No. 2 Michigan barely survived a road trip to Penn State on Tuesday to stay undefeated. It didn’t get so lucky on Saturday against Wisconsin.
The Badgers (11-5, 3-2 Big Ten) took down the Wolverines (14-1, 4-1 Big Ten), 91-88, handing Michigan its first loss of the season and giving Wisconsin its biggest victory of the year.
The win is the first over a ranked opponent this season for the Badgers, who lost their previous three games against ranked opponents this season — No. 5 Purdue, No. 9 BYU and No. 10 Nebraska — by an average of 24.7 points.
Wisconsin flips the script
But Wisconsin hung with Michigan all afternoon in Ann Arbor, coming back to trail by only one at halftime. In the second half, Michigan never led by more than three.
A basket interference call on Michigan wiped out what would’ve been a game-tying dunk for the Wolverines with 35 seconds to go. A subsequent foul on the inbound led to Wisconsin’s Braeden Carrington sinking two free throws to make it a four-point game.
Michigan had an opportunity to tie the game with a three on the final possession, but Roddy Gayle Jr. missed as the clock ran out.