Wisconsin and Michigan both came out looking like teams who played in consecutive days. Despite a championship on the line, both teams appeared sluggish and relied on 3s -- yet they weren't making them. Wisconsin took a 23-21 lead into halftime despite shooting 4-for-24 from deep. Michigan wasn't any better making 3-of-17 from long range. Vlad Goldin led Michigan scoring seven points in the first 20 while guard Tre Donaldson didn't score a bucket after having back-to-back strong performances against Purdue and Maryland.

Michigan came out in the second half struggling to hit its shots once again. Add on foul issues from both Donaldson and Danny Wolf, it led to an LJ Cason sighting. The freshman nailed a couple of 3s to get the Wolverines back into the game after getting down by nine points. Wolf re-entered the game and hit back-to-back shots to tie the game up at 45-all.