understandable, unpleasant loss.
Instead, Michigan opened the second half with a gorgeous set that led to a Livers layup. Juwan Howard found a way to make the points come easier on that play and he also made adjustments to stymie the Badgers on the other end. The Wolverines started switching on screens and trusting their defenders to hold up on cross-matches; they did so spectacularly, particularly Dickinson, who recorded five blocks and stopped multiple forays to the rim by point guard D'Mitrik Trice, who went 1/5 from the field in the half.
As the defense held strong, the scoring came around. Franz Wagner scored ten of his 14 points in the half with some strong finishing around the hoop and a couple timely triples. Livers kept up his scoring. Austin Davis had a patented four-point burst in five minutes, going to work on Micah Potter in the paint. Dickinson was a monster on the boards, pulling down four offensive rebounds to keep possessions alive and grabbing seven on the defensive end—again, just in the second half!—to make sure the Badgers went one-and-done.
Potter and Nate Reuvers, the two Wisconsin centers, combined for zero total rebounds in the game. While Dickinson didn't have his best scoring output, his rebounding and defense changed the game, and his 5/6 mark on free throws also proved critical. Brooks made only 2/11 field goals but also was money down the stretch, helping ice the game with his own 5/6 mark from the charity stripe, and his defense was outstanding, as usual.
Michigan was given every reason to accept a moral victory. They didn't have it going early in a tough place to play, allowed a big run, and had a built-in excuse for the performance. Instead, they won the second half 40-20, chipping away at Wisconsin until they cracked. Given the circumstances, there haven't been many more impressive victories in recent memory, and this program hasn't been short on recent impressive victories.
[Hit THE JUMP for the box score.]
February 14th, 2021 at 3:59 PM ^
I know +/- isnt the best statistic, but Eli shoots 2/9 and leads the team in it!
February 14th, 2021 at 5:59 PM ^
However, this is a heavily nuanced game and Eli does a ton of things very well. In particular, isolate watching him on the defensive end-he is a difference-maker.
February 14th, 2021 at 8:20 PM ^
Eli has been a great part of this year's success (largely because of his intangibles), but I still scream "don't take that shot" every time he pulls up from past 15 feet inside the arc.
He is decent in the paint and till recently from behind the arc, but this team needs him to either take his defender in the paint or pass the ball around the arc.
February 14th, 2021 at 4:03 PM ^
Eh, 67 or 65? I'll take either!
February 14th, 2021 at 4:11 PM ^
In the Trohl Center leading with the elbow is a "normal basketball play."
Hail to the Victors! Fuck you, cheeseheads!
February 14th, 2021 at 7:22 PM ^
What was really odd about that call is that it was the same referee crew as the MSU/Iowa game yesterday. They reviewed a much lesser elbow against Hauser and called it a flagrant foul.
February 14th, 2021 at 11:10 PM ^
Sure the elbow to Smith’s chin was just part of “normal play” per the officials. I agree. It certainly is for that rat’s patoot Davison. Dirty play is his normal for sure.
February 14th, 2021 at 4:12 PM ^
Very nice write-up, but disagree about Brooks. He had a very rough first half, and his shot was, for the most part, way off - BUT:
-Brooks' defense was incredible, especially in the second half. They way he gets around screens and closes out on shots without fouling is magnificent.
- his steady ball handling and smart ball movement help drive this offense. He's under-appreciated IMO as a key cog in the wheel.
- like Livers, it's wonderful to have a guy like Brooks to depend on to close games out, both with late-clock shots and at the line. Dude is money.
Livers was a tremendous leader today. Smith was tough as nails. Dickenson completely dominated Wisconsin's bigs down the stretch. Wagner played good D and made some clutch swooping drives. Davis Davis'd effectively. Brooks is absolutely the glue guy on this team.
Fantastic, tremendous, determined total team effort. Best win of the year. Congratulations to the team and to Coach Howard. Well fucking done.
Go Blue!
