Unphased by intensity and unwilling to fear the Big Ten’s top-ranked team, Wisconsin put all its chips in on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Michigan State Spartans 77-74 in an action-packed, back-and-forth, undeniably March-feeling ballgame. The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team is moving on to the Big Ten Tournament Championship.
The Badgers, a week after a disheartening end to the regular season, are now winners of three games in three days and may be the most feared team in the Big Ten. Wisconsin will play Michigan in the Big Ten Championship Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
“UCLA and Michigan State got us the first time, and this is a great opportunity to get our revenge in the championship, too,” Wisconsin guard John Blackwell said after the game. “We know how it feels to get to this point, now we gotta finish the job.”
Wisconsin knew getting through the notoriously disciplined, Tom Izzo-coached Spartans, owners of an 17-3 Big Ten record, wasn’t going to be easy. It was a battle from the jump, but in receiving a legacy-cementing game from star John Tonje and a career-defining afternoon from beloved bench player Carter Gilmore, the Badgers emerged from the dogfight victorious and as confident as ever.
For the second day in a row Tonje was downright magnificent. A day after going 9-10 from the field and scoring 26 points against UCLA, the transfer guard was the best player on the court Saturday, turning in a 32-point, seven-rebound outing. All afternoon long, Wisconsin relied on Tonje, and all afternoon long, he delivered. His 32 points were the most ever for a Wisconsin player in a Big Ten Tournament game.
Gilmore, the lovable Wisconsin native, turned in a performance of a lifetime. Over the course of a season-high 30 minutes, Gilmore did all the little things right en route to scoring 10 points, grabbing five rebounds and dishing five assists. Perhaps most memorably, he blocked a shot on a 3-pointer from Michigan State guard Tre Holloman, which could have tied the game with seven seconds to play.
While he has once been characterized for his frustration-causing clumsiness, Gilmore reversed his reputation over his senior season, and Saturday’s victory was his defining moment.
John Blackwell scored 14 points for Wisconsin, shooting 4-11, with three rebounds and two assists. Ten of his 14 points came in the second half. Nolan Winter scored six points, and Steven Crowl added five, with eight rebounds.
The dangerous Spartans, who beat Wisconsin 71-62 on March 2, were led by Jase Richardson, who scored 21 points with seven rebounds. Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 14 points, with six assists, and Tre Holloman added 10. Big man Carson Cooper scored eight points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
The game started shakily for the Badgers, who saw Michigan State get hot from three, while Wisconsin struggled. Over the game’s first eight minutes, Michigan State took a 20-12 lead. The Spartans had hit four of their first six 3s, while Wisconsin had only converted on two of their first eight.
Like they had done in their first match-up with Wisconsin, Michigan State forced Wisconsin away from their driving lanes. But as Michigan State’s shooting cooled, it coincided with Wisconsin finding the paint on drives, as Blackwell and Kamari McGee both scored on lay-ups to bring Wisconsin within six, 26-20.
With Michigan State suddenly dead-cold offensively, Wisconsin eventually took a 35-33 lead, their first of the game, with 1:14 remaining in the half after a Crowl 3-pointer. Michigan State did not score a field goal for the half’s final 5:27, and Wisconsin went to the break leading the Spartans 37-33 after a half that the Spartans mostly controlled.
In the first four minutes of the second half, Michigan State outscored Wisconsin 12-4, finding success in the paint to take a 45-41 lead. But after Tonje connected on a clean turnaround jumper to stop Michigan State’s scoring run at eight, he stemmed the tide and led the Badgers on their own run.
Starting at that made shot at 15:27, and ending with Tonje’s fast-break lay-up with 12:51 left, the Badgers rattled off nine straight points, seven of them coming from Tonje, to take a 52-45 lead. In the middle of their run, Gilmore scored a lane-clearing throwdown dunk that instrumentally shifted momentum Wisconsin’s way.
Tonje continued his masterful day connecting on a pull-up two and a 3-pointer. After those two shots, Tonje had scored 14 out of Wisconsin’s last 16 points, with Wisconsin up 57-52 with 7:57 remaining.
But Wisconsin’s lead was far from comfortable, and as the Spartans got to the free-throw line, they tied the game at 60 with 6:18 remaining. At 5:36, Winter picked up his fourth foul and did not re-enter the game until there were 22 seconds left.
Wisconsin continued to score, but so did Michigan State, and despite the Badgers having the lead, it was an uneasy one. A Gilmore 3-pointer made it 68-63 Wisconsin advantage with 4:27 left, but the Spartains scored on their next two possessions to bring the game within one point.
Then, with 1:11 remaining, Blackwell drove to the hoop and scored, pushing Wisconsin’s lead to five points, 72-67. After Michigan State forward Jackson Kohler hit a wide-open 3, Tonje missed a triple of his own on Wisconsin’s ensuing possession, but Blackwell’s hustle drew a loose-ball foul. His free throws made it 74-70 with 31 seconds to play and put the Spartans in a desperate situation.
As the game turned into a free-throw contest, Wisconsin found themselves up 77-74 with 14 seconds left. Michigan State had a chance to tie the game on a 3-pointer, but Gilmore’s clutch block denied the Spartans that chance. Tonje grabbed the ball after the block, and Michigan State immediately fouled him. Tonje uncharacteristically missed his two free throws.
Down three with six seconds left, the Spartans had a long-shot chance to tie the game on a triple, but as Fear’s Jr. pulled up for a deep 3, Tonje stripped the ball and secured a memorable Wisconsin victory.
