No.5 Wisconsin (26-8, 13-7 Big Ten) vs. No.3 Michigan (24-9, 14-6 Big Ten)

Date/Time – Sunday, March 16, 12:30 p.m..

Arena – Gainbridge Fieldhouse (18,345)

Television – CBS (Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, Tracy Wolfson)

Radio – Badgers Radio Network (Matt Lepay and Brian Butch), Sirius 85 or 382, stream online on iHeartRadio.

Series – Michigan leads 96-79 (Wisconsin leads 4-2 in neutral sites)

Last Meeting – Michigan won, 67-64, on December 3, 2024, in Madison

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Betting line: Wisconsin -3.5

Player to Watch: Tonje finished with a game-high 32 points against Michigan State, setting a Wisconsin record for the most points in a Big Ten Tournament game. Tonje is averaging 25.3 points and 7.7 rebounds in three Big Ten Tournament games. He is 12-for-21 (57.1 percent) from 3-point range and 16-for-19 at the FT line.

Player to watch: Wolf recorded his 15th double-double this season with 21 points and 14 rebounds in Michigan's 81-80 win over Maryland. He's the first Michigan player with 15 double-doubles in a single season since Robert Traylor had 20 in 1997-98. Five of his double-doubles were against AP Top 25 opponents, the most by any Michigan player in a campaign in the last 29 seasons.

The Wolverines have won the last 3 meetings and lead the all-time series.

Wisconsin is 3-1 against Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament, knocking them off in 2008, 2013, and 2015, with the lone loss coming in the 2017 championship game.

Under head coach Greg Gard, the Badgers are 6-9 against the Wolverines.

The Badgers are in the Big Ten Tournament championship for the second consecutive season and the ninth time in school history. Those nine appearances match Ohio State for the most of any school.

Wisconsin is 36-for-86 (.419) from 3-point range through three Big Ten Tournament games. The Badgers are averaging 12.0 triples per game in the event. Wisconsin is shooting 45.5 percent (75-165) from the field through three games.

The Badgers held Michigan State to just 40.7 percent shooting (24-59) from the field on Saturday. Through three tournament games, UW is holding its opponent to 36.5 percent shooting (66-181) from the field, including 30.4 percent (21-69) from 3-point range.

Wisconsin has five players averaging 8.0 ppg or more through three Big Ten Tournament games, and eight different players have hit multiple triples during the event.

Wisconsin has only allowed 15 total fast break points in the tournament.

Michigan advances to its sixth Big Ten Tournament title game. U-M is 3-2 in its previous five trips, including winning the 2017 title over Wisconsin in Washington D.C.

In addition to Wolf's performance, Goldin had a 25-point, 10-rebound double-double on 9-for-15 shooting, going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Donaldson scored 12 points to go along with a career-high nine assists. Burnett had 10 points and four rebounds.

This game marks the fourth time Goldin and Wolf have had a double-double in the same game.

Michigan’s 18-0 run in the second half marked the longest unanswered run allowed by Maryland this season. The Wolverines scored on eight straight possessions that spanned the last 1:25 of the first half and the opening 2:44 of the second to extend its lead to 15 points, 49-34 - the largest of the game.

U-M's win over No. 11 Maryland improves the Wolverines' record to 6-5 against nationally ranked teams.

The offense was a glaring problem the last time these two teams met. The Badgers scored fewer than 70 points for the first time on the young season, shot 39 percent from the floor (23-for-59) and 24 percent from three-point range (6-for-25). It was a night where open looks didn't fall.

The Badgers did a good job defensively on Michigan's guards and held the Wolverines to a 34.4 percent shooting. The problem was the Badgers had no answers for 7-footers Goldin and Wolf. Goldin scored 17 of his 24 points after halftime and put the Wolverines ahead for good on a layup with 1:35 left. Danny Wolf added 20 points, seven rebounds, five assists, five blocks, and three steals. It was the start of a terrific Big Ten campaign for the duo, as Goldin was a first-team all-conference selection and Wolf followed on the second team.

While Goldin and Wolf have been solid all season, the guards have grown substantially. Donaldson has set new career highs in every statistical category and showed on Saturday that he can rise to the moment, delivering the coast-to-coast winning layup in the final second over Maryland. Burnett has 16 double-figure games, is shooting a team-best 40.1 percent from three, and a career-best 48.2 percent from the field. Jones was inserted into the lineup in place of Roddy Gayle Jr. a month ago by head coach Dusty May to utilize each player's strengths better. Jones is a defensive specialist, and Gayle is super aggressive. The move worked against the Terrapins, with Gayle providing nine points and a plus-9 ratio off the bench.

This is a bad matchup for Wisconsin, which has struggled with one 7-footer all season, let alone two. Crowl and Winter have battled foul trouble throughout the tournament, and if that happens today, Wisconsin doesn't have the size to compete inside.

I've picked against Wisconsin in the last two games, and they've proved me wrong. Let's see if they do it a third time.

Worgull’s Prediction: Michigan by 7

Record: 25-10 (23-12 ATS)

Points off Prediction: 296 (8.5 per game)

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