The Badgers fell just short in a big game on the road on Sunday.
In a battle of two top Big Ten teams, the Michigan State Spartans defeated the Wisconsin Badgers 71-62 at the Breslin Center on Sunday. It was a dreadful display of shooting for the Badgers, as Wisconsin finished the game 5-for-32 from behind the three-point line. That will not get it done against the Big Ten’s top-ranked team on the road.
Wisconsin also lost the rebounding battle to Michigan State 51-40, with the Spartans gathering 13 offensive rebounds to the Badgers’ seven.
While Sunday’s game was disappointing, it was not an embarrassing loss. The Badgers went toe-to-toe with a top-10 team on the road without starting guard Max Klesmit. Greg Gard’s team needs to flush this game down and focus on playing Minnesota on Wednesday.
The Golden Gophers have not beaten the Badgers since February 2020, and I’m sure Minnesota would love to put a dent in Wisconsin’s hopes for a double-bye in the Big Ten tournament.
But first, here are three standouts from Wisconsin’s loss to Michigan State.
Jaden Akins and Jaxon Kohler
We have to give credit to Michigan State’s duo of Akins and Kohler. Akins came into this game with a 28.4 percent three-point shooting percentage, but the fourth-year guard hit 4-of-9 three-pointers on his way to a team-high 19 points for MSU.
Kohler was the Spartans’ top rebounder on the season at 7.6 rebounds per game, and he finished the game with 16 rebounds, including seven offensive rebounds.
Nolan Winter
The sophomore forward finished with 17 rebounds and came one point away from his third double-double. Winter’s 17 rebounds were the most in a single game by a Wisconsin Badger this season.
John Blackwell
It was not the most efficient scoring game for Blackwell (8-of-20 from the field), but he did finish with a team-high of 19 points. His jumper at the end of the first half gave the Badgers a two-point lead at halftime.