Wisconsin falls by six to Michigan State for an early exit from the Big Ten Tournament
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On the heels of a tough home loss to Nebraska, the Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team came into their quarterfinal matchup with the Michigan State Spartans in the Big Ten Tournament hungry to get back on track.
Unfortunately for the Badgers, miscues and some uncharacteristically poor shooting from the free-throw line would ultimately be the difference as Michigan State won 69-63.
The game would get off to a slow start as neither team could get going offensively. Wisconsin began the game shooting only 20% from the floor, and were fortunate to be only down eight points after the first ten minutes of action, largely because of extra opportunities provided by turnovers and offensive rebounds surrendered by Michigan State.
The Badgers would manage to cut into the deficit and pull within two points with around six minutes remaining in the first half as the two squads exchanged scoring droughts.
Over the final few minutes of the half, not much would change, as neither team could pull away in the defensive slugfest. Michigan State would retain a 24-22 halftime lead with the two teams combining to shoot 14-of-50 from the floor and 0-of-11 from three-point range.
The pace of the game would drastically shift early in the second half though, as the Badgers and Spartans connected on the first four shot attempts. Wisconsin would ride the improved shooting to tie the game up at 32 points apiece at the first media timeout.
A Brad Davison three-pointer would give the Badgers a two-point advantage with just over 11 minutes remaining in the game, even as multiple players battled foul trouble.
Led by Marcus Bingham, Michigan State would respond quickly by making five of their next six shot attempts to snag a 50-44 lead with 7:15 left to play.
Chucky Hepburn would connect on consecutive three-pointers a few minutes later to even the score at 58-58, but a pair of made shots by Tyson Walker would give Michigan State a late four-point lead with under a minute remaining.
From there, more missed free throws by Wisconsin and some timely plays by Michigan State would allow the Spartans to hold on to win 69-63, sending the Badgers home early from the Big Ten Tournament.
Game defining statistics:
- Free throws
Coming into the game shooting nearly 75% from the free-throw line, the Badgers were unable to find success from the charity stripe versus Michigan State. Wisconsin finished the game 12-of-21 from the line, and in a game where the margin of error was razor-thin, free throws ultimately doomed them.
- 3-of-19
Playing with a sprained ankle, Johnny Davis was unable to get going at all against Michigan State. The Badgers star player was only 3-of-19 from the floor and 0-of-5 from three-point range for the game. The Spartans were all over him throughout the contest, and he was held to only 11 points for the game, well below his average.
- Bench points
With neither team able to hit shots from deep, it was the Michigan State bench that stepped up big. The Spartans outscored the Badgers off the bench by 17 points with A.J. Hoggard and Julius Marble leading the way with eight points each. Chris Vogt scored the lone point for Wisconsin from the bench.
Players of note:
- Brad Davison (WIS) - 23 points, three rebounds, three assists
- Chucky Hepburn (WIS) - 11 points, three rebounds, four assists
- Marcus Bingham Jr. (MSU) - 19 points, 11 rebounds
On tap...
The Badgers must now wait to see where they wind up in terms of seeding for the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday. The latest bracketology projections have them anywhere between a three to five seed, with Wisconsin obviously hoping to wind up in Milwaukee for the early rounds of the Big Dance.
