(UW ATHLETICS) ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Wisconsin men’s basketball team overcame a 14-point first half deficit to upset No. 2 Michigan, 91-88, at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Saturday.
The dynamic backcourt tandem of John Blackwell and Nick Boyd each had over 20 points, with Blackwell pouring in 26 on 9-of-16 shooting and four three-pointers. Boyd had 22 points, going 5-of-5 from the free throw line, while dishing out six assists and collecting three rebounds.
The Badgers shot a season-high 45.5-percent from deep, making 15-of-33 triples – tied for the most they’ve hit this season. No Big Ten team has made 15 three-pointers on the road this season. UW also hit six consecutive threes out of the halftime break, which ultimately proved to be the difference.
The win marks UW’s first victory over a No. 2 team since taking down a familiar foe, No. 2 Michigan, 65-54, at the Kohl Center on Jan. 19, 2019. It’s head coach Greg Gard‘s seventh win over a top-10 team on the road, the most in the nation since taking over as head man on Dec. 23, 2015.
True freshman Aleksas Bieliauskas was Bucky’s unsung hero from the arc, posting a career-high 17 points on five three-pointers. Before Saturday, the big man had only made eight deep-balls on the season. Braeden Carrington had monumental moments off the bench, tallying 12 points thanks to nine free throws, and grabbing a UW-career high 9 rebounds.
The Badgers fell into an early 14-point hole before digging themselves out with a 14-4 run into the Under-4 media timeout. Blackwell propelled the spurt with 16 first half points, canning three triples, as well.
Wisconsin used another 6-0 run to close the half, and came back to trail by just one-point at the break. UW held the Wolverines scoreless for the last four minutes of the period, forcing four turnovers during the last five minutes and holding UM 0-for-6 from the field. Overall, the 20-7 stretch over the half’s last seven minutes saw the Badgers trail 38-37 into the locker room.
UW came out of the break and quickly earned their first lead of the night thanks to pick and pop threes from Bieliauskas and Winter. Bieliauskas single-handedly ballooned the lead to five early in the half, hitting three more triples. He went 4-of-4 from the arc — while the Badgers went 6-of-6 as a team — in the second half’s first four minutes to give UW the lead.
The shots kept pouring in for both sides, with neither team gaining over three points of separation until the four-minute media timeout.
Andrew Rohde hit UW’s 15th three to go up four points with a little over two minutes to play, and UW never looked back. The Badgers played the free throw game down the stretch before locking down on the final possession to force a missed Michigan three-pointer to close out the win.
Up Next: Wisconsin will head west to take on Minnesota in a Tuesday night tilt in the Twin Cities. Tip at Williams Arena is set for 6 p.m. CT
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