Scouting the Spartans' Next Opponent: the No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers

The No. 8 Michigan State Spartans continue their tough stretch against ranked teams on Sunday when they face the No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers.

Jan 17, 2020; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo and Wisconsin Badgers head coach Greg Gard shake hands after a game at the Breslin Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-Imagn Images | Mike Carter-Imagn Images

The No. 8 Michigan State Spartans host the No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers at the Breslin Center on Sunday. Wisconsin is the fourth consecutive ranked opponent for the Spartans, who have a chance to finish this tough stretch of their schedule 4-0.

Michigan State's main priority is to slow down the Badgers’ backcourt. At 19.5 points per game, guard John Tonje is the Badgers leading scorer. Tonje is a threat on the perimeter, shooting 38% on three-pointers this season. 

The Spartans need their perimeter defense to step up in order to slow down Tonje. Michigan State does a really good job at making its opponents miss from deep, leading the Big Ten with an opposing three-point percentage of 28.8%.

The Badgers aren’t totally reliant on Tonje. They also have sophomore guard John Blackwell, who is averaging 15 points per game as a second option. 

Wisconsin does a really good job of playing fundamental basketball, leading the Big Ten with the least amount of turnovers per game. The Spartans thrive off of creating turnovers as they are most dangerous when turning those turnovers into transition offense.  

However, a glaring issue with the Badgers is that they don’t have a true facilitator. Nobody on the Badgers roster averages over 2.7 assists per game. In such a tough atmosphere like the Breslin Center, it is intriguing how well Wisconsin will be able to run its offense without a pure passer who set up easy baskets to get the offense going.

Surprisingly, with the state of the Big Ten, Wisconsin hasn’t had many challenging matchups. Since the calendar flipped to 2025, the Badgers have only played one team ranked in the AP Top 25, beating the then-No. 7 ranked Purdue Boilermakers. Wisconsin caught the Boilermakers at the right time, as they have now lost four straight games.

One could question how prepared is Wisconsin for a battle against a top team in the nation. On the other hand, the Spartans have three straight wins against ranked teams and have found ways to win in different ways. 

With a win on Sunday, Michigan State can clinch a top-two seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

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