Traevon Jackson has been a controversial player for the Badgers (6-5 Big Ten, 19-5 overall). He’s known as “Mr. Clutch” for making multiple game-winners, but also as a player who makes multiple mistakes that can cost his team. Badger fans saw both sides of that today, and it was infuriating at first, but was then followed by exhilaration.
Jackson’s late jumper gave Wisconsin a much-needed win, putting them back into fourth place in the Big Ten and snapping what was an inexcusable three-game home losing streak. Beating a top ten team in No. 7 Michigan State (9-2, 20-4) was just a bonus.
With senior guard Keith Appling and junior forward Branden Dawson out due to injury, the return of senior center Adreian Payne was expected to be crucial for the Spartans. The team showed this by feeding Payne on their first three possessions, allowing the center to create high-percentage shots going against junior center Frank Kaminsky.
Payne eventually finished with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting while serving as a focal point for the Spartan offense, despite head coach Tom Izzo saying that he wasn’t 100 percent healthy.
“The foot was fine, he just had issues with conditioning.” Izzo said.
The Badgers were able to counter with offense from their own frontcourt and force a close game. All of the Badgers' points in the first 10 minutes of the game came from their big men.
The other Michigan State star healthy enough to play, sophomore guard Gary Harris, had a miserable game, courtesy of a cold hand and redshirt junior guard Josh Gasser’s defense.
“Full team effort there, I didn’t want to give him anything easy,” Gasser said. “I was trying to force him into my help. My guys did a good job of helping him out and forcing him into some tough shots.”
Harris finished the night with six points on 3-for-20 shooting, and 0-for-7 from 3-point range. Despite health problems in the past, Izzo maintained that Harris was totally healthy. Together, Harris and Payne took 60 percent of their teams field goal attempts.
“There were times where we just didn’t have anybody else in there who could make shots,” Izzo said. “The ball got stuck in [Harris’s] hands a lot, and in critical times with [Payne] out.”
This narrow ability on offense caused the Spartans problems, clearly exemplified by missing 13 shots in a row to finish the half. On the Badgers’ side of the ball, Gasser scored five points in a row to end the half and give Wisconsin a 30-22 lead at the intermission.
Michigan State came out of the locker room with a renewed emphasis on defense, which spilled over to offense and created good transition looks. Harris made his first four points of the game on back-to-back dunks off of his own steals.
By the midpoint of the second half, the Badgers were having trouble creating shots. From 13:17 to 6:31, the only points for Wisconsin came from freshman forward Nigel Hayes’ free throws.
Hayes continued to display why he had been getting progressively more playing time, showing by far the most decisiveness on the court for his team and reaching the foul line 12 times as a result. Hayes went on to finish with more minutes played than Kaminsky and one less than sophomore forward Sam Dekker.
“The only other player I remember like Hayes, who used his body that way to get fouled is Steve Showalter, who played for me at [UW-] Platteville.” Ryan said. “Nigel’s pretty special. He’s really given us a big boost. He’s done things in his way where he just works.”
Once Michigan State adjusted onto Hayes, it was time for both teams to continuously exchange daggers and mistakes. Wisconsin came in to the four-minute mark clinging to a four-point lead. Senior guard Ben Brust then widened the lead with a 3-pointer, his only of the afternoon.
After that, the Spartans began grinding their offense out, getting points from Payne’s free throws and junior guard Travis Trice’s 3-pointer to pull within three.
On the next possession, Jackson let Trice poke the ball out of his hand and compounded his mistake by fouling Trice while going for the lose ball. This eventually allowed Payne to narrow the lead to two with a single free throw.
Kaminsky then immediately made his first three of the game to supposedly ice the game, leaving the Badgers up five with 29 seconds left. However, Harris quickly made a very long two.
Brust was subsequently fouled and went to the line for a one-and-one. It just wasn’t Brust’s night, as the 94.3 percent free throw shooter missed his first attempt and watched as the Spartans got the rebound and called timeout.
A well executed play led to a Payne 3-point shot tying the game with 10 seconds left and quieting the crowd, but not for long.
A week ago, the Badgers lost to Ohio State on a last-second miss. Given pretty much the same situation, Ryan stuck with his point guard.
“His decision making has been a little sporadic at times, but in a last second situation, if it starts in his hands, I’m confident we’re going to get something,” Ryan said. “Doesn’t mean he has to end up taking the shot, but he was wide open.”
After a drive to the left from Jackson, a pull-up jumper, a swish and a last-second heave from Trice, the Badgers’ season was back on track.
