Michigan basketball grabs revenge win over Wisconsin in overtime thriller

Michigan basketball survived an overtime thriller with the Wisconsin Badgers on Sunday afternoon at Crisler Center, grabbing an 87-79 win and moving to 17-12 (11-7 B1G) on the year. Their postseason hopes were on the brink, but new life was breathed into their quest for an NCAA Tournament berth thanks to a desperation 3-point heave from junior center Hunter Dickinson at the end of regulation.

Dickinson had 23 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists on the day, while sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin led all scorers with a career-high 28 points. Freshman point guard Dug McDaniel added 20 points. The victory comes 12 days after losing a 64-59 decision in Madison on Feb. 14.

Despite both junior forward Terrance Williams II and freshman wing Jett Howard being dressed and warming up, Michigan stuck with its starting lineup from the win at Rutgers. Freshman point guard Dug McDaniel, Bufkin, graduate wing Joey Baker, redshirt freshman forward Will Tschetter and Dickinson took the floor first for the Wolverines. Howard did not play in Sunday’s game while dealing with an ankle injury.

Next up for the Wolverines are pair of road games to close out the regular season. They will head to Illinois on March 2 and Indiana on March 5 before the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago from March 8-12.

Here is a recap of the game’s events on Sunday afternoon at Crisler Center.

First half

Wisconsin won the tip and got on the board on its first possession on a layup by Steven Crowl to go up 2-0. UW’s Connor Essegian would hit a jumper to double the lead to 4-0. Bufkin got the scoring started for the Wolverines on a layup before Crowl answered with one of his own at the other end. Wisconsin would be up 6-2 with 17:50 to go. Dickinson quickly got one back of his own, while Wisconsin’s Tyler Wahl got to the rim for another Badger layup to put his team up 8-4. Michigan answered with a 5-0 scoring run on a jumper from Bufkin and three-pointer from Baker to take a 9-8 lead. UW’s Chucky Hepburn hit a jump shot at the other end that help put Wisconsin’s lead to 10-9 at the under-16 media timeout (15:28 remaining).

Coming out of the TV timeout, Wisconsin’s Max Klesmit hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 13-9. The Badgers would tack on four more on layups from Carter Gilmore and Essegian to take a 17-9 lead with 12:24 to go. Michigan answered with a another 5-0 run, this time with a 3-pointer from McDaniel and layup from freshman center Tarris Reed. Wisconsin would hold a 17-14 lead at the under-12 timeout (11:00). Michigan would get free throws from Reed and Baker to narrow the Wisconsin lead to 17-16 with 9:09 left before Crowl hit a three that bounced off the back of the rim. The Badgers led 20-16 at the under-8 media timeout (7:48).

The Michigan offense came alive from there, going on a 10-0 run to jump up 26-22. Eight of the 10 points came from Dickinson, who was a man possessed and played arguably his best 5-minute stretch of basketball of the season. Essegian hit a jumper to end the run, but Michigan led 26-22 at the final media timeout of the half (3:09). Klesmit hit a shot in the paint to narrow Michigan’s lead to 26-24, but the Wolverines answered with another scoring run, putting up 9 straight points. McDaniel hit another three, while Bufkin hit a layup to extend the lead to 31-24 with 1:52 remaining. Dickinson and Bufkin hit a pair of shots to extend the lead to 35-24. Klesmit hit another three right before the buzzer, sending both teams into the locker room with Michigan up 35-27.

Michigan finished the half hitting 8 of its last 9 shot attempts and was on a 26-7 run before WIsconsin’s three at the end of the half.

Second half

Wisconsin opened the half with a 3-pointer from Crowl, narrowing Michigan’s lead to 35-30. McDaniel and Essegian traded buckets before a 5-0 Michigan run. Bufkin hit a three, while McDaniel hit a pair of free throws after a Flagrant 1 foul on him from UW’s Chucky Hepburn, who gave him a shot to the face while crossing mid-court. Michigan would extend its lead to 42-32. Wisconsin answered with a 7-2 run to make the deficit 44-39 Michigan with 15 minutes to go.

Wisconson’s Wahl would get a layup before a quick 4-0 burst from the Wolverines thanks to a pair of free throws from Bufkin and a Dickinson paint jumper. Michigan led 48-41 at the under-12 timeout with 11:52 to go. Over the next minute in a half, Wisconsin got 5 points back on a pair of Wahl free throws and another 3-pointer from Klesmit. Michigan called timeout leading 48-46 with 10:34 to go.

The Wolverines got a bucket from Reed to go up 50-46, but he missed the free throw on the and-1 opportunity. Essegian got to the basket for a Wisconsin layup, hitting his free throw after the foul to narrow the lead to 50-49 in favor of the Wolverines. Williams hit a pair of free throws to put Michigan up 52-49 with 8:59 to go. Another Essigian basket narrowed Michigan’s lead to 52-51 at the under-8 media timeout (7:35 remaining).

Wisconsin took its first lead since the 7:01 mark of the first half thanks to a layup from Crowl. Bufkin answered with a layup at the other end, giving Michigan the lead back at 54-53 with 7 minutes to play. Wahl got to the rim for a layup, answered by a clutch 3-pointer from Bufkin at the 6:06 mark. Another Crowl layup tied the game at 57-all with 5:34 to go. Reed was injured on a foul while attempting a basket, which led to Baker shooting his free throws. He sank both, giving Michigan a 59-57 lead with 5:09 to play. An Essegian layup sent the game into a 59-all tie at the final media timeout with 3:15 to go. Reed checked back into the game shortly after following a quick trip to the trainer’s table to evaluate his right arm.

Klesmit and Dickinson traded baskets to keep the game tied at 61-61, but Klesmit responded with a bank shot 3-pointer to give Wisconsin a 64-61 lead with 1:53 to go. Dickinson pulled Michigan within 64-63 after a pair of made free throws with a little over a minute to go. Bufkin gave the Wolverines the lead back on a baseline jumper with 33 seconds to go at 65-64. Essegian got into the paint and hit another huge shot for the Badgers, giving them the lead back at 66-65 with 20.5 seconds to go. The Badgers would hit a pair of free throws to go up 68-65, but Dickinson hit a desperation heave at the buzzer to send the game to overtime at 68-all.

Overtime

Wahl hit a pair of free throws to start the extra period before a McDaniel jumper tied the game at 70-all with 4:36 to play. A Bufkin foul on Essegian sent him to the line for a pair with 3:12 remaining. Wisconsin would lead 72-70 after hitting both free throws. Baker hit a corner 3-pointer from the left side to give Michigan a 73-72 lead, but Klesmit answered with a 3 of his own to give Wisconsin a 75-73 lead back. Bufkin got into the paint for a layup and and-1 opportunity with 2:14 to go. He hit the free throw, giving Michigan a 76-75 lead with a little over two minutes to go in overtime.

The Wolverines would never turn back from there. A 10-0 run helped them take an 83-75 lead with 20.4 seconds to play.

Michigan vs. Wisconsin final stats, box score