Tre Donaldson’s shot to send Michigan basketball to Big Ten final
Watch Tre Donaldson’s end-to-end rush to send Michigan basketball to Big Ten tourney final in Indianapolis on Saturday, March 15, 2025.
INDIANAPOLIS − Michigan basketball continued to show that winning close games is a skill on Sunday as the Wolverines outlasted Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament title game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The Wolverines opened the month of March 0-3 to fall out of Big Ten regular season title contention and as a result, simply focused one main goal with the postseason on tap: get its swagger back.
After a frantic weekend, with three games in three days in Indianapolis, it’s safe to say mission accomplished, with the Wolverines beating Wisconsin 59-53 in the Big Ten tournament title game.
It is Michigan’s first Big Ten tournament title since 2018.
It was a total rock fight, with neither team shooting above 35% from the field, but Wisconsin couldn’t buy a bucket down the stretch and Michigan once again somehow found a way to win.
U-M dominated Purdue by 18 points in the quarterfinal on Friday, then turned around 16 hours later and although it blew a 15-point second-half lead vs. Maryland on Saturday, Tre Donaldson played hero with a coast-to-coast layup in the final 5 seconds for the win.
That set the stage for Sunday, where on the team’s third game in 42 hours, Michigan pulled out yet another miracle finish despite not being able to hit the broadside of the barn.
The Wolverines will have about half an hour celebrate before the NCAA Selection Sunday show, where they find out their fate as the program readies for its first appearance in March Madness in three years.
The Wolverines are being slotted anywhere from a 3-seed to a 5-seed, but certainly a run to the Big Ten title game won’t hurt anything.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
