ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Five days after Michigan State’s
Tom Izzo beat his nemesis, Michigan’s John Beilein did, too.
Izzo had never beaten Bo Ryan in Wisconsin, but Michigan State did so on
Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Beilein had never beaten Ryan ... anywhere.
The Michigan coach went into Sunday afternoon’s game at Crisler Arena with an
0-9 record against the Wisconsin coach, but Beilein’s Wolverines delivered a
damaging payback with a 59-41 victory.
The Wolverines did it by doing what the Badgers usually do to opponents.
Michigan played with a different level of tenacity and intelligence. The
tenacity was most evident on a loose ball near midcourt late in the game.
First, Stu Douglass went on the floor to try to dig it out. He was followed by
teammate Zack Novak. In the end, it led to a Trey Burke layup.
“I think that’s how every coach dreams his team will play,” Beilein said.
“You’re not going to beat Wisconsin unless you play that way.”
What’s more, Beilein said his team’s defense, holding the Badgers to
31.4-percent shooting, “was as good as it’s been since I’ve been here.”
This was a special victory for Beilein, coming just three days after a
disappointing two-point loss at Indiana.
The Wolverines had lost a heartbreaker at home last season to Wisconsin on a
desperation 3-pointer off the glass as time expired.
It seemed as if Beilein might never beat Ryan at that point.
“I admire the way Wisconsin runs their program,” Beilein said. “They don’t beat
themselves, their kids graduate; they’re in the NCAA Tournament every year.”
That’s what Beilein expects out of his program, too. On Sunday, he received exactly
what he wants in many ways. His team played smart, hard and tough.
Novak and Douglass, seniors who were winless against Wisconsin, refused to be
denied this time.
“You saw me hit the floor,” Douglass said. “That doesn’t happen all the time.
Something was a little different."
Novak said of finally beating Ryan and company: “It feels good to get that
monkey off our back.”
This was Wisconsin’s third consecutive Big Ten loss following upsets at home
against Michigan State and Iowa.
The Badgers (12-5, 1-3 Big Ten) were ranked No. 18 last week, but they’re
certainly going to drop out of the polls on Monday.
Wisconsin no longer looks like a contender in the Big Ten race as projected in
the preseason. In fact, if this Badgers team is anything close to what we’re
going to see the rest of the season, the NIT is much more likely than another
NCAA Tournament bid.
“It’s baffling,” Ryan said of his team’s offensive futility. “They’re just
beating themselves up mentally. We’ve got to get through this.
“Sometimes getting burned is a great lesson-teacher. The light’s got to go on
for some of those guys now that they’re getting major minutes, especially in
the front court.”
Wisconsin senior point guard Jordan Taylor was a preseason All-American, but
his stock must be dropping.
A season ago, Taylor had another offensive threat on the floor with him in
forward Jon Leuer.
This season, at least on Sunday, it looked like Taylor and the four stooges.
It’s putting a big burden on Taylor, who was contained by Burke, Michigan’s
freshman point guard, and Douglass.
Taylor led the Badgers with 12 points, but he made only 5 of 15 shots and had
only one assist in 39 minutes. No other Wisconsin player scored more than six
points.
“I think his (Burke’s) teammates helped him out a little bit more than
maybe what happened on our side of the ball,” Ryan said of the way Taylor was
contained.
Wisconsin made a 10-0 run to take a 12-10 lead with 10:56 remaining in the
first half. Those 10 points were scored in 1:39.
The rest of the game was the 16th-ranked Wolverines (13-3, 3-1) dominating a
seemingly outclassed, overrated, inept Wisconsin team.
Tim Hardaway Jr. led Michigan with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Burke had 14
points and Novak 12. Center Jordan Morgan finished with 11 rebounds, five on
the offensive end.
Before the game, former Michigan great Cazzie Russell talked to the Wolverines
about toughness, telling them that if he was in a foxhole, he’d want Novak with
him.
The Wolverines are clearly feeding off of Novak’s feistiness and energy these
days. It is apparently carrying over some to Douglass based on that
game-defining loose ball.
It was, perhaps, a statement about where this team is headed.
“It’s come natural for Zack,” Beilein said of the aggressiveness. “For Stu,
however, he’s got to that point right now where all he cares about is winning
and if I’ve got to dive on the floor, if I’ve got to guard a great player and
never give in to fatigue, I’m going to do it.
“Those two want to win.”
Usually, that’s the attitude you see from Wisconsin, but these Badgers aren’t
there yet. Not even close.
