Wolverines to Take on Badgers in Thursday Night Pink Game at Crisler

Thursday, February 27

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7:00 PM

Michigan

Wisconsin

(Michigan Photography)

Wolverines to Take on Badgers in Thursday Night Pink Game at Crisler

2/25/2020 5:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Tom Wywrot

» No. 19 Michigan will host Wisconsin in their lone regular-season matchup. The game is U-M's Pink Game as fans are asked to wear pink and join the Wolverines in the fight against breast cancer.
» The Wolverines have won five straight games and seven of their last eight -- all following a midseason four-game losing streak.
» In his last three games, Franz Wagner has averaged 16.7 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 57.1 percent from the floor (20-for-35).
» Since giving up 72 points to Penn State (Jan. 22), the Wolverines have not allowed an opponent to reach more than 70 over the last nine games.
» Over their last four games, the Wolverines have averaged just 7.3 turnovers per game with three games with eight or fewer, including only three at Purdue. Overall, U-M's 10.9 per game are 19th in the nation.

PROMOTIONS
• Pink Game -- Wear pink and join the Wolverines in the fight against breast cancer!
• Giveaway -- First 5,000 fans will receive a Pink T-shirt courtesy of the Rogel Cancer Center. Sizes limited.
• Full Promotions Schedule

• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team will open its week hosting Wisconsin on Thursday (Feb. 27) at Crisler Center in its lone matchup against the Badgers. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tipoff on ESPN2 with Dan Shulman (p-by-p) and Dan Dakich (analyst) as the broadcast crew.

What You Need to Know for Thursday's Game

• Thurday night's game will mark the first and only regular-season meeting between Michigan and Wisconsin.
• The game also is U-M's Pink Game as fans are asked to wear pink and join the Wolverines in the fight against breast cancer. The first 5,000 fans will receive a Pink T-shirt courtesy of the U-M Rogel Cancer Center.
• Michigan has four games remaining in the conference season, two home and two away; two home Thursday games and two road Sunday games.
• The Wolverines have won five straight games and seven of their last eight -- all following a midseason four-game losing streak. The lone loss was a narrow three-point (61-58) setback to Ohio State at Crisler on Feb. 4.
• Michigan is 22nd in the NCAA Net rating system. With the Big Ten's overall strength this season and U-M's challenging non-conference slate, the Wolverines schedule continues to be listed as one of the best in the nation -- 2nd (ESPN's BPI; 15th rated team), 3rd (KenPom; 10th rated team) and 4th (Sagarin; 8th rated team).
• Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske are the all-time winningest Wolverines with 107 career victories. The duo passed the previous record of 104 against Indiana (Feb. 16) with an 89-65 win.
• Simpson is expected to play in his 143rd career game against Wisconsin (Feb. 27). That puts him a game away from tying the all-time U-M record of 144 held by former teammate Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman. Meanwhile, Teske has played in 105 consecutive games for the Wolverines. He has 125 career games under his belt.
• Simpson is second the nation with an 8.0-assist average and is third with his 207 assists. He has posted his second straight season of 200+ assists after finishing last season with 244, which was 16 shy of Trey Burke's U-M record 260 (2012-13).
• With 16 points at Rutgers (Feb. 19), Simpson became the 55th Wolverine in history to score 1,000 points in a career; he has averaged a career-best 12.3 points per game this season. With 638 career assists, Simpson needs to grab 43 rebounds to give him 500 for his career and help him become the first Wolverine to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists.
• Reaching 1,000 points (1,005), and with his 638 assists, Simpson became the fourth Wolverine with 1,000 points and 500 assists, joining Gary Grant (1985-88; 2,222 points, 731 assists), Rumeal Robinson (1988-90; 1,446 points, 575 assists) and Antoine Joubert (1984-87; 1,594 points, 539 assists).
• Teske (604) became the 29th Wolverine to reach 600 career rebounds. He leads the team with 7.3 per game and has had 5+ boards in 23 games. Additionally, Teske moved into a tie for fifth in blocks (159) with Ekpe Udoh.
• Austin "Big Country" Davis has shot 80.7 percent (21-for-26) over his last eight games. This season, Davis has come off the bench to average 4.9 points and 2.8 rebounds. During this stretch, he posted his first career double-figure game with 11 against Ohio State (Feb. 1).
• Isaiah Livers has missed a total of 10 games due to injuries -- nine for left groin/hip area and one for a right ankle. In his four games back from these injuries, Livers has scored in double figures in each game and continues to lead U-M with 13.6 points per game.
• Livers has missed two free throws as he leads U-M at 95.1 percent (39-for-41), including going 31-for-31 over his last nine games, and is a perfect 29-for-29 in Big Ten play.
• In his last three games, Franz Wagner has averaged 16.7 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 57.1 percent from the field (20-for-35) and 40 percent from deep (6-for-15). In his last game, he scored a career-best 22 points at Purdue -- the second 20+ point game of his career.
• Since giving up 72 points to Penn State (Jan. 22), the Wolverines have not allowed an opponent to reach more than 70 in the last nine games.
• Over the last four games, the Wolverines have averaged just 7.3 turnovers per game with three games with eight-or-fewer -- including only three at Purdue. Overall, U-M's 10.9 per game are 19th in the nation.