February 14th, 2021 at 5:21 PM ^
There is a reason our worst game of the season was when Brooks didn’t play. That having been said, I think we would really struggle if we lost any one of our starters. Davis and Brown are solid off the bench, but replacing any one of our starters with the next man up would be a huge dropoff.
February 14th, 2021 at 4:14 PM ^
Most satisfying win of the season so far. Need to build on it and keep getting back into form but they played really well in the second half which bodes well.
February 14th, 2021 at 4:25 PM ^
Juwan Howard can coach. That is all.
February 14th, 2021 at 5:56 PM ^
It appears he can recruit a little too.
February 14th, 2021 at 8:10 PM ^
I thought it was Martelli that did all the coaching? I kid... Watching Howard on the sidelines is wonderful. Dude doesn’t take a break from his job.
February 14th, 2021 at 4:39 PM ^
Nominated for site banner through at least March.
February 14th, 2021 at 4:48 PM ^
Well done! Best I've seen on this site in a while!
February 14th, 2021 at 4:48 PM ^
The funny part of this picture is that MacArthur was, like, five foot three.
February 14th, 2021 at 5:05 PM ^
MacArthur was 6’0”
February 14th, 2021 at 5:12 PM ^
Let's all agree he was well short of Juwan's 6'9.
February 14th, 2021 at 5:44 PM ^
Shouldn't Wagner be on the beach?
*ducks*
February 14th, 2021 at 8:50 PM ^
It was the Phillipines. Wagner would have sat that one out.
February 14th, 2021 at 10:15 PM ^
Nah, he defected to the Allies before the war. Like Einstein.
February 14th, 2021 at 10:38 PM ^
MacArthur was only in the Pacific Theater during WWII. Not many Germans there. (Except Americans of German descent!)
February 14th, 2021 at 9:05 PM ^
Nice work! That is awesome
February 14th, 2021 at 4:35 PM ^
Impressive is the word.
Gut check second half like this should prove invaluable in the tournament. I hope it is the difference between M and the Zags.
February 14th, 2021 at 4:36 PM ^
Eli was +15 and Trice was -5, yet Ace writes this:
Eli Brooks had one of the worst games of his career.
There’s more to basketball than shooting. Fire Ace and replace him with someone who knows something about basketball, please.
K.February 14th, 2021 at 4:44 PM ^
He also wrote
Brooks made only 2/11 field goals but also was money down the stretch, helping ice the game with his own 5/6 mark from the charity stripe, and his defense was outstanding, as usual.
Context matters.
February 14th, 2021 at 4:58 PM ^
+/- is a flawed statistic. You also couldn't have watched this game and come away thinking this wasn't one of Brooks' worst games of his career offensively. His shot selection by and large was pretty bad. His defense was good though
February 14th, 2021 at 7:45 PM ^
Ace should have just added the words “on offense” and no one would argue. When I first read it I knew people would take issue with it because 2 years ago, Brooks was borderline unplayable. Had no confidence on offense, would never shoot, and wasn’t near the defender he is now. He easily had multiple worse games 2 years ago than today.
February 15th, 2021 at 2:07 AM ^
Two years ago I couldn't figure out why Brooks had been recruited.
His improvement starting last year has been huge. As you said, in 2019 he was pretty much unplayable.
February 14th, 2021 at 5:57 PM ^
I think Ace is really referencing the first half in that opening. Might edit to reflect it.
February 14th, 2021 at 5:58 PM ^
He was setting up the narrative of the day and it made perfect sense.
I also expected them to be rusty to the point that a win would be difficult to come by but...
The Wolverines won.
What's your deal?
February 14th, 2021 at 4:52 PM ^
Again, I say, "Just like hockey" *clap* *clap* *clapclapclap*.
February 14th, 2021 at 4:54 PM ^
The most pathetic thing about Brad Davison isn't the cheap shots but how bad he is at basketball. Grayson Allen was similarly dirty but at least he was also good.
