MSU Blitzed by Wisconsin's Shooting in Blowout Loss
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One word can describe Friday night for Michigan State: nightmare.
Tenth-ranked MSU was shot out of the gym against Wisconsin, taking a discouraging 92-71 loss. The Badgers seemed to make everything they put up from behind the arc, making 10 threes in the first half and ending the game with 15 made shots from behind the arc. The final 21-point margin is Michigan State's most lopsided loss since losing by 26 at Iowa on Feb. 22, 2022.
After starting 9-1 during Big Ten play, the Spartans have suddenly dropped three of their last four, dropping to 20-5 overall and 10-4 against conference foes. Wisconsin improved to 18-7 and 10-4, respectively.
The Spartans play their next two games at home. Michigan State will host UCLA this coming Tuesday (8:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN) and then Ohio State next Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS).
Game Recap
First Half
One of the keys to this game for MSU was to limit the threes from Wisconsin. The Badgers making threes on their first two possessions and then ending up starting 5-for-5 was foreshadowing for how this game would end up going. It was all Coen Carr on the offensive end for the Spartans early; he scored Michigan State's first seven points at the first media timeout, where MSU trailed, 11-7.
Given the super hot start from the perimeter for the Badgers, it almost seemed fortunate for the Spartans that Wisconsin didn't open up a bigger lead earlier. Michigan State was settling a lot for jumpers a ton --- only one of its first 18 shots was classified as a layup --- and it started just 5-for-17 on said jumpers.
It was almost like Wisconsin realized that MSU didn't have it going offensively around the midway point of the first half. The Badgers rattled off a 15-0 run to extend their lead out to 32-14 at the under-8 media timeout. Michigan State's offense look totally lost, missing eight straight shots and turning it over several times before Carr finally ended the run with a floater.
With that 18-point deficit, the goal for MSU had to be to try and gather momentum and trim into the lead as much as possible before half. It did it quite quickly, going on a 9-0 run after a three from Fears and then two long balls from Scott, trimming Wisconsin's advantage to nine.
Right when it seemed Michigan State had something going, Wisconsin struck again, closing the half on an 11-4 spurt. The Badgers continued to blitz the Spartans' normally stout defense with even more threes down the stretch, eventually going to the break with a 51-34 lead.
Nick Boyd was special during those opening 20 minutes. He dropped, well, 20 points after shooting 4-for-5 from behind the arc and 8-for-12 from the field overall. Wisconsin went 10-of-17 (58.8%) from behind the arc as a team during the first half.
Second Half
No signs of a potential comeback showed themselves early in the later half. The disheartening part was that Wisconsin started out-muscling MSU in the paint now, too. Michigan State's offense still didn't gather any real sort of rhythm or momentum, as the Badgers continued to enjoy a lead in the mid-to-high teens.
It truly just wasn't MSU's night in any way. The offense hardly had anything going, and it seemed every shot Wisconsin put up went down. This still is easily in the running for Michigan State's worst performance of the season, but a lot of credit still needs to go to the Badgers. Even if the Spartans played poor defense (which they did), Wisconsin still has to knock those shots down. MSU caught it on a night where it seemed like they all went down.
No sort of run that gave Michigan State any real hope ever showed up. Wisconsin's lead crept up into the 20s as the second half progressed, using a 19-point second half for John Blackwell, continuing to out-muscle and out-execute MSU in every way. Tom Izzo was sitting Jeremy Fears Jr. and giving Denham Wojcik extended action with about 10 minutes still remaining.
This was a butt-kicking that essentially eliminates the Spartans from any meaningful contention for a Big Ten title, as they are now three games back in the loss column from Michigan with just six games remaining. The focus now has to be preparing for the Big Ten Tournament and maximizing the seed in March Madness.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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