Wisconsin unable to overcome Michigan State on road, 71-62
No. 8 Michigan State put together a strong second half to top 11th-ranked Wisconsin on Sunday in East Lansing, 71-62.
John Blackwell scored 19 points to lead the Badgers (22-7, 12-6), who fell into a tie with Maryland and Purdue for third in the Big Ten Conference behind the Spartans (24-5, 15-3) and Michigan.
Wisconsin’s leading scorer, John Tonje, was held to just 3 of 13 shooting from the field and 1-for-8 from the 3-point line for 11 points. He did have six rebounds while Nolan Winter grabbed a career-high 17 boards.
For Michigan State, Jaden Akins led three players in double figures with 19, knocking down four triples. Jase Richardson had 11 with six assists and five rebounds while Jaxon Kohler had 10 points and 16 rebounds.
The Badgers scored the first five points of the game, nine-point lead before the Spartans answered back. The two would exchange the lead several times before Wisconsin took a lead into the half on a Blackwell jumper at 34-32.
Blackwell started the second half with a basket but Michigan State would slowly gain control over the next 10 minutes. The Spartans took the lead for good with 13:52 to go on a 3-pointer by Frankie Fidler.
A Blackwell triple with just under seven minutes to go made it 58-57 in favor of Michigan State, but the Spartans went on a 11-2 run to put Wisconsin away.
Wisconsin has two games remaining before the league tournament, as they travel to Minnesota Wednesday and host Penn State on Saturday.
