Not even a long layoff could slow Michigan’s roll.
Coming off a two-week shutdown and playing its first game in 23 days, the No. 3 Wolverines were welcomed back at a tough venue against an opponent with payback on its mind.
None of that mattered as Michigan picked up where it left off and rallied from a 14-point first-half deficit to take down No. 21 Wisconsin, 67-59, in Sunday’s top-25 Valentine’s Day matchup at the Kohl Center.
Senior forward Isaiah Livers finished with 20 points and sophomore wing Franz Wagner scored 14 for Michigan (14-1, 9-1 Big Ten), which closed the game on a 23-8 run over the final 11 minutes.
Freshman center Hunter Dickinson added 11 points and 15 rebounds and came away with a pair of critical offensive rebounds in the closing minutes.
After a tough first half that culminated in a 12-point deficit, Michigan showed signs of life out of the break with a 13-3 spurt to make it a one-possession game. Wagner keyed the run with a pair of 3-pointers and a runner to pull the Wolverines within 45-42 at the 14:12 mark.
But a couple of rough possessions — a forced layup attempt by grad transfer guard Mike Smith and 3-point attempt by Wagner — cooled Michigan’s momentum as Wisconsin answered with back-to-back baskets to regain a seven-point advantage.
The Wolverines kept chipping and clawing away, stringing together stops and free throws during a 10-2 spurt that Dickinson capped at the line for a 54-53 lead with 5:04 remaining.
That set the stage for a frantic back-and-forth finish where Michigan made all the plays it needed. After Wisconsin countered to go back up by three, Michigan answered with a jumper from senior guard Eli Brooks and a 3-pointer from Livers off an offensive rebound from Dickinson to regain a 59-57 edge at the 2:48 mark.
Then after Wisconsin tied it on two free throws from D’Mitrik Trice, Dickinson came through again with an offensive putback that gave Michigan the lead for good with 1:46 remaining. Wagner followed with a driving layup before the Wolverines closed the game out at the free-throw line.
Trice scored 16, Aleem Ford 15 and Jonathan Davis 11 for Wisconsin (15-7, 9-6), which was swept in a two-game regular-season series by Michigan for the first time since the 1998-99 season.
As expected, there was some rust around the edges for the Wolverines, particularly on offense. They struggled to dial it in, find their touch and get anything easy as they missed 11 of their first 16 field-goal attempts.
Despite the early woes, Michigan was able to take advantage of three unforced turnovers for a 10-7 lead until Ford heated up and Wisconsin found its outside shooting stroke. Ford scored 11 points over the first nine minutes and the Badgers made four of their first five 3-point attempts to go up, 18-12, at the 10:54 mark.
Livers was aggressive from the start and drained back-to-back 3-pointers — one on a step-back and another transition — to pull Michigan even at 20. But outside of Livers, not much went right for the Wolverines as the Badgers picked apart their defense and closed the half on a 19-7 run.
The Wolverines missed eight consecutive shots over the final six minutes as the deficit grew to as much as 14. By the time Livers snapped the field-goal drought with a tough pull-up jumper in the closing seconds, Michigan found itself trailing 39-27 at the break.
