MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin Badgers got their season back on track with an upset 64-54 win over No. 2 Michigan on Saturday at the Kohl Center, and BadgerBlitz.com's three keys to the game are included below.
1: Out-of-his-head Happ
Ethan Happ has the ability to do everything and the senior forward flexed his muscles against No. 2 Michigan. Happ scored a game-high 26 points, tied for a game high with 10 rebounds, dished seven assists, had three blocks and two assists in the Badgers’ 64-54 win against the Wolverines, who won for the first time in 18 games on Saturday. Happ impressed Michigan coach John Beilein. “He’s not a preseason All-American, he’s a post-season All-American,” Beilein said after the game. “He’s tremendous. We doubled him, and all of a sudden he gets seven assists and they’re hitting 3s.”
2: Determined on Defense
The Badgers forced 16 Michigan turnovers and held Wolverines leading scorer Jordan Poole to three points in the second half. Sophomore guard D’Mitrik Trice was tasked with the challenge of guarding Zavier Simpson, who scored a career-high 24 points in Michigan’s 80-60 win last week over Northwestern. Simpson finished with 10 points on Saturday at the Kohl Center. Freshman Ignas Brazdeikis, who entered the game with a 15.7 points-per-game average, was held scoreless against Wisconsin. Badgers freshman Nate Reuvers and Ethan Happ spent the bulk of time guarding Bradzeikis.
3: Pretty Performance
Wisconsin was in the game every step of the way, and played a solid 40 minutes. The two teams tied four times and there were nine lead changes in the electrically-charged Kohl Center. Not only did Wisconsin score 19 points off 16 Wolverines turnovers, they got 15 points from reserve players. Aleem Ford and Kobe King combined for 15 points. Ford drained a 3-pointer with 3 minutes, 53 seconds left in the first half to give Wisconsin a 21-19 lead.
