Late-game heroics lift Michigan basketball to Big Ten Tournament championship over Badgers

INDIANAPOLIS – Late-game heroics from the Michigan Wolverines, ranked No. 22 and seeded No. 3 lifted them to the Big Ten Tournament championship, defeating the Wisconsin Badgers 59-53.

The Wolverines have won their first Big Ten tournament title since consecutive wins in 2017 and 2018.

It was a total team effort in the victory as everyone made a pivotal play, got a much needed stop or just poured their hearts out in the victory.

1st half

The first half was the feeling-out portion of the game. Both teams struggled to find their shot, and the Badgers led 23-21.

The one shining moment for both teams was Bloomfield Hills native John Blackwell who scored 11 of his team’s 23 points.

He didn’t shoot the ball well as he was 4-10 from the field and 1-4 from deep while shooting 2-2 from the free throw line.

As far as the Wolverines, they played into the hands of Wisconsin as they barely dumped the ball inside to Vladislav Goldin.

Goldin had some opportunities early but he rushed his shot multiple times as head coach Dusty May played the matchup game with Badgers star John Tonje.

Goldin led the Wolverines with seven points, shooting 3-8 from the field and 1-2 from three.

Tonje likes to attack the rim, so whenever he’s in the game, May leaves Goldin to roam the paint. When he needs a breather, Goldin needs a breather.

Tonje has zero points, four rebounds, and one assist, though Danny Wolf has the same number of points as fouls, with two.

The Wolverines are getting contributions from Rubin Jones (5 points) and Nimari Burnett (5 points), but Tre Donaldson has to wake up. He went scoreless while distributing four assists and one rebound.

Roddy Gayle Jr. appeared to have sustained a leg injury at the end of the first half and had a noticeable limp before the start of the second half.

2nd half

The Badgers jumped on the Wolverines to open the half, scoring 12 points in four minutes and 38 seconds but L.J. Cason knocked down two pivotal three pointers to cut into the 32-27 lead.

Donaldson picked up his third foul on Tonje and headed to the bench as Gayle re-entered the game.

Tonje knocked down his first two points of the game to take a 34-27 lead.

He got back to the line where he knocked down two more free throws as the Badgers fans get back into the game.

Trailing 36-27, the referees called a non-sensical foul on Will Tschetter, sending Kamari McGee to the line where he pushed the lead up to 11, 38-27.

The Wolverines jumped back into the game with a 5-0 run to cut into the lead 38-32 thanks to Tschetter knocking down a big three followed by a Goldin layup with 11:38 to play.

Cason, who became aggressive, drove to the rim and drew a hard foul, which led to two made free throws to bring the maize rage to their feet as Michigan trailed 38-34.

Cason’s eight points were the spark the team needed as they trailed by four.

Blackwell continued to attack Michigan as he scored two free throws to add to his 13 points while taking a 40-34 lead with 8:32 to play.

Donaldson re-entered the game and drew a foul for his first two points.

But it was answered by Blackwell, who drained three to take a 43-36 lead.

Donaldson attacked Blackwell on the next possession and sank two free throws to cut the lead to 43-38. Then, Tonje attacked Burnett for his second personal foul of the game.

Tonje drained both to push the lead up to seven but Tschetter knocked down another three before playing good defense in the paint.

Donaldson hit Wolf for an easy bunny to trim the lead to two. Wolf followed that up with another rim run to tie the game at 45, while helping Michigan go on a 9-2 run.

The Michigan fans start chanting “Let’s go blue” as Wisconsin calls a timeout with 5:42 remaining.

Tonje with the shotclock running down draws a foul on Burnett, missing the first one to the crowd’s cheer. He makes the second one to take a46-45 lead.

Tonje gets an easy dunk to extend the lead to three, but Burnett drains a wide open three to tie the game with four minutes to play.

Steven Crowl makes a wide open three but Donaldson drove to the rim for a tough bucket to cut into the lead, 51-50 timeout with 3:31 to play.

The Wolverines make Tonje take and miss a tough shot. Donaldson pushes the ball up the floor and dishes it to Goldin, who draws a foul.

Goldin misses the one-in-one but they play good defense leading to a Donaldson clutch three to take a 53-51 lead.

Max Klesmit gets fouled and ties the game with two free throws at 53-53 with 1:17 remaining.

“Let’s go blue” chants ring out as Michigan runs the Wolf-Goldin pick & roll but the ball gets deflected out of bounds, possession Wolverines.

With nine seconds on the shot clock Donaldson is forced to hoist up a tough three which misses. Wolf gets the rebound but is stripped with the ball going out of bounds.

Keeping the ball, Wolf tosses it to Goldin, who draws the foul and knocks down both to take a 55-53 lead with 46.6 to play.

Tonje takes a contested shot against Goldin but bricks. Goldin gets the rebound but gets stripped by Tonje with the ball bouncing off of him out of bounds with 30.9 seconds remaining.

Blackwell takes a tough layup but misses leading to a Michigan rebound.

Donaldson gets fouled with 14.3 seconds left, knocking down both free throws to take a 57-53 lead.

Michigan gets a much needed stop and Wolf is fouled with 0.07 left.

Wolf made both free throws to seal the victory.

Blackwell finished the game with 18, but Donaldson and Goldin each led the Wolverines in scoring with 11, while Burnett and Cason chipped in with eight each in the victory.

Entering the tournament as a sure bet for the NCAA tournament, the Wolverines arrived in Indianapolis eager to regain their footing after a rocky end to the regular season, dropping four games out of their last six while losing three consecutive games.

Despite the three-game skid, Michigan has found its rhythm, highlighted by a thrilling buzzer-beater victory over Maryland in the semifinals.

--> Tre Donaldson’s game-winning layup sends Michigan basketball to Big Ten Tournament championship

The Wolverines, ranked No. 22 and seeded No. 3, took on the 18th-ranked and fifth-seeded Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten Tournament championship game thanks to Donaldson’s end-to-end layup to lead the men in maize to an 81-80 victory.

Sunday’s (March 16) appearance marked the Wolverines' sixth trip in the title game.

The Wolverines have shown resilience in close games, with 16 contests decided by four points or fewer this season, winning 10 straight games while improving to 12-4 in those scenarios.

In the semifinal, Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf both recorded double-doubles.

Goldin scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Wolf contributed 21 points and 14 rebounds, marking the fourth time this season that the duo, known as “Area 50-1,” achieved double-doubles in the same game.

--> Michigan basketball snaps 3-game skid, dominates Purdue to secure Big Ten Tournament semifinal spot

Michigan’s journey to the title game includes a decisive 86-68 quarterfinal victory over Purdue. Wolf led with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists, while Goldin added 15 points and eight rebounds.

Donaldson and Gayle Jr. also made significant contributions, with the men in maize tallying 25 assists in the game.

Goldin and Wolf have been recognized for their outstanding performances, earning spots on the All-Big Ten teams.

Goldin was named to the first team by media and second team by coaches, while Wolf received second-team honors from both.

Speaking of Goldin, he won the tournament MVP.

The Associated Press also acknowledged their achievements, with Wolf on the first team and Goldin on the second.

After the game, it was announced that the Wolverines will be a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

They will play No. 12 seeded U.C. San Diego in Denver, Colorado on Thursday (March 20).