No. 10 Michigan State run out of Madison in 92–71 loss to Wisconsin
Badgers’ backcourt combines for 53 points as Tom Izzo calls defensive effort “disappointing”
No. 10 Michigan State couldn’t carry its momentum from the win over then-No. 5 Illinois into Madison, falling 92–71 to Wisconsin on Friday night at the Kohl Center. The loss drops the Spartans to 10–14 all-time in Madison and underscored how difficult that building has been over the years.
Wisconsin set the tone early.
The Badgers opened the game by drilling their first five shots from three, building immediate separation behind guard Nick Boyd. Boyd poured in 20 of his 29 points in the first half and finished 9-for-? from the field with four assists, consistently breaking down Michigan State’s defense.
John Blackwell added 24 points of his own, and the two guards combined for 53 points on 16-of-31 shooting, including 9-of-16 from deep.
Michigan State struggled to contain Wisconsin’s spacing and 5-out attack. The Badgers shot 15-of-35 (42.9%) from three overall and pushed the lead to 51–34 at halftime. Jeremy Fears Jr., who finished with 14 points and 12 assists, was limited to just one field goal in the first half as the Spartans had trouble generating rhythm in the half court.
A 15–0 Wisconsin run proved decisive.
“I give a lot of credit to Wisconsin,” Tom Izzo said. “I thought they played as well as I’ve seen them play all year… They made shots. Now part of it was we decided not to guard tonight and it was disappointing. It was one of those games where they were good and we were bad – and that’s a bad combination against a good team.”
Michigan State opened the second half with a Carson Cooper basket and a couple of defensive stops, trimming the margin. The Spartans eventually cut the deficit to nine, but couldn’t sustain it.
“We said let’s get it down to 12 or 13. We had it down to nine and then we just didn’t do our job,” Izzo said. “A lot of that falls on me.”
A missed free-throw box-out allowed Wisconsin to extend the possession and score, pushing the lead back out and draining any momentum.
“I was disappointed that we missed the free-throw cutout,” Izzo said. “That is like a cardinal sin at our place – how much we work on it and what emphasis we put on it. That was more disappointing than some of the other things.”
Wisconsin continued to exploit mismatches and space the floor, finishing with 92 points – the second-most Michigan State has allowed this season.
The Spartans never fully recovered.
Coen Carr led Michigan State with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting and provided a highlight dunk in the second half. Fears added 14 points and 12 assists, while Jaden Scott chipped in 11. Cooper had eight rebounds in 20 minutes.
For Wisconsin, Boyd’s 29 points and Blackwell’s 24 headlined the effort. Nolan Winter added 10 points and 11 rebounds, helping the Badgers control key stretches.
Michigan State will return home to face UCLA on Tuesday at the Breslin Center, looking to tighten up defensively after a night Izzo described simply as unacceptable on that end of the floor.
