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Upset-minded Michigan was in it and stayed in it throughout much of the last ten minutes of its win over No. 11 Wisconsin, even if the Wolverines’ two leading scorers weren’t. 

In a move almost as unexpected as the win itself, Michigan coach Juwan Howard opted for a different look. No, he didn’t play the walk-ons despite threatening to after blowing a 15-point lead to lose to Rutgers on Saturday, but he did take Dug McDaniel out of the game with 12:30 left in the second half and Olivier Nkamhoua out a minute later. 

At face value, that’s no big deal. Take them out, give them a quick breather, and then put your two leading scorers right back in as the battle remained tight. Nkamhoua, for his part, hit a clean turnaround jumper to give Michigan a 49-48 lead right before being subbed out while McDaniel — although struggling from deep — was putting his usual strain on the defense. 

But with Will Tschetter and Jaelin Llewellyn playing in their stead, Howard and Michigan felt comfortable. Instead of going back to the starting unit, Howard rode them out and saw the lead balloon to as many as nine points in the stretch. Things were working, leading Howard to keep Nkamhoua out until the 3:26 mark and McDaniel out until less than 90 seconds remained. 

It was a risk, sure, as the Wolverines saw their lead shrink back down to just three points by the time McDaniel re-entered the game, but it’s one that paid off. In a critical swath of the second half where Michigan has seen so many of its leads evaporate this season, the Wolverines held onto it without McDaniel and Nkmahoua — and then weren’t afraid to go back to them at the very end to help slam the door shut. 

“It was based on we had a great group that was doing some good things out there on the floor,” Howard said. “Whether they were getting defensive stops when needed, and at the same time getting good offensive opportunities on the other end. Jaelin, Nimari, Tray Jackson, Tarris Reed as well as Will Tschetter, that was a really good group that I could not break up.”