All season long, the No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team rode on the notion that their high-powered, free-wheeling offense could carry them to magical places. That conviction took a menacing blow Sunday afternoon in East Lansing as the No. 8 Michigan State Spartans stymied Wisconsin’s offense, defeating the Badgers 71-62 in front of a raucous Breslin Center.
Wisconsin knew they were headed into the menacing meat-grinder that is the Michigan State defense, and they were unable to answer the challenge, shooting a combined 22-65 from the field and 5-32 from 3. Their 62 points were the lowest offensive output on the season for the Badgers, who averaged 81.9 points per game heading into Sunday’s showdown.
Numbers were down across the board for Wisconsin on Sunday. Guard John Blackwell led the Badgers with 19 points, but it took him 20 shots to get there. John Tonje added 11 but shot only 3-13, while Steven Crowl scored 10 points, shooting 4-9. Kamari McGee, starting for an injured Max Klesmit, scored three points, going 1-8. Blackwell and Tonje, who have frightened teams all season, shot a combined 2-15 from 3.
“Michigan State does that to you, too. They did some good things in protecting the paint, and closing out to shooters…It's not about the lineup, it's about our execution, and credit to Michigan State's defense,Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard said after the game. “They were hot on shooters, but even when they did get loose, I thought we had some pretty good looks.”
The loss pushes Wisconsin to 22-7 (12-6 Big Ten) and eliminates them from Big Ten regular season title contention.
Guard Jaden Atkins led the Spartans, slicing up Wisconsin’s defense to score 19 points, including four 3s, along with eight rebounds. Guard Jase Richardson contributed 11 points, with five rebounds, while forward Jaxon Kohler added 10 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.
Kohler’s 15 rebounds were echoed by 17 from Wisconsin forward Nolan Winter, the most for a Badger in 22 seasons. But eight of Kohler’s 15 were offensive boards, and as a team, the Spartans grabbed 13 offensive rebounds compared to Wisconsin’s eight, a huge difference in a close game.
Wisconsin got ahead early, leading Michigan State 13-4 just minutes into the game, with Crowl accounting for seven of the Badgers’ first 10 points. But soon, led by a scoring outburst from Akins, Michigan State found their groove, hitting three of their first six 3-pointers. From there, Wisconsin’s offensive struggles began. By halftime, although leading 34-32, Wisconsin had shot only 2-16 from beyond the arc, a number they knew would not be sustainable in the second half.
Michigan State began the second half on an 8-2 run, taking a four-point lead that felt much heavier in a game defined by Wisconsin’s shooting struggles.
For the remainder of the game, Wisconsin’s offensive woes continued, at one point missing 14 straight 3s. Despite this, the Badgers stayed in the game. They trailed 58-50 but then rattled off a 7-0 run. With 3:42 remaining, they only trailed Michigan State 62-60. But as the game entered true crunch time, Wisconsin’s shooting troubles proved unsustainable as the Spartans found life in their home crowd to close out the game, while the Badgers continued to heave unsuccessful shots.
In the end, Wisconsin battled valiantly, and on a day where their shots simply weren’t falling, the Badgers found a way to keep the game close. Losing to the Big Ten’s top team on the road is no embarrassment, and as Wisconsin finishes up its regular season this week, Sunday’s blemish will be nothing to hang their heads on.
