Wisconsin is looking to hold on to the top spot in the Big Ten when the 13th-ranked Badgers host Michigan State on Friday at Madison, Wis.
Wisconsin (15-4, 7-1 Big Ten) escaped with a 61-59 win at Minnesota on Tuesday to remain the only team with one conference loss. Michigan State (12-7, 4-4) has been idle since a 61-59 win at Maryland on Sunday.
Wisconsin won the first meeting between the teams 70-57 at Michigan State in early December.
Against Minnesota, the Badgers led by 15 in the first half and by eight with just over seven minutes left but trailed by one with 34 seconds remaining. Down the stretch, Wisconsin went 4 of 4 from the free-throw line and the Badgers’ Tyler Wahl blocked a shot inside in the closing seconds.
Wahl had a team-high 16 points, making 6 of 7 shots. AJ Storr, a transfer from St. John’s, had his first career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
“I just didn’t think we had an edge to us defensively and they came out and made some plays to start the half,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. “But eventually we got better there defensively.
“I think they told me we had eight straight stops in a row. They get one point on the last five possessions, and we made enough plays down the stretch to finish it off.”
Wisconsin averages 75.7 points, while allowing 66.9. The Badgers lead the Big Ten by shooting 77.7 percent from the free-throw line, with almost as many makes (304) as opponents have attempts (313).
Storr, who has scored in double figures 14 straight games, averages a team-best 15.3 points per game. Steven Crowl adds 11.7 points and team-high 7.5 rebounds. Wahl averages 11.7 points. Max Klesmit averages 10.0 points and is 17 of 25 (68.0 percent) from 3-point range over his past five games.
Michigan State led 44-32 at the half against Maryland, but the Terps came back for a 53-50 lead with 8:26 remaining. Tyson Walker’s 3-pointer with 44 seconds left put the Spartans up 61-57.
Walker had a team-high 15 points, along with five steals and five assists. Malik Hall, A.J. Hoggard, and Tre Holloman each scored 12 points. The Spartans were outrebounded 37-22 and trailed 10-1 in second-chance points.
“We got our butts exactly kicked on the boards,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “I thought they were tougher than we were and that’s very disappointing for me.
“I thought they did a great job on the boards, and yet we did some good things, too. When we had our running game going, we looked like our teams of old.”
Michigan State averages 76.2 points per contest, while allowing 65.2. The Spartans are 11-0 when holding opponents below 70 points.
Walker leads Michigan State in scoring with 19.7 per game. Hoggard averages 11.2 points, Hall 11.1 points and 5.2 rebounds, and Jaden Akins adds 10.4 points.
In the first meeting this season, Wisconsin jumped out to a 34-23 halftime lead. Storr had 22 points and Crowl 18 in the game. The Badgers were 14 of 14 from the free-throw line and also had a 36-22 rebounding advantage.
The teams have split the past eight meetings.
–Field Level Media
