Five takeaways from Michigan’s 91-88 loss to Wisconsin

The No. 2 Michigan basketball team suffered its first loss of the season to a red-hot Wisconsin squad and, in the eyes of head coach Dusty May, got exposed in several areas over the course of 40 minutes.

From the Wolverines’ defense to how Michigan is handling its first defeat, here are five takeaways from Saturday’s game.

MICHIGAN’S ABILITY TO GET STOPS LATE DOESN’T MATERIALIZE

This wasn’t Michigan’s first close game of the season, nor was it the Wolverines’ first average offensive performance. It was, of course, Michigan’s first loss. It was also the first time all season the Wolverines haven’t been able to come up with those two or three crucial, clutch-game defensive stops.

Against Wake Forest and TCU all the way back in November, Michigan hung its hat on defense, stymying opponents in the final minutes when it mattered. Especially when the Wolverines’ offense slowed down, they could rely on their defense to eke out a win.

That wasn’t the case on Saturday.

“We definitely found some avenues where we could have been better throughout the game,” graduate guard Nimari Burnett said postgame. “And we got some crucial stops, but just didn’t do it exactly when we needed it. … Once they found any daylight, they were shooting the ball at elite level. And it was everybody on the floor. They could shoot ‘1’ through ‘5.’ And we definitely scouted in the game plan for that, you know? It was just their day, their night.”

Even outside of the flurry of threes, Michigan committed several fouls around the rim late in the game simply in an attempt to contest shots. Wisconsin didn’t necessarily make every late free throw, but sending a Badger to the line instead of gaining control of the possession made a big difference.

Stops have spurred the Wolverines’ offense all season long, and that’s magnified down the stretch. Saturday, Michigan couldn’t slow down Wisconsin when it needed to.