STAT PACK: No.9 Wisconsin Dismantled By No.7 Michigan

The University of Wisconsin saw up close that the buzz surrounding Michigan basketball is warranted.

In the first meeting between the teams as ranked AP Top 10 opponents, the seventh-ranked Wolverines picked apart the ninth-ranked Badgers on both ends of the floor in a 77-54 dismantling at the Crisler Center.

Senior D’Mitrik Trice scored a game-high 20 points for Wisconsin (10-3, 4-2 Big Ten), which performed poorly on both ends of the floor. Furthering its claim as the best team in the Big Ten, Michigan (11-0, 6-0) put four of its starters in double figures in a game where it led by as many as 40 points in the second half.

We take a closer look at the game in the BadgerBlitz.com StatPack.

- Michigan entered the game with the league’s top field goal percentage defense and made life miserable on Wisconsin. The Wolverines clogged the lane with their height and didn’t let UW’s shooters get comfortable on the perimeter. Throw in the fact that the Badgers didn’t hit the open looks when they had them, and UW shot 30.8 percent from the floor.

- After Trice's 20 points, only Micah Potter (12) scored more than six points for Wisconsin. The Badgers also went 9-for-28 from the 3-point line and 5-for-6 from the free throw line.

- One of Wisconsin’s biggest issues over Big Ten play has been cutting off driving lanes and limiting points in the paint. It’s obvious that Michigan coach Juwan Howard did his homework, because the Wolverines scored six of their first eight points in the paint. It turned out to be a theme for the night, as Michigan scored 38 points in the lane, which opened other parts of its offense.

- Going through one of its typical slow starts, Wisconsin went 6-for-16 from the floor over its first 13 possessions, including 3-for-7 from 3-point range. UW also failed to establish the low post, as the Badgers had five of their shots blocked in the lane. However, the Badgers trailed only 18-15.

- Things got ugly quickly after that. Michigan closed the first half on a 14-0 run over the final 5:28 to take a 40-23 lead into the locker room, the biggest deficit the Badgers had faced all season. The Wolverines shot 53.3 percent from the floor, 54.5 percent from 3-point range and scored 18 of their points in the paint.

- Wisconsin opened the second half with Aleem Ford registering an old-fashioned 3-point play. UW’s next basket was a 3-pointer by Trice that came 7 minutes, 26 later. In between those baskets, Michigan delivered a 22-0 run that was a mixture of 3-pointers, points in the paint and free throws. Coupled with the end of the first half, Michigan unleashed a 36-3 run on a Wisconsin team that looked like a deer in headlights.

- Wisconsin was headed for its worst loss since January 1993, but the Badgers scored 25 points in the last 10 minutes in their attempt to get the game back to respectability.

- In addition to holding Wisconsin to a season-low shooting percentage, Michigan blocked nine shots, turned 10 UW turnovers into 15 points and held the Badgers to only 18 points in the lane.

- Wisconsin’s next game is at Rutgers Friday at the RAC, a building that the Badgers are 0-3 in since the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten.