No. 16 Michigan tops No. 18 Wisconsin

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP)

Stu Douglass and Zack Novak were both on the court, scrambling for a loose ball near midcourt.

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When Novak came up with it, he flipped a short pass over his head to teammate Trey Burke, who went the rest of the way for an easy layup.

''You're not going to beat Wisconsin unless you play that way,'' Michigan coach John Beilein said.

The 16th-ranked Wolverines finally defeated the 18th-ranked Badgers on Sunday, playing one of their best games of the season in a 59-41 win. It was Michigan's first victory in 11 games against Wisconsin.

Tim Hardaway Jr. had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolverines, and Burke outplayed Badgers star Jordan Taylor for most of the game.

Wisconsin (12-5, 1-3 Big Ten) has lost three straight.

Michigan bounced back from a two-point loss at No. 12 Indiana on Thursday night. The Wolverines began the game on a 10-2 run and led 25-19 at halftime. A three-point play by Burke in transition made it 43-26.

Burke, a freshman, finished with 14 points. Taylor scored 12 - most of which came after Michigan (13-3, 3-1) had taken control of the game.

''I try not to really buy into the whole one-on-one challenge, but I knew Jordan Taylor's a great player,'' Burke said. ''I just tried my hardest just to contain him as much as possible.''

Wisconsin was holding opponents to 47 points a game coming in, but it was Michigan's defense that was the story. Taylor was the only Badger to score in double figures, and he was 5 of 15 from the field. Wisconsin shot 31 percent and turned the ball over 12 times.

''It is baffling to me that we could get that many open shots in the paint and open jumpers and end up with the numbers we had,'' Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. ''Our guys are really beating themselves up right now, but they need to grow and learn. Getting burned is a great lesson, but the lights need to go on for some of these guys, especially if they are going to be getting some major minutes.''

With both teams content to play at a methodical pace, even minor swings took on added importance. Hardaway began the second half with a 3-pointer after Michigan came up with an offensive rebound. He then added two free throws, and a basket by Jordan Morgan made it 32-19.

Burke was part of two of the game's biggest highlights. His three-point play - with Taylor back defensively but unable to stop him - gave Michigan a 17-point lead. Later, when Wisconsin turned the ball over, Douglass and Novak both went diving onto the court.

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''I dove and I looked around and I saw Zack like slide in, almost like a baseball player,'' Douglass said. ''Zack flipped it, and I thought Trey was going to go for the dunk.''

The 5-foot-11 Burke went with a simple layup instead, giving Michigan a 49-33 lead. Burke played well offensively, but it was the job he and the Wolverines did defensively against Taylor that turned the game into a relatively easy win.

''We said today, `We've got to guard Wisconsin for 36 seconds. Not 35, 36. Stay in a stance for 36 seconds,''' Beilein said referring to the 35-second shot clock. ''They did that several times.''

Michigan led 10-2 before the Badgers scored 10 straight points to take the lead on Taylor's layup. The first half was tightly contested throughout, with Wisconsin forcing the Wolverines to put the ball on the floor instead of simply spotting up from 3-point range.

The Badgers did leave Hardaway open for a 3-pointer that gave Michigan a 16-14 lead, and Evan Smotrycz followed with one of his own. Burke made a couple of shots late in the half, and the Wolverines took a six-point lead into halftime.

Taylor finished the half with four points on 2-of-8 shooting.

At halftime, Michigan introduced several former players, including Cazzie Russell and Rudy Tomjanovich, as part of a dedication weekend for the program's new player development center.

Wisconsin's Josh Gasser was held to four points for the game. Gasser's banked 3-pointer at the buzzer won a game for Wisconsin in Ann Arbor last season.