Wisconsin Dominates No. 10 Michigan State in 92-71 Upset Win to Keep Big Ten Title Hopes Alive
In what has become the biggest surprise team in the nation, the Wisconsin Badgers notched their second straight top-10 win, with a beatdown against the 10th-ranked Michigan State Spartans to make the Big Ten regular season title race a now six-team race.
Wisconsin’s Continues Hot Shooting as They Light Up MSU from Deep in the Win
There is perhaps not a hotter team, shooting-wise in college basketball right now, as the Badgers hit a barrage of threes yet again to lift themselves to victory over the Spartans. Wisconsin would knock down 15 threes at a very efficient 43% clip.
This game marked the second straight game the Badgers made 15 threes on better than 40% from behind the line, as they hit 16 threes in their upset win over No. 8 Illinois on Tuesday night in Champaign. Those 15 threes were the most threes given up in a game this season by the Spartans.
That impressive offensive output by the Badgers was, of course, led by their star senior, Nick Boyd, who seems poised to take home this season’s Big Ten Player of the Year award. Boyd would finish with 29 points and dish out 4 assists while shooting over 59% from the field in the win.
Tonight’s game was Boyd’s sixth-straight game scoring over 20 points, with the Badgers going 4-2 over that span. The San Diego State transfer is having the best season of his collegiate career, as Boyd is averaging a career-high 20 points while serving as the focal point of Wisconsin’s potent offensive attack.
Boyd also received some support from his fellow backcourt teammate, John Blackwell, as he also torched the Spartans’ stout defense. Blackwell would knock down 4 triples to finish with 24 points in another great scoring game from the junior guard. Blackwell has served as the catalyst in Wisconsin’s huge wins over ranked teams in Big Ten play, as he’s scored 20 points in each of the Badgers’ wins over teams like No. 2 Michigan, No. 8 Illinois, and now No. 10 Michigan State.
Jeremy Fears Jr. Shines for MSU as the Spartans’ Offense Faulters Again
It’s almost become a matter of a coin flip whether or not the Spartans’ offense will show up, and for the 5th time this season, Michigan State did not win that coin flip. Outside of star guard Jeremy Fears Jr., who finished with a great stat line of 14 points and 12 assists.
The Spartans’ offense simply could not find their rhythm on offense overall. Michigan State would shoot just 36% from the field and 30% from three as the offense failed to string together good scoring possessions throughout the game.
The biggest disappointment in the game for Michigan State came from their second-best player, Jaxon Kohler, who went missing on offense in the loss. Kohler would score just 5 points on 2 for 6 shooting from the field as Wisconsin’s defense hounded him both on the perimeter and in the post. This game marked the second time in three games that Kohler failed to score in double figures, with two of those games resulting in a loss for Michigan State.
Big Ten Standings See a Big Shakeup Following Wisconsin’s Win
In what may very well be a death blow to Michigan State’s chances at winning the Big Ten regular season title, the Wisconsin Badgers have quietly moved within striking distance of the upper crust of the standings.
Following their win, the Badgers now leapfrog over the Spartans for 5th-place in the Big Ten with a 10-4 record in conference play, putting them just one game away from the 2nd-place spot. That is quite a surprising climb for a Wisconsin team that was expected to finish near the bottom of the Big Ten before the season.
This latest win also guarantees a spot in the NCAA tournament, with Wisconsin now projected to get a top 10 seed or better in the tournament, barring any missteps in the lead-up to March. This win should also force fans of other teams to double-check where their team currently sits in the March Madness bracket, because there is possibly no team in the nation more dangerous than Wisconsin at this point.
