MSU Falls to Wisconsin in Heartbreaking Fashion, Bounced From Big Ten Tournament
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Saturday's Big Ten Tournament semifinal matchup between No. 7 Michigan State and No. 18 Wisconsin was a gritty, win-or-go home battle.
The No. 1-seeded Spartans got the test they needed but were ultimately outlasted by the No. 5-seeded Badgers, 77-74, in a contest that came down to the last possession.
It was a game of runs, and each team responded admirably when it found itself in a hole.
But it was Wisconsin which prevailed, and the Badgers now move on to Sunday's Big Ten Tournament title game.
Michigan State was led once again by freshman guard Jase Richardson, who scored a team-high 21 points. He also grabbed seven rebounds.
Spartan redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. finished with 14 points, while junior guard Tre Holloman had 10. Fears also posted a game-high six assists while junior center Carson Cooper grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, nearly notching a double-double as he also scored 8 points.
Richardson started off hot, scoring 8 of the Spartans' first 10 points, including two 3-pointers.
Akins would join in with a triple of his own, giving Michigan State a quick 13-4 advantage.
That run was quickly quieted by a 3 from Wisconsin sophomore forward Nolan Winter. Not long after, a second 3-pointer, this time from senior forward Carter Gilmore would trim the deficit down to a possession.
Shortly after, Holloman would drain one from the downtown to put Michigan State back up 8,
This wasn't a team Michigan State was going to be able to pull away from, though. Especially with graduate guard John Tonje leading the way.
A triple from Tonje with 9:14 to go in the first half would make it a one-possession game again.
Later in the half, Tonje would strike again from downtown, pulling the Badgers to within 1 with almost 2-and-a-half minutes to go before the break.
Shortly after, a 3-pointer from graduate forward Steven Crowl would give Wisconsin a 35-33 lead, its first of the game .
The Badgers would take a 37-33 lead into halftime.
It took a bit for the Spartans to erase the deficit.
It wasn't until Cooper made back-to-back buckets to even the game at 41 apiece. Those were followed up by a layup from Holloman and a momentous alley-oop jam by sophomore forward Coen Carr that was lobbed up from Fears. That would cap off an 8-0 Spartans run and give them a 4-point lead with under 16 minutes to play.
Noramally when Michigan State puts together lengthy second-half runs, it creates separation against its opponents. Not in this matchup.
Wisconsin would respond with one of its own, scoring 11 unanswered points, 9 having come from Tonje. That gave the Badgers a 7-point lead, their largest of the contest.
A 3 from Richardson would give the Spartans the momentum they needed, bringing them back to within 4.
Not long after, a triple from Wisconsin sophomore guard John Blackwell extended his team's lead back to two possessions before Richardson immediately answered with his own.
Those were the first 3 of 6 straight points from Richardson, who would tie the game at 60-60 with 6:18 to go.
Wisconsin would go back up by as many as 5 with a 3 from Gilmore. After Michigan State then trimmed the lead back down to 1, the Badgers were able to push the edge right back to 5, but now with much less time on the clock as just 1:11 remained.
Needing a big bucket, Spartan junior forward Jaxon Kohler would drill one from beyond the arc, cutting the Wisconsin lead to 2 points with just over a minute left.
A foul against Akins would then send Blackwell to the line for a one-and-one, and he would drain both.
On the responding possession, Richardson was fouled while cutting to the basket, He would drain both attemps at the charity stripe, making it a 2-point game again with just 22 seconds to go.
Michigan State then sent Winter to the line, where he made his first attempt before missing the second, keeping it a one-possession game.
In desperate need of another successful possession, Fears would draw a foul on a driving attempt and would go on to make his pair of attempts.
The game ultimately came down to one final possession after two missed free-throw attempts by Tonje gave Michigan State an opportunity to tie it with 6 seconds remaining.
Fears would attempt to chuck it up but was blocked by Tonje on the game-tying attempt.
Tonje finished with a remarkable 32 points.
Next up for Michigan State is the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans will wait to find out where and who they play in the first round, which will be revealed on Sunday's selection show on CBS.
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