No. 7 Michigan Wolverines basketball stayed undefeated by taking down No. 9 Wisconsin, 77-54, at Crisler Center Tuesday night.
Here are five of our biggest thoughts and takeaways following the game.
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Player of the game: Franz Wagner
Michigan sophomore wing Franz Wagner slightly edges out senior forward Isaiah Livers for our player of the game honors in this one. Wagner was flat-out special against the Badgers, posting a double-double with 15 points (7-of-10 from the field) and 10 rebounds. But his defense might've been the most impressive aspect of his game.
No matter who he was matched up with — one of Wisconsin's talented bigs or wings — Wagner frustrated them to the no end, something he's extremely good at. His length was ridiculous, and per usual, he was making plays he has no business making Wagner's four steals were crucial and caught the Badgers off guard.
All that said, Livers really set the tone for the Wolverines, and would be standing up on the podium with Wagner if it were the Olympics. The senior played like a senior, bringing the energy, making his shots, defending like crazy and rallying the troops. He finished with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists, with 10 of his points coming in the first half when this was still a competitive game.
The Wolverines forced uncharacteristic Wisconsin turnovers, and took care of the ball themselves
Wisconsin came into the game fourth in the country, turning the ball over on just 12.1 percent of its possessions and giving it away only 8.9 times per game. Michigan's suffocating defense notched six steals and forced seven first half turnovers (10 for the game), which helped the Maize and Blue gain steam and end up blowing out the Badgers.
On the flip side, the Wolverines took care of the ball themselves — something we were worried about heading into the game — only giving it away eight times (four in each half).
Valuing every possession was one of our keys to victory coming in, and Michigan couldn't have done it much better, after struggling to hold onto the ball at times during the course of the first 10 contests. There were only a few wasted trips in the first half, mostly coming on out-of-control plays by fifth-year senior guard Mike Smith, before he settled in and had an outstanding finish to the game. Michigan scored 1.262 points per possession, an uber efficient number.
