Michigan guard Elliott Cardo (3) attempts a free throw against Ohio State during the second half of the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals Friday, March 13, 2026, at the United Center in Chicago. Michigan point guard Elliot Cadeau was asked about rest and rust after the team’s 71-67 win over eighth-seeded Ohio State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Conference tournament on Friday in Chicago.
“I think it took me about a minute to get into the game,” Cardo said of the third-ranked Wolverines’ first game since Sunday. “We felt like we could shake off all the rust and play our best basketball (Saturday) at 100 percent against a really talented team.”
That really talented team is No. 5 seed and No. 23 Wisconsin (24-9), which will try to beat top seed Michigan (30-2) for the second time this season in Saturday’s semifinals.
The winner will advance to Sunday’s championship game to face either sixth-seeded UCLA or seventh-seeded Purdue. Michigan and Wisconsin both won their fifth straight game.
The Badgers overcame a 15-point deficit to beat Illinois State 91-88 in overtime on Friday for their second overtime win over the Fighting Illini in just over a month. It was their fourth win over a top-10 team in 2026.
The first is basically starting to emerge as a real contender. On Jan. 10, with Michigan boasting a 14-0 record, Wisconsin traveled to Ann Arbor and made 15 of 33 3-pointers to defeat the Wolverines 91-88.
Cadeau said it will take a better effort than the Wolverines put up on Friday to defeat the Badgers in a rematch.
“We’ll have to have a different mindset for the next game,” he said. “If we play like we did today, I don’t think we’ll be able to win tomorrow.”
Michigan will certainly have higher expectations for out-of-conference Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg. He had four shots and six points on Friday, but also had six assists and made the decisive free throw with 6 seconds left.
“Yax had a great night because we played him a little differently and had a game plan focused on stopping him,” Wolverines coach Dusty May said. “Every game presents a different challenge.”
Michigan’s two biggest players may be Wisconsin’s Nick Boyd and John Blackwell. Boyd, who played as a freshman in May when Florida Atlantic advanced to the Final Four in 2023, scored a career-high 38 points against Illinois and Blackwell added 31 points.
Blackwell averaged 32.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in the tournament, while Boyd averaged 30.5 points and 7.5 assists. They used forward Nolan Winter (ankle) to fill the void left in the last four games.
But Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said the recent win was about more than just the two men’s efforts.
“Those two guys were great,” he said of Boyd and Blackwell, “but their teammates also did a really good job of helping them space the floor and rebound and things like that.”
Boyd said he learned how to play with Blackwell. He also took advantage of his teammates’ calmness to improve his own performance.
“It took a while. Now I know where he’ll be at all times,” Boyd said. “As we continue to grow together and play more and more games together, God willing, it will continue to be special.”
–Field level media
