MADISON — The No. 15 Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team (21-5 overall, 12-4 Big Ten) was back in action Sunday afternoon for a crucial game against the Michigan Wolverines. Not only did the game represent an opportunity for the Badgers to stay in contention for a Big Ten regular season title, but the team also welcomed back one of the best players in program history as Michael Finley’s jersey was retired at halftime.

With everything on the line, Wisconsin would pull away in the second half to beat the Wolverines by 14 points.

Michigan would get Hunter Dickinson going inside early on and establish a four-point lead by the first media time. The Badgers led by Johnny Davis and some stellar minutes by Chris Vogt off the bench would respond however, and by the next media timeout they had evened the score at 12 apiece.

Despite some rebounding struggles by the Badgers, seven points by Chucky Hepburn with Davis on the bench would give the team a five-point lead with just over seven minutes remaining.

Michigan would manage to put together a 8-0 scoring run shortly thereafter though, as Wisconsin struggled offensively over the court of the next few minutes. A Steven Crowl tip-in would end the bleeding for the Badgers, and within the next minute the UW advantage was back up to four.

Hunter Dickinson and Michigan would respond quickly though, as the two teams went into halftime tied at 31-31.

The Badgers would come out of halftime extremely flat however, forcing Greg Gard to call a timeout within the first two minutes following intermission as Michigan had grabbed a 38-33 lead.

A pair of three-point makes by Brad Davison and Crowl would help propel Wisconsin on a 12-1 run though, and with 13 minutes remaining the Badgers were up by eight. Over the next few minutes Johnny Davis would take over and extend the advantage to 13 in favor of the Badgers with nine minutes left on the clock.

Wisconsin would keep the Wolverines at arms distance from there as Michigan was unable to get anything going offensively beyond Dickinson and Eli Brooks, while the Badgers continued to pour it on.

In the end the Badgers would finish the game off and secure a 77-63 victory, though there were further fireworks after the game.

Notable stat lines:

• Johnny Davis —> 25 points (11-of-17 from the floor), six rebounds
• Tyler Wahl —> 10 points (5-of-9 from the floor), six rebounds
• Steven Crowl —> 11 points (4-of-7 from the floor), five rebounds
• Hunter Dickinson (Michigan) —> 21 points (9-of-15 from the floor), five rebounds

Up next: The Badgers will take their talents back on the road on Wednesday for a matchup with border rival Minnesota. Tip time is set for 8 p.m. CT and the game will be aired on BTN.