Wisconsin responded to Michigan's punch early in the game and then was able to rally, execute its plan, and knock off the No. 2-ranked Wolverines. At least that's how Dusty May described what happened when his Michigan team fell at home to the Badgers. He said he was surprised by the fact that Wisconsin was able to expose "issues we knew were going to be problems" all on the same night.
Dusty May went on to declare that the loss to Wisconsin would be good for the Wolverines, and it would help them grow as a team. That could be true for them, but what it did for Wisconsin was even better. It allowed the Badgers to show they can do it, when they work together, execute the plan, play defense the right way, and continue to outwork the opponent, they can beat anyone.
That's the belief that not many people had for Wisconsin this season, and it took the Badgers stunning the Wolverines to bring it back, even into the Wisconsin fanbase. How did they do it? May said it was done by exposing the Michigan issues, all on the same night.
Wisconsin never let Michigan come up for air and continue to attack and attack
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"Give Wisconsin credit, they came in here and and they took a punch early. They responded and went in at halftime with some positive momentum and came out the second half and knocked us on our heels a little bit. They exposed some things with our plan, with our team that we thought were going to be issues this year. We just didn't think we would see so many of them on the same night. But they made plays. "Dusty May
What was it that Wisconsin exposed, according to May? He said that Wisconsin set the tempo and controlled the game; Michigan was playing to the pace that Wisconsin dictated, not the other way around. He said they would work the ball around until they got the matchup they liked in a high-ball screen, and the Badgers would take advantage.
He said Wisconsin forced them to change their coverages and their rotations, and ultimately, the problem for Michigan and how Greg Gard was able to outcoach and get his team to beat the Wolverines was that Wisconsin was the aggressor. The Badgers forced Michigan into tough spots, taking tough shots and playing on their heels instead of the other way around.
May gave Wisconsin all sorts of credit in his press conference for exposing that and doing so in a way that allowed the Badgers to knock off No. 2 Michigan in Ann Arbor.