As the final seconds ticked off the clock Wednesday night in Crisler Arena, the only sound heard was the blare of the final horn. And then shock rang through the air. The Michigan faithful fell silent as freshman Josh Gasser's three-pointer sailed through the basket, propelling the Wisconsin men's basketball team to a stunning 53-52 victory.
""I knew it was banking in right away."" Gasser said. ""When it was in the air, I called it.""
The Badgers have been walking a fine line all year long on the road. Against the Wolverines, Gasser's three-pointer as time expired propelled the Badgers (11-4 Big Ten, 21-6 overall) to yet another come from behind victory.
""I knew he was gonna get a shot off,"" junior point guard Jordan Taylor said. ""Josh is a tough kid and I knew he was gonna give it a good shot.""
Gasser scored the final five points for UW Wednesday night with his last basket the biggest as UW walked out of Ann Arbor with the Badger's third come back victory of the season.
""I've had some buzzer-beaters in my life, but not on a stage like this,"" Gasser said. ""And I've certainly never banked in a winning three before.""
Junior point guard Jordan Taylor scored 11 of his game-high 20 points in the first half. He also contributed five assists, the fifth coming on Gasser's game winner after the Wolverines (7-9, 17-12). doubled Taylor on the right wing off an inbounds play with five seconds left in regulation.
""Taylor is so talented, I think we'd all agree,"" Michigan head coach John Beilein said. ""We've seen a lot of point guards come into Crisler, that guy's gotta be at the top of your list of guys you've seen recently that are efficient.""
Senior forward Jon Leuer scored just two points in the second half, but recorded his eighth career double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in 37 minutes of play.
UW struggled defending Michigan's sets at times in the first half and saw the Wolverines take a one-point lead heading into halftime on a pick-and-roll lay-up by Evan Smotrycz.
A minor shooting slump slowed UW down going into the second half. Leuer started the half with his final bucket of the night, but the Badgers then missed six straight shots. To Wisconsin's advantage, Michigan also came out cold in the second half and the Badgers remained within striking distance throughout the first five minutes.
After senior forward Keaton Nankivil ended the drought with two quick buckets, UW traded baskets with the Wolverines as the two saw three lead changes and no lead exceeding four points the entire rest of the half.
""We got a lot of resilient guys on our team,"" Taylor said. ""Nobody on our team had the best game of their lives tonight, but we found a way to win.""
The Badger relied on Leuer, Taylor and Nankivil who combined for 45 of the Badger's 53 total points. Although the Badgers committed five costly turnovers, they were able to force Michigan into 11 and were able to score 18 points off of the Wolverines carelessness.
""Didn't shoot it great, played good defense for the most part,"" Taylor said. ""We just stuck together and found a way to win.""
—uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