February 14th, 2021 at 5:08 PM ^
2 thoughts from today
The team always seems to play better on offense in the 2nd halves. I am guessing having Howard on that end of the floor helping get them into sets has a big part in it.
Really seemed like the TV crew hadn’t done a bunch of research on these teams (yes I know it’s harder with CoVid and video chats) as they kept gushing over Davidson — who hasn’t done jack-sh!t this year according to the UW podcasts I listened to leading up to the game.
February 14th, 2021 at 5:58 PM ^
Not sure this is true, game to game. But they also adjust on both o and d at halftime. Yes, though, it is fun to see him calling plays sometimes down the stretch.
February 14th, 2021 at 10:49 PM ^
Bill Raftery knows about us plenty well. He was even talking us up during the Iowa game last weekend, going through and naming all of our starters and their roles as he was talking us up as one of the best in the country.
February 15th, 2021 at 2:08 AM ^
I'm guessing Howard and his staff are really good at adjusting at halftime and coming up with a gameplan to attack whatever the other team did in the 1st half. Michigan has started out the 2nd half on fire too many times for it to be an accident.
February 14th, 2021 at 5:15 PM ^
Brad Davison is a punk-ass bitch, what a dirty player.
When the refs were looking at the elbow, how did they come away with no flagrant call after studying it for so long?
Total BS but the coaches and players figured things out and beat fucky sucky bucky!
February 14th, 2021 at 6:11 PM ^
Did you notice that he also got Brooks on the same play? Trying ‘back tap the rebound’ he pretty much just threw a volleyball spike to Brooks head
February 14th, 2021 at 6:16 PM ^
Hey Don, no I didn't notice that, I'll re-watch it now. He's such a douchey player and should be banned from playing before he injuries an opponent.
February 14th, 2021 at 7:47 PM ^
Yep, I saw it too. Wasn’t intentional but damn, that’s a hell of a job by Davison to blast to different Michigan players in the face on the same play and get zero fouls called. Such a gritty player.
February 15th, 2021 at 8:38 AM ^
And it bit later it appeared to me that he was trying to bait Chaundee into a technical after a play.
February 15th, 2021 at 10:19 AM ^
Yep, I noticed that. Right after the elbow he "came down" after a rebound and smacked Brooks right in the face. Not two minutes later he knocked Brooks down on the break and actually negated a Smith layup because it was called before the basket. That dude is a total dick.
February 14th, 2021 at 5:23 PM ^
I think I enjoyed this win even more than the total beat down inflicted on WI at Crisler. Livers was huge throughout, but I think Hunter Dickinson’s domination in the second half was the difference in the game.
February 14th, 2021 at 9:57 PM ^
Yeah, that was my impression too. Dickinson took over the game and was the difference. Michigan is right in the thick of things without Dickinson. With him, there's clear separation between Michigan and the rest of the league.
February 14th, 2021 at 5:31 PM ^
Impressive! Down 14, Wisconsin shooting the lights out, and M kept their composure, just kept sledge-hammering away. Good offensive possession, stop...the defense shut WI down, holding them to 25% shooting in the 2H, and the rust began to fall off of the offense. A 20 point win in the 2H!
Livers was fantastic, didn't force anything, shot confidently. Dickinson dominated the game even without scoring much. Only six team turnovers after a 23 day layoff!
M is by far the best team in the best conference in the land. The rest of the year is going to be fun!
February 15th, 2021 at 11:17 AM ^
20 point turnaround. Go Blue!
They're going to need the same defensive tenacity against Ohio State. Thankfully almost all the other teams in the B1G have beaten each other numerous times during M's break so the path to the championship isn't quite as difficult as it looked before the break.
But the defense in the second half was a glory to behold -- Dickinson was DA MAN on rebounds -- his forearms were amazing, grabbing errant shots over the heads/outstretched arms of opponent rebounders. Very definitely a team effort.
February 14th, 2021 at 5:32 PM ^
Ace, thanks for the write-up. It's not easy consistently writing a solid analysis right after a game. Impressive stuff.
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