How Tschetter Sparked Victory Over No. 11 Wisconsin to End Michigan's Five-Game Losing Streak

Wolverines make it a happy 51st birthday for Coach Howard, who says of Tschetter: 'We’re all going to always remember Will Tschetter here in this program.'

Photos Courtesy of University of Michigan Photography

Wolverine forward Will Tschetter, the team’s most accurate 3-point shooter, signals to the crowd after hitting one of two treys against Wisconsin.

Will Tschetter sets a pick for Michigan guard Jaelin Llewellyn against Badgers guard Chucky Hepburn.

By Steve Kornacki

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – It was a happy 51^st birthday for Michigan coach Juwan Howard, and the end of a dismal, five-game losing streak for his team. That the turnaround game came against No. 11 Wisconsin made the 72-68 victory here Wednesday night all that more special.

There were many heroes on a team that has taken few bows in a season that has brought an 8-15 overall record and a 3-9 mark that has the Wolverines tied for last place in the Big Ten.

However, the No. 1 difference-maker on this night was reserve forward Will Tschetter, coming off the bench for 11 points (third-highest for Michigan) with 2 rebounds, 1 assist and some much-needed leadership over 20 minutes of play.

“Will is a culture guys,” said Howard. “And every coach would love to have an opportunity to coach a guy like Will Tschetter. When I recruited him (out of Stewartville, Minn.), just knowing his makeup and his background, I said, ‘This is going to be a guy who’s going to be a captain of our team.’ ”

Olivier Nkamhoua and Jace Howard – who missed this game with an illness -- were elected captains by this team, but Tschetter, a redshirt sophomore, was in the running.

“And he received a lot of votes because guys respect him,” continued Howard. “And they know where his heart is, and just because you aren’t voted captain, Will has always shown leadership because he’s wired to do it and do it the right way. It was nice that he holds guys accountable. His teammates hold him accountable, and he received information. He doesn’t take it to heart. He doesn’t take it personal.

“He’s a guy, that with all the hard work that he does, and doing all those small things that result to winning, he’s a guy who we’re going to see that when it’s time for his senior year, [and] it’s Senior Day, we’re all going to always remember Will Tschetter here in this program. And all you see right now – we appreciate his work.”

Tschetter pulled teammates aside during this game, and pointed out to guard Nimari Burnett that he had played a ball screen incorrectly.

“To make sure that we’re doing that all the time is essential for us to get big wins like this,” Tschetter told Terry Mills and Brian Boesch on the post-game Michigan radio show.

In this world of transfer portal program-jumpers and one-and-done NBA prospects, Tschetter is an old-school throwback looking to get better every day, every year.

He pointed to this as a true team win on the radio interview.

“We were balanced offensively and we did a great job defensively of holding our assignments for 40 minutes,” Tschetter noted. “Forty-minute games is what we had to do. It couldn’t be 20 minutes. It couldn’t be 25 minutes. It couldn’t be 35 minutes. It needed to be 40 minutes.

“Play hard and play smart for 40 minutes was what we needed.”

If games were over at the half, Michigan would be 16-7. They would be a real factor if NCAA Half-time Bracketology existed.

However, the Wolverines have faded particularly poorly in recent games – entering this contest with five consecutive losses by double-digit margins.

Tschetter assured that they had the lead at intermission in this one, and then stepped up big once the Badgers took the lead early in the second half.

Tschetter, with 1:07 remaining in the first half, drove to the hoop from near the free throw line, and Nkamhoua (8 points and 12 rebounds) spotted him like a quarterback does a receiver, hitting him in stride with a slick bounce pass. Tschetter drove for 2 points, was fouled, and added the free throw.

That provided a 37-33 lead going into the half-time locker room.

Michigan trailed, 48-44, six minutes into the second half and it was beginning to look like another collapse was in the offing.

But then Terrance Williams II hit a pretty jumper, and Nkamhoua made a pair of free throws before making a short shot to retake the lead.

Tschetter then drained an open 3-pointer (he’s shooting a team-best .564 on treys this season) and the crowd was back into this game in a big way. Michigan led, 52-48, and was ahead the final 12 minutes of the game.

Tschetter scored again with a put-back after rebounding to make the lead 6 points, and three minutes later he made another trey to push the margin to a game-high 9 points with 5:45 to play.

He raised both arms and the cheers became even louder.

“You know what you’re going to get out of Will,” said forward Tarris Reed, Jr., who had 12 points and 6 rebounds. “So, he’s going to play hard, do his job, and may make mistakes here and there, but you know he’s going as hard as he can. So, if he makes a mistake, you know Will is probably going to get it back on defense.”

Williams, who had 10 points and 6 rebounds, nodded as Reed concluded his thoughts.

“To go along with that,” said Williams, “yeah, Will is just a great player. We see the work he puts in every day. So, when he comes in with that spurt and those threes, layups and that stuff, it just doesn’t surprise me because that’s the Will I know.

“And if we get that Will every game, then the sky’s the limit for him – and for us.”

Cheddar, averaging 7.0 points per game, had 20 against Youngstown State and reached double-figures five times in the first 13 games. But he had gone nine consecutive games without doing that.

He’s typically played with as much energy as anybody, but recently seemed to lose that spark. But he was the sparkplug in a much-needed win.

“That three that rolled in and rolled around the rim – that was a big three,” said Howard.

Howard kept Tschetter, forward Tray Jackson and point guard Jaelin Llewellyn in for a prolonged second-half spurt along with starters Reed and Burnett.

“That was a really good group that I could not break up,” said Howard.

Dug McDaniels scored 11 in the first 11 minutes and finished with a team-high 16 points by scoring his team’s final 5 points in the last 1:12 of play.

And so, in the end, it was all smiles for a team that had lost 10 of its last 11 games.

Howard said, “It was a very nice gift that the fellas said, basically, after the game, ‘This is a birthday gift for you.’ And it’s nice to know that our guys, with a smile on their face, get to sleep on their pillow. And, hopefully, the food tastes a lot better tonight than it did some other nights. And, at the same time, be able to wake up with a smile on their face because it’s been a grind, and we will continue to grind.

“It hurts my heart to walk in the locker room and see faces, where you see guys with the face down. You see guys with their eyes red…But I have always felt their pain even more. I’m human, too, and very competitive. I want to win every game. But, realistically, it doesn’t happen that way unless you’re the Michigan football team. You gotta put that plug in there for the [15-0] national champions.”

He could smile for only the second time after the game since the Dec. 16 win over Eastern Michigan had his team 6-5.

“It hurts my heart to see those sad faces,” said Howard, “and tonight it was nice to see guys with a smile on their face and noise in the locker room in a positive way.”