INDIANAPOLIS—There is an old adage in basketball about how difficult it is to beat a team three times in a season. No. 8 Michigan State made it clear that adage wasn’t going to apply to them as they rolled to a 65-52 defeat of No. 14 Wisconsin in Saturday’s Big Ten semifinals.
The Badgers (24-9) got off to exactly the start they wanted, knocking down seven of their first eleven shots en route to a 20-9 lead just under halfway through the opening half.
But the three-point jumper made by junior forward Jared Berggren that gave Wisconsin that lead would be their last field goal of the half. The Badgers would ultimately come up empty from the field for a total of 11 minutes and 59 seconds. In the meantime, the Spartans (26-7) rebounded from a 0-for-7 start from the field to go on a 37-7 run that would give them a 19-point lead with just 16:52 left in the game.
In that span, Wisconsin suddenly went from very much in control to very much in trouble.
“We broke away from our rules and gave them some open looks,” Berggren said after the game. “Once things get rolling for them, its tough to stop.”
Wisconsin made things interesting, responding with one final gasp in the form of a 13-0 run capped off by three of Wisconsin senior guard Jordan Taylor’s 19 points. That three-pointer cut the Spartan lead to just six and forced MSU head coach Tom Izzo to call a timeout just prior to the 12-minute mark.
But just as they did in the first half, the Spartans responded to the challenge, holding Wisconsin scoreless for the next seven plus minutes while slowly building their lead back up to 17.
“When we got in that hole we just couldn’t get ourselves completely out of it,” sophomore guard Josh Gasser said. “They are too good of a defensive team to put yourself down that big and expect to come back.”
Perhaps the biggest issue the Badgers faced in their comeback attempt was the turnover. Every time Wisconsin had a chance to really cut into the deficit, MSU seemed to force one of 12 Wisconsin turnovers, taking advantage in transition and halting any momentum Wisconsin could possibly build.
Wisconsin will now head back home for a much-needed day of rest before beginning their preparation for the start of NCAA Tournament play late this week. Hopes of a conference title might have gone by the wayside Saturday afternoon, but this team knows that a whole new season begins Thursday.
Win and keep playing with the dream alive. Lose and it’s all over.
“That’s the season if we lose, if we don’t, we can keep playing until April 2,” Taylor said. “If we play like we did against Indiana, I think we can win a national title.”
