MADISON — A board hangs in the tunnel of Crisler Arena, listing each team on the schedule for the Michigan men’s basketball team.

The opponent for Wednesday night’s game is listed as ‘Wisconson.’ While certainly a spelling error and not a sign of disrespect to the Badgers, the young Wolverine squad certainly respects Wisconsin now.

Michigan fell to the Badgers 66-50 at the Kohl Center. The Wolverines battled the entire game and even led at halftime, but Wisconsin proved to be too much to handle.

“They’re really solid,” freshman forward Evan Smotrycz said after the game. “They forced us to kind of beat ourselves. We made mistakes, just mental lapses (that) could’ve been avoided, and they took advantage. … They shortened the game, and they made plays.”

Although Michigan held a slim 28-26 lead at halftime, the Badgers stormed back in the second half. Led by point guard Jordan Taylor’s pair of 3-pointers, the Badgers went on a 13-0 run in the opening minutes of the half to open up a nine-point lead. Taylor finished the game with 20 points to lead all scorers, and his playmaking ability from the lead spot in the second half proved too much to overcome.

Wisconsin controlled the game's pace and tempo the rest of the way, running its methodical swing play to slowly choke out the Wolverine offense.

After shooting 45.5 percent from the field in the first half, Michigan went just 7-of-21 the rest of the game. Wisconsin continued to hit its shots, though, making it nearly impossible for the Wolverines to come back in a hostile road environment.

Sophomore guard Matt Vogrich hit back-to-back 3-pointers to pull Michigan back within four at 48-44 with 8:31 left in the game, but Michigan scored just six points the rest of the way. The Wolverines rushed their shots on several possessions and couldn’t get quality attempts on others.

Wisconsin reached the bonus early in the second frame, allowing them to put the game away from the free-throw line. The Badgers finished the half 14-of-16 from the charity stripe, while Michigan had just eight attempts the whole game.

“Once we got behind, it was really hard to come back on them,” Michigan coach John Beilein said. “We tried zone, we tried man. … We just couldn’t get it to that point where we could get back and make it a one or two possession game.

“From there on out the lights are out usually here with three or four minutes to go down four, because they are not going to miss foul shots, and they’re not going to turn it over.”

The Wolverines enjoyed their first-half success — the team led by as many as six and entered the break up by two — despite largely playing without leading scorer Darius Morris.

The sophomore point guard committed his first foul before a minute had elapsed in the game, causing Beilein to take him out. And Morris fouled for the second time as soon as he reentered the game — he played just five minutes in the first half.

But freshman guard Tim Hardaway Jr. had 10 points in the frame, constantly finding space around the free-throw line for jumpers. When senior guard Zack Novak hit the second of his consecutive 3-pointers to put his team up 28-22 late in the half, Michigan had momentum, and a blowout at the hands of the Badgers seemed unlikely.

But the Wisconsin defense did what it always does, forcing long possessions and low-percentage shots by preventing any offense down low. The Wolverines had just 12 points in the paint all night.

“They’re really good at forcing you to take elbow pull-ups and (3-pointers),” Smotrycz said. “They’re really solid inside, long enough. They’ve got the two big guys (center Keaton Nankivil and forward Jon Leuer). It’s tough to get it to the rim, so you’re going to have to make your pull-ups.”

Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said he thought Michigan’s young players performed “loose,” and Beilein was happy with Michigan’s effort.

But with his team’s offense falling off late, Beilein recognized the Wolverines aren’t where they need to be to finish games.

“(Our poise) is going to come and go at different times,” Beilein said. “I’m talking about a poise that’s got to be at a very high level and (understanding) what stacks up against other things … it’s a lot of freshman things that will evolve as they play.”