UW 68, Michigan 64: Koenig goes off as UW avoids upset
Madison – Take a bow, Bronson Koenig.
You earned it.
Wisconsin’s senior guard, quiet for more than 34 minutes Tuesday night, demonstrated in a span of 2 minutes 6 seconds why he is one of the top scorers in the Big Ten when given the opportunity.
Koenig’s personal 10-point run – on two drives and 2 three-pointers – sparked No. 17 UW to a 68-64 victory over unranked Michigan in front of a raucous crowd of 17,287 at the Kohl Center.
��I was pretty frustrated the whole game because I wasn’t getting many looks and I knew I had to get myself going somehow," Koenig said, "especially the way the game was going.
"I just told myself to keep staying aggressive. I’ve taken over games before. I knew I was capable of it. I just needed to stay confident and stay on the attack."
UW (15-3, 4-1 Big Ten) moved into a first-place tie with idle Maryland (16-2, 4-1). The Terrapins play Thursday night at Iowa.
BOX SCORE: UW 68, Michigan 64
Michigan (12-7, 2-4) lost for the third time in four games and coach John Beilein’s struggles against UW continued. At Michigan Beilein is 88-62 against Big Ten teams other than UW. His record against the Badgers is 2-16.
Koenig scored 16 points to lead UW, with 10 coming in that rapid-fire burst that ended the Wolverines’ upset hopes. He capped the night by hitting two free throws with 4 seconds left.
"It was big for Bronson to be able to respond," UW coach Greg Gard said.
Koenig got plenty of help from his teammates.
Vitto Brown was active early and finished with 13 points, three rebounds, one steal, one assist and no turnovers in 26 minutes.
Nigel Hayes did not shoot well – hitting just 4 of 11 field-goal attempts and 4 of 10 free throws. However, he contributed 13 points, five rebounds and three assists. He also played stellar defense against multiple players. His drive and kick to the corner resulted in a three-pointer by Koenig to give UW a 55-49 lead with 3:44 left.
"Nigel did a great job driving and kicking," Koenig said. "He can draw so many defenders and he is also a great passer."
Hayes returned the lineup for good with 11:59 remaining, after a brief break, and was assigned to Michigan's Zak Irvin.
Irvin had 17 points and had made 8 of 12 shots to that point. He made 1 of 4 shots the rest of the way -- a late three-pointer -- and finished with game-high 20 points.
"Just to not let him score," Hayes said when asked what his goal was after being switched onto Irvin. "He was making everything it seemed like…throwing up threes.
"I just took it personal to try to not let him continue his roll because he was definitely keeping his team in the game.
"So I took it upon myself that I did my best to limit his looks."
Ethan Happ struggled inside against Michigan’s length and made just 5 of 13 shots. However, he finished with 11 points, six rebounds, three two steals and two blocks.
Happ grabbed a huge offensive rebound off a missed free throw, which led to a three-pointer by D’Mitrik Trice (four points) with UW down by seven early in the second half.
Guard Zak Showalter scored all six of his points in the second half. His put-back, after a miss by Hayes, pulled UW within 49-45. That basket, and a subsequent block, set the stage for Koenig's personal 10-0 run. He added five rebounds and three assists.
"Showalter always does those type of things,” Gard said. “You can count on him.”
Reserve guard Jordan Hill put together his second consecutive strong game, with five points and a rebound in 13 minutes.
"I thought Jordan Hill gave us a boost on both ends of the floor," Gard said.
UW made just 14 of 24 free-throw attempts but hit 8 of 12 in the final 1:13 to secure the victory.
Michigan entered the week No. 1 in the nation in fewest fouls per game at 14.2. The Wolverines were called for only four fouls in the first half but had seven in the first 5:35 of the second half and sent UW into the double bonus with their 10th foul of the half with 12:05 remaining.
"It’s all confusing," Beilein said. "Confusing. We lead the country in not fouling. It was confusing what happened so we’ll just let it go."
Guard Derrick Walton Jr. added 15 points, Duncan Robinson added 11 and Moritz Wagner added 10 for Michigan.
The Wolverines entered the game with a sub-.500 record in league play because of a porous defense. They were last in the nation in three-point defense (43.1%) and 313th nationally out of 347 teams in field-goal defense (46.9%).
Their defensive effort was outstanding, however, and UW shot just 37.9% in the first half. With Koenig hitting 4 of 7 shots, Showalter 3 of 3 and Trice burying his lone three-point attempt, UW shot 54.2% in the second half (13 of 24).
"We really competed right to the last seconds," Beilein said. "Proud that that is a good step for us. In this league, if you don’t compete really, really hard you’re not going to win...
"Up six with six to go. I’ve seen that movie before. They did a great job down the stretch."
Jeff Potrykus can be reached at jpotrykus@journalsentinel.com or twitter.com/jaypo1961.