It took an extra five minutes and the first overtime game of the season, but the No. 6 Wisconsin men’s basketball team came away with a 69-64 win over Michigan Saturday night at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The Badgers (18-2, 6-1 Big Ten) blew an 11-point second half lead and went to overtime after Michigan (12-8, 5-3 Big Ten) sophomore guard Derrick Walton Jr. hit a game-tying three-point shot with 1.3 seconds left in regulation.
But behind the efforts of preseason Big Ten Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky, University of Wisconsin prevailed in the overtime period to stay atop the Big Ten standings and win their third consecutive game after a loss to Rutgers more than two weeks ago.
Kaminsky opened the overtime period with a three-point play and senior guard Josh Gasser followed with a three that put UW up for good, 63-57, more than a minute into overtime. Wisconsin did not relinquish the lead the rest of the game.
Seven-footer Kaminsky scored eight of Wisconsin’s 12 overtime points and finished with a game-high 22 points and nine rebounds. Sam Dekker added 15 points and four rebounds while guard Bronson Koenig chipped in 13 points, four assists and had just one turnover in 40 minutes for Wisconsin.
But it was Kaminsky’s performance in overtime that showed people why he’s one of college basketball’s best, as he helped keep Wisconsin in first place in the Big Ten.
”[Kaminsky]’s one of the best players in the country,” Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said. “I don’t say that very often because I let other people judge. Frank means a lot to this team.”
With 30 seconds to go in regulation, the Badgers held a 54-50 lead but a layup and two free throws from Walton Jr. cut the Badgers’ lead to 55-54.
Two Koenig free throws made it 57-54 before Walton Jr. caught a pass from Aubrey Dawkins and hit the game-tying three from the left wing.
Ryan said his team was thinking of fouling Michigan to prevent a game-tying three, but that the situation played out in a way that did not allow that to happen.
“We have a philosophy. There’s a time when we will [foul],” Ryan said. “We never got into that situation, we were trying to set it up, and we were just a little late. But that’s still a tough three.”
Playing without preseason All-Big Ten selection Caris LeVert, who is out for the season with a foot injury, the Wolverines were led by Walton Jr. who had a team-high 17 points and four rebounds. Guard Zak Irvin was the only other Wolverine to score in double-figures, adding 12 points, two assists and two rebounds.
Despite Walton Jr.’s efforts Saturday night for Michigan, ultimately it was the Wisconsin frontcourt that was too much to handle for the Wolverines. Along with Kaminsky’s 22 points and Dekker’s 15, forward Nigel Hayes added 10 points, five rebounds and three assists for UW.
“I just want to credit their bigs,” Walton Jr. said. “They did a great job of showing one thing and doing another. Kaminsky and [Nigel] Hayes got into the sweet spots and found their shooters. The first couple of times we could discourage them, but as the game went on they found some weak spots.”
UW opened up their lead to 11 at 38-27 after a Dekker dunk with 16:04 left in the second half before Michigan went on an 11-0 run to tie the game at 38. Despite the 11-0 run, the Wolverines could not take the lead and only held the lead three times in the first half.
Wisconsin took a 30-23 advantage into halftime, using a 9-0 run over the final 2:50 of the half to pull ahead. The run was aided by a ferocious dunk from Dekker who drove the lane and took a no-look pass from Koenig for the flush.
Dekker cut his finger on the dunk, forcing him to miss the rest of the first half and the final four minutes of the second half after Ryan saw him grimacing on the court. However, he did play in the overtime period.
The Badgers shot 50 percent (12-of-24) in the first half including 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. Overall, UW went 24-of-51 (47.1 percent) from the floor and 7-of-21 (33.3 percent) from three-point range.
Michigan shot 42.6 percent (23-of-54) from the field and 35 percent (7-of-20) from three for the game.
The Badgers don’t return to the court until next Saturday when they travel to Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes. Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. Jan. 31.
