Tre Donaldson scored all 11 of his points in the final 8:35 as No. 22 Michigan rallied from an 11-point deficit to claim a 59-53 victory over No. 18 Wisconsin for the Big Ten tournament championship Sunday afternoon in Indianapolis.
Donaldson, who was the hero in Saturday’s semifinal win over Maryland with a coast-to-coast dash in the final seconds, gave third-seeded Michigan (25-9) its first lead of the second half when he drilled a 3-pointer with 1:52 to go.
Donaldson also handed out eight assists while Vlad Goldin added 11 points for Michigan, which claimed their fourth Big Ten tournament title. In 2018, the last time the Wolverines won the Big Ten tournament title, they rode the momentum all the way to the NCAA championship game.
“This is a team that went through a lot of adversity with three tough losses (to close the regular season),” Donaldson said. “But we stayed the course. That was our biggest thing. And we came together to accomplish one goal — and that was to win championships. That’s what we all came here for.”
John Blackwell paced fifth-seeded Wisconsin (26-9) with 18 points and Max Klesmit added 12 as the Badgers finished as tournament runnerups for the second year in a row. John Tonje, who scored 32 points in Saturday’s upset of top-seeded Michigan State, finished with nine points on 1-for-14 shooting.
Wisconsin shot just 22.1 percent from the field and 17.9 percent on 3-pointers while setting the Big Ten title game record with 39 3-point attempts.
Despite shooting just 22 percent from the field, Wisconsin took a 23-21 halftime lead thanks to Blackwell. The sophomore guard produced a game-high 11 points by repeatedly attacking the basket, even if it meant driving directly into the 7-foot Goldin. The Wolverines hit just 28 percent in the first half and didn’t get to the free-throw line.
After hitting 4-of-24 3-point attempts in the first half, the Badgers changed tactics at the outset of the second. Klesmit drove twice for a layup and Blackwell added a driving layup to give the Badgers the game’s biggest lead at 29-21.
Tonje hit four free throws and Kamari McGee hit two to boost the Badgers’ lead to 38-27 with 13:11 to go, but Michigan responded with seven straight to pull within 38-34 with 11:21 left.
Meanwhile, Donaldson didn’t score his first points until canning two free throws with 8:35 to play.
When Wolf drove the lane and spun for a layup with 5:50 left to forge the first tie of the second half, it inspired both offenses to get into gear.
Tonje slashed for a two-handed slam that marked his only basket of the game, then Michigan’s Nimari Burnett and Wisconsin’s Steven Crowl exchanged 3-pointers.
When Donaldson drilled his 3-pointer with under two minutes to play, Michigan wouldn’t trail again.
Goldin’s free throws with 46 seconds left gave Michigan a 55-53 edge, then Blackwell drove at Goldin for the tie but couldn’t convert. Donaldson and Danny Wolf added clinching free throws in the final 15 seconds.
