ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Jason Bohannon heaved up a 35-foot shot just before the halftime buzzer, then pounded his fist as it went through cleanly.
It was that kind of day for No. 16 Wisconsin.
Bohannon scored 18 points to lead the hot-shooting Badgers to a 62-44 victory over Michigan on Saturday.
Trevon Hughes added 14 points and Jordan Taylor had 13 for the Badgers (18-5, 8-3 Big Ten), who were 9 of 13 from 3-point range in the first half in taking a 40-26 lead. The trio combined to go 7 of 9 from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes.
“We did a tremendous job of finding the open guy,” said Bohannon, who also had five assists. “And we shot the ball pretty well.”
Hughes had 3-pointers at the start and end of a 14-0 run midway through the first half that gave Wisconsin a double-digit lead it held the rest of the way.
“That’s how we play,” Badgers coach Bo Ryan said. “We’re opportunistic.
“We shot exceptionally well when we got looks in the first half.”
The Badgers missed just seven shots in the first half but cooled off in the second. It mattered little, however, as Michigan (11-12, 4-7) made just one field goal in the first 8 minutes and never got closer than 12 points the rest of the game.
Wisconsin had eight offensive rebounds, several of which extended possessions to as long as 70 seconds. Three ended with 3-pointers just before the shot clock expired.
“We guarded them a couple of times for 60, 70 seconds,” Michigan coach John Beilein said. “And when they get those late shots on you, it takes your heart away.”
Wisconsin outrebounded the Wolverines 21-4 on the defensive glass and held Michigan’s Manny Harris — the conference’s second-leading scorer — to 11 points, almost eight below his average.
“When you’re on the road in the Big Ten you’ve got to defend,” Bohannon added. “Our defense was pretty good when we needed it.”
DeShawn Sims led the Wolverines with 18 points.
The Wolverines, who expected before the season to make a run at a second straight NCAA tournament appearance, are 1-5 since upsetting Connecticut on Jan. 17.
Wisconsin lost leading scorer Jon Leuer to a wrist injury on Jan. 9, but has gone 6-2 since then.
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