The No. 23 Wisconsin men's basketball team (4-1 Big Ten, 13-3 overall) continued to surge ahead Saturday and avoided being caught off guard at the Crisler Arena against Michigan (3-2, 12-7), beating the Wolverines 72-61.
Despite knowing the fierce competition that the Wolverines were sure to offer, it is not difficult to imagine that most of Badger fans' will be paying attention to a tiny little game on Tuesday against the No. 1 ranked Illinois Fighting Illini.
Before that battle, however, Wisconsin had some business to take care of. The Badgers were on a mission to do something that they have only done once since 1982-beat the Wolverines at home.
Wisconsin got off to a strong start thanks to a combination of the Badgers' inside play and solid rebounding. Further help came from a nearly flawless performance by senior forward Mike Wilkinson, who scored 18 of the Badgers' 37 halftime-points on seven-of-nine shooting.
Wilkinson's ability to carry the load was of even more importance as sophomore guard Alando Tucker continued to struggle with a foot injury. Wilkinson's position as the go-to guy and his close-to-perfection shooting had the Wolverine's head coach Tommy Amaker offering up his praise.
\It was an outstanding performance by Mike Wilkinson,"" Amaker said. ""I think he was maybe flawless. I don't know if I've used that word before with a player.""
The Wolverines were able to capitalize on Badger turnovers (14), and scored 17 points off UW miscues. This allowed Michigan to battle back after several Badger runs brought the lead into double digits.
Wisconsin was able to ice the game by converting 26 of their 33 trips to the charity stripe. Solid defense also managed to stave off any Wolverine runs and allowed the Badgers to scoop up their fourth conference victory.
Perhaps lost in Wilkinson's shadow was a solid performance by sophomore guard Kammron Taylor, who finished with 13 points-second most for the team. Over the past few games, Taylor has continued to show increased potential at the point.
While Wilkinson, who finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds, brushed off the compliment of perfection, his and the team's eyes turn towards Tuesday's showdown with the Illini.
""There are a lot of things I think I could have done better,"" Wilkinson said. ""I missed a couple open shots and missed two free throws and there were some defensive things. All in all, you just go back and learn from those and try to become better the next game.""
--Wisconsin State Journal contributed to this report.
