The No. 16 Wisconsin Badgers (11-4 Big Ten, 22-6 overall) thought they had solved a number of problems and righted their ship after last Sunday’s 71-60 win over Maryland. But after falling to Ohio State 83-73 on Thursday, a new leak has sprung up.
Wisconsin has scored at least 70 points in consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 3, but its defense has slipped. Sunday, needing a win to stay just a game back of No. 14 Purdue for first place in the Big Ten conference, the Badgers look to put their losing ways behind them and knock off Michigan State (9-6, 17-11) in East Lansing.
Having made losing a habit in the past two weeks, dropping three of its last four games, Wisconsin looks to show some resilience Sunday against the Spartans.
“The true measure of our team is how we’re going to respond when we’re down,” redshirt senior guard Zak Showalter said.
Wisconsin is currently in a rut. Michigan State, on the other hand, has recently bounced back from its worst stretch of conference play.
The Spartans enter Sunday playing some of their best basketball of the season, having won three of their last four games. Since falling to Purdue 84-73 in late January, MSU has also gone undefeated at home, where they are 13-2 on the season.
Freshman phenom Miles Bridges leads the young Spartans in scoring and rebounding, averaging 16.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Fellow freshman Nick Ward helps bolster an inexperienced-but-talented frontcourt, chipping in 13.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest as well.
While the Badgers are seemingly a lock for the NCAA Tournament no matter how they finish down the stretch, Michigan State is still trying to bolster its postseason résumé. A win against the Badgers would go a long way in solidifying its place in the field.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has the Spartans as a 10-seed in his latest bracket projection. The Spartans are in play-in game territory, but he lists MSU among his “Last Four Byes.”
The Badgers aren’t fighting for their postseason lives, but playing well down the stretch is still of the utmost importance.
“The season’s winding down, the Big Ten tournament’s coming, anything after that’s coming,” associate head coach Lamont Paris said. “We have to be playing well, at the end of the day, those are the teams that advance; when you’re playing well.”
Offensively, the Badgers seem to have regained some of their firepower. Senior guard Bronson Koenig tied a career-high with 27 points in UW’s loss to the Buckeyes Thursday. Senior forward Nigel Hayes scored 21 points against Maryland last weekend. And even after struggling against OSU, redshirt sophomore forward Ethan Happ has been UW’s most consistent offensive threat and is handling the non-stop double teams better than he was a month ago.
Still, problems remain for the Badgers. Yahoo Sports’ Pat Forde tweeted Thursday after UW’s loss to Ohio State that the Badgers have played only one good half in their last eight halves. The 83 points Wisconsin gave up to the Buckeyes is the second-most they’ve given up in the Greg Gard era.
Wisconsin has three more regular season games left before the stakes get raised. After their recent struggles, the Badgers are in need of a tune-up. Sunday, though, won’t be a cakewalk.
The game tips off from East Lansing, Mich., at 3 p.m. Sunday.
