Michigan State 69, (18) Wisconsin 65: Last word

January 10, 2023
|In Badgers
|By Zach Heilprin

MADISON — No. 18 Wisconsin faltered down the stretch Tuesday night, leading to a 69-65 loss to Michigan State at the Kohl Center.

Wisconsin Player of the Game: Steven Crowl

Wisconsin’s big man continued his strong play, especially in the second half. That’s when he scored 15 of his team-high 19 points. The Badgers continually fed the post after the break and Crowl was more often than not able to finish through contact. The junior is averaging 19.1 points per game and shooting 58.1% from the field over the last four games.

The good: The bench play in the first half

Coach Greg Gard’s bench has been shortened with injuries to Tyler Wahl and Jahcobi Neath, which has forced others to step up. While Connor Essegian has been a fixture throughout the season, and was again with 13 points on Tuesday, Wisconsin got some solid minutes from Marcus Ilver, Chris Hodges, and Isaac Lindsey. In the first half, that contributed 17 of Wisconsin’s 31 points.

The not so good: The last four minutes

The Badgers got outscored by nine in the final 4:14 of the game as Michigan State made its last eight shots and went 4-for-5 from the free throw line. Much of the damage was done in the paint, with AJ Hoggard’s dribble penetration and Malik Hall finding a mismatch or two in the post.

Things weren’t much better at the other end, where the Badgers made just two of their final six shots. Among the misses was a tough step-back 3-pointer from the wing by Chucky Hepburn when Wisconsin was down just two in the final minute. Gard said he intended to call a timeout just as Hepburn was shooting and would obviously want a better look than that.

Stats of the Game:

15 – That was the rebounding margin in favor of Michigan State. It was the second straight home game the Badgers had been outrebounded by double digits.

94 – That is the percentage that the Spartans shot from the free throw line, going 16-for-17. The Badgers managed to go 6-for-8. The eight attempts tied a season low.

27 – That is how many points Wisconsin scored on Michigan State’s 14 turnovers, giving the Badgers a 25-point advantage in that category.

What They Said

Greg Gard on the loss:

“The four minutes at the start of the game and the four minutes at the end (weren’t good). As I told the team, unfortunately it’s 40 minutes not 32. We’ve got to find a way to continue to be a more complete team at the start and at the end.”

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo on Wisconsin and the impact of transfers:

“I like Greg’s team. They’re going to be good, but they need their guys. None of us have the depth that we used to because of this insanity in college basketball.”

In Case You Missed It

— Tyler Wahl missed his second straight game due to an ankle injury and Gard didn’t have a timeline on his potential return.

“There’s progress. He’s getting better,” Gard said. “He’s doing more and more every day, but in terms of will he be available Saturday, I don’t know. We’re four days away from that. A lot has changed in the last four days for the better and hopefully more changes for the better.”

— The Badgers honored guard Kammron Taylor prior to the game, as the team continued its celebration of the 100th year of Wisconsin basketball. Taylor was a key piece of Wisconsin’s teams in the mid-2000s, including on the 2006-2007 team that became the first in program history to reach the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll.

— Chris Hodges scored his first basket with the Badgers on this sweet move in the paint.

What’s next?

Wisconsin (11-4, 3-2) will head to Indiana (10-5, 1-3) on Saturday to face the Hoosiers.