ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Sophomore forward Moritz Wagner scored 21 points and senior guard Zak Irvin had 18 points to lead Michigan to a 64-58 upset win at home over No. 11 Wisconsin on Thursday.
The Wolverines (17-9 overall, 7-6 Big Ten) greatly enhanced their NCAA tournament resume, adding another win over a top-30 ranked team in the RPI rankings to go along with an earlier win this season over Southern Methodist.
Michigan trailed by eight points, 38-30, early in the second half, but took charge from there.
The Wolverines took a 43-42 lead with 12:13 remaining and then used a 9-0 run to take a 54-47 lead with 7:15 left.
A 4-point play by junior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and a 3-pointer by Irvin marked the final seven points of that run.
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Wisconsin pulled to within six points at 60-54 with 1:30 left, but a backbreaking 3-pointer by Wagner with 1:01 remaining gave Michigan a 63-54 lead and all but put the game out of reach.
Wisconsin was playing without senior guard Bronson Koenig, who sat out with a calf injury. The Badgers started freshman D'Mitrik Trice in his place, the first time in 38 games Wisconsin had a different starting lineup.
Sophomore Ethan Happ scored 22 points to lead the Badgers, but only four came after halftime when Michigan employed more double-teams on him in the second half.
With the loss, Wisconsin (21-5, 10-3) fell into a first-place tie with Maryland and Purdue. Maryland pays a visit to Madison on Sunday.
Abdur-Rahkman added 12 points for Michigan, which will play four of its final five games on the road, starting Sunday at Minnesota.
* With his five rebounds, Michigan senior guard Derrick Walton eclipsed 500 rebounds for his career at Michigan, in the process becoming the first player in Michigan history to record over 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 400 assists for a career.
* Wisconsin is 4-2 on the road in Big Ten play, not counting an overtime win over Rutgers at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 28.
* Michigan improved to 14-3 overall and 6-2 in conference play this season at home with one more home game left.
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* Wisconsin lost consecutive games for the first time this season following a 66-59 home loss to Northwestern this past Sunday
* Michigan snapped a five-game losing streak to Wisconsin and won for just the third time in the last 20 meetings against the Badgers.
