Michigan basketball wins first Big Ten tournament title since 2018 with 59-53 win over Wisconsin

Michigan men’s basketball won the Big Ten tournament title Sunday with a 59-53 win over Wisconsin at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Wolverines outscored the Badgers 38-30 in the second half to bring home their first conference tournament championship since 2018 and the fourth in program history.

Michigan basketball wins Big Ten tournament with win over Wisconsin

Each team struggled to make shots in the first half, with Michigan at 28.1 percent from the field and the Badgers at 21.6. Center Vladislav Goldin led the way offensively for the Wolverines with seven points, including a 5-0 run with a three-pointer at the 11:46 mark.

After trading leads for a majority of the first half, the Badgers held Michigan off the scoreboard for the final three minutes and took a 23-21 lead into halftime. Wisconsin guard John Blackwell led all scorers with 11 points.

The Badgers went on a 15-6 run over the first seven minutes of the second half to go up 38-27. Michigan managed to hang in the game and go on its own 15-6 run leading into the final two minutes of the game. The final shot of the run, a Tre Donaldson three-pointer with 1:54 left in the game, gave the Wolverines their first lead (53-51) since they were up 21-19.

Michigan held the Badgers to 0-9 from the field over the final 3:55 of the game. The Wolverines went 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final minute to close it out, including two from Goldin, Donaldson and Danny Wolf, respectively. 

One year after finishing in last place in the conference, Michigan ends 2025 on top.

Stats and Quotes

It was the ultimate team effort from the maize and blue, as seven players scored at least five points, and five players scored at least eight. Goldin and Donaldson tied for a team-high 11 points, followed by Wolf (8), Nimari Burnett (8) and LJ Cason (8).

The Wolverines had 14 assists compared to just eight from Wisconsin. Donaldson accounted for eight on his own for Michigan. With the confetti raining down on him, Donaldson said it was exactly why he and the rest of the transfers chose the Wolverines.

“This is a team that went through a lot of adversity with Big Ten losses, but we stayed the course and that was our biggest thing,” Donaldson said. “And we came together to accomplish one goal, and that was to win championships, that’s what we all came here for.”

Dusty May became the first head coach in the history of the Big Ten to win the conference tournament in his first season with a team. He said the journey has brought Michigan close together.

“It’s obviously their resiliency. Every game they’ve gotten lost in the fight and lost in the game, they just kept leaning on each other,” May said of his team after the game. “… These guys, coming from different places, they all have their own individual goals and ambitions. And to see them put all that aside to try to do something special together, and take a lot of pride in the team and the university and who they represent, it’s a special group of guys.”

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