Through most of Wednesday night’s contest between Wisconsin and Michigan, it was hard to tell who was the true freshman and who was the savvy senior between the Badgers’ Alando Tucker and the Wolverines’ LaVell Blanchard.

Beginning with Tucker’s two-hand tomahawk jam in the opening minutes of the game, the freshman from Lockport, Ill., thoroughly dominated Michigan’s four-year star, both offensively and defensively.

Tucker, who played 35 minutes on the night, suffocated the Wolverines’ second-leading scorer through the entire game, denying Blanchard the ball and never allowing him to get position down low.

When the halftime horn sounded and the Badgers headed to the locker room with a 31-20 lead, Blanchard was scoreless on 0-6 shooting from the field.

“I just wanted to make every shot or every move that he made as tough as possible. I couldn’t let him sit there and get set shots,” Tucker said after the game. “He’s a great shooter, so you can’t let him get his feet set and work off screens, so I tried to limit that as much as possible.”

The second half proved to be no different for Michigan’s emotional leader, as the 6-foot-5 Tucker continued to play bigger than the 6-foot-7 Blanchard, out-jumping him on the boards and out-hustling him to the ball.

Blanchard finally hit a free throw midway through the second half giving him his first point of the game, but his first and only field goal would not come until the 4:05 mark of the second half.

Blanchard, who has averaged more than 16 points per game this season, was held to just five in his final trip to the Kohl Center.

Tucker, on the other hand, played one of his more complete games of the season, posting his second double-double of the year, scoring 12 points and collecting 10 rebounds. The freshman forward shot 6-8 from the field and also added three assists.

“I’ve just been playing a team game; it’s a team game,” Tucker said. “The guys have been going to me all year and have had confidence in me playing both defense and offense.”

Wilkinson still hot:

For the second-consecutive game, sophomore Mike Wilkinson led the Badgers in scoring. After posting a career-high 20 points last Saturday at Iowa, the 6-foot-8 forward netted 15 points in 29 minutes Wednesday night.

Wilkinson, who had previously struggled to find his shooting touch for most of the Big Ten season, was 7 of 10 from the field, including 2 of 3 from beyond the arch.

In his last two games Wilkinson is shooting 65 percent from the field and is averaging 17.5 points. In the first 12 conference games of the season Wilkinson was averaging just over 9 points a contest.

His 3-pointer on the Badgers’ second possession of the game sparked a 7-2 run for Wisconsin, which did not trail the entire game.

Eight of Wilkinson’s points came in the second half, in which he shot 4-5 from the field and twice halted Michigan runs by knocking down a pair of 12-foot jumpers.

He also pulled down five rebounds and dished out three assists on the night.

Jottings

Wisconsin’s win puts the Badgers in sole possession of first place in the Big Ten. … Four out of the five starters for Wisconsin scored in double figures, and the only one who didn’t, Devin Harris, tallied 9 points on the night. … Michigan’s two leading scorers, Daniel Horton and Blanchard, were held to a combined 7 points on 2-of-19 shooting. … Wisconsin has won seven of the last nine meetings between the two teams in games played in Madison. … Michigan’s bench was held scoreless on the night. … Nine different Badgers scored in the game. … Michigan’s 42 points gave the Wolverines their lowest total this season. … Wisconsin extended its conference home-win streak to 15 games, its longest since 1911. … The 31-point scoring difference is the largest margin of victory over Michigan in school history. … The home team has won in the last four meetings between the two teams. … Wisconsin shot 52 percent from the field and 59 percent from 3-point range. … With Minnesota’s loss to Michigan State Wednesday night, a Badger win over Illinois next Wednesday will guarantee the Badgers a share of the Big Ten title.