Who are the Wisconsin Badgers?

• Wisconsin comes to Ann Arbor with a 17-10 overall record, including a 10-6 Big Ten record. The Badgers have won four straight games and five of the last six.
• Wisconsin has averaged 66.9 points with 33.9 rebounds per game. Nearly 45 percent of the Badgers' offense comes from beyond the three-point line as five players have made 25 or more long-range buckets, led by redshirt junior guard D'Mitrik Trice's 48, graduate student guard Brevin Pritzl's 45 and junior guard Brad Davison's 41.
• The Badgers are led by junior forward Nate Reuvers, who leads the team with 13.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. He also has a team-best 54 blocks (2.0 per game). Behind Reuvers, there are three Badgers averaging nearly 10 points per game -- Trice (9.7), Davison (9.6) and redshirt junior forward Micah Potter (9.5).
• Wisconsin is atop the Big Ten in free-throw percentage at 76.8, which also ranks 22nd in the nation. The Badgers average 14.8 attempts per game. The Badgers lead the Big Ten with 10.3 turnovers per game, which is fifth lowest nationally.
• The Badgers allow just 62.2 points per game, which is second in the Big Ten and 19th in the country. Wisconsin has allowed an opponent to score 70 points or more six times, with a season-high 72 by Rutgers (Dec. 11).

The All-Time Series with Wisconsin

• Thursday's game will be the 168th all-time meeting between Michigan and Wisconsin.
• U-M leads, 95-72, in the all-time series. Michigan holds a 58-22 record in Ann Arbor, with the Wolverines winning three of the last five meetings. U-M has a 35-46 record in Madison and has a 2-4 record in neutral-site games, with four the six meetings coming in the Big Ten Tournament.
• Michigan had nine games (7-2) against Wisconsin vacated by the Wolverines due to NCAA sanctions -- giving U-M a recognized 88-70 all-time record. Additionally, U-M was granted three victories after Wisconsin had to forfeit them after using an ineligible player in 1982, '83, '84. Originally, the Wolverines lost all three of those games.
• There have been six games when Michigan and Wisconsin were ranked among the nation's top 25, with the Wolverines leading, 4-2, overall in those contests. The last ranked game was when No. 7 Michigan defeated No. 19 Wisconsin, 61-52, at Crisler Center on Feb. 9, 2019.
• There have been 30 games between Michigan and Wisconsin decided by three points or fewer, with U-M leading, 16-14. The last was feb. 9, 2013, in Madison where Wisconsin made a half-court basket to tie the game and went on to win, 65-62, in overtime.
• There have been seven overtime games between Michigan and Wisconsin, with the Wolverines leading, 4-3. The last overtime game was Jan. 24, 2015, at Crisler Center where No. 6 Wisconsin defeated U-M, 69-64, in OT.
• Longest U-M win streak: nine games (March 1, 1984 to Feb. 11, 1998)
• Longest U-M losing streak: 10 games (Feb. 24, 2007 to Feb. 23, 2011)
• Largest U-M Victory: 44 points (103-59) at Wisconsin on Feb. 22, 1964
• Largest U-M Loss: 31 points (73-42) at Wisconsin on Feb. 26, 2003
• U-M Victories by 10+ Points: 46 | U-M Losses by 10+ Points: 37
• U-M's average margin in wins: 11.3 | U-M's average margin in losses: 8.8
• All-Time U-M Points: 10,310 (59.3) | All-Time Wisconsin Points: 10,012 (57.5)