John Blackwell scored 26 points and Nick Boyd added 22 points and six assists as Wisconsin held on to stun No. 2 Michigan 91-88 in Big Ten play Saturday afternoon at Ann Arbor, Mich., to end the Wolverines’ unbeaten campaign.
Aleksas Bieliauskas made five 3-pointers and scored 17 points and Braeden Carrington had 12 points and nine rebounds for Wisconsin (11-5, 3-2), which ended its four-game losing streak against Michigan. The Badgers overcame a 14-point, first-half deficit.
Elliot Cadeau scored 19 points and Morez Johnson Jr. added 18 for Michigan (14-1, 4-1), which was one of six unbeaten teams in the nation entering Saturday. Yaxel Lendeborg scored 14 points and Nimari Burnett added 10.
The Wolverines missed their last five shots and eight of the last nine. Despite the poor shooting down the stretch, Michigan had a chance to force overtime, but Roddy Gayle Jr. missed a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left.
Michigan led 84-83 on a 3-pointer by Gayle with 4:10 left. Blackwell drove for a layup to put the Badgers back ahead for good, and Andrew Rohde sank a 3-pointer to give Wisconsin an 88-84 lead with 2:57 remaining.
Gayle’s layup brought the Wolverines within two with 1:11 to play. On Michigan’s next possession, Gayle’s layup bounced on the rim, and Aday Mara tapped it in but was called for offensive goaltending to wipe off the basket with 35.2 seconds remaining.
Carrington hit two free throws with 32.3 seconds left to give Wisconsin a four-point lead. Lendeborg made two free throws to bring Michigan within 90-88 with 15.6 seconds to play. Carrington split two free throws for the Badgers with 9.6 seconds left before Gayle’s late miss.
Michigan shot 46.8% from the field, including 8 of 25 from 3-point range. The Badgers made 50% of their shots from the field and were 15 of 33 from behind the arc while winning for the fourth time in the past five games.
Wisconsin opened the second half by making its first nine shots. Bieliauskas sank four 3-pointers, and Nolan Winter made one in the opening 2:59 as the Badgers took a 52-47 advantage. Boyd then scored seven points in 63 seconds as Wisconsin held a 59-53 lead with 15:40 to play.
Cadeau later scored five straight points for the Wolverines to knot the score at 65 with 13:17 left.
In the first half, Johnson scored 13 points as Michigan held a 38-37 lead. Blackwell scored 16 in the half for the Badgers.
The Wolverines led by 14 when Johnson hit a jumper to make it 31-17 with 7:38 remaining.
