Wisconsin Badgers Dominate No. 10 Michigan State, 92-71
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Badgers are rolling through ‘Greguary,’ having defeated the Michigan State Spartans in a blowout 92-71 home win on Friday.
Greg Gard and company picked up their third AP top-10 win of the season with an unbelievable performance on both ends of the floor.
Wisconsin moves to 18-7 on the season and 10-4 in the Big Ten. Meanwhile, Tom Izzo and Michigan State drop to 20-5 and 10-4 in the conference. The Badgers have won nine of their last 11 games.
Two-Way Dominance Defined the First Half
The Badgers started as hot as anyone could have against the No. 10 team in the country. Wisconsin nailed five threes on five attempts to make a statement, but the defense on the other end was just as impressive.
The Badgers made Michigan State extremely uncomfortable on the other end, forcing six turnovers for an extra 13 points in the first half. A 15-0 run just over halfway through the period put them up by as many as 18.
The Spartans eventually woke up with a 9-0 run of their own, but Wisconsin responded. Everything seemed to be falling from the get-go, as the home team shot 58.8% from three in the period.
Nick Boyd led the way with 20 points in 18 minutes, while Michigan State’s early struggles put the visitors down 51-34 at the half. The Spartans shot 31.3% from the field and 35.7% from three.
Wisconsin finished the first 20 minutes of action shooting 6-for-8, while holding Michigan State to 0-for-6 from the field. It was a decent representation of the majority of the first half for both sides, as the Kohl Center’s energy was palpable.
Consistency in the Second Half
Wisconsin picked right back up where it left off, starting the half with elite two-way basketball. Michigan State started to hit shots and run out in transition, but the Badgers responded. They posted 46-42-86 shooting splits to hit 70 points with 11:29 to go.
John Blackwell, who played just nine first-half minutes due to foul trouble, got the half started with a combined 14 points between him and Boyd in that stretch.
Wisconsin kept things rolling with a 6-0 run halfway through the period. The home team went up by 24 points with just over nine minutes to play. Boyd was a bit quiet after blazing through the first 20 minutes. But that only allowed Blackwell to get more looks.
The game stalled within the final few minutes to the Badgers their third AP top-10 win of the season. This felt like the first time Wisconsin played a completely dominant game throughout all 40 minutes.
Boyd finished with 29 points, followed by Blackwell with 24. Nolan Winter notched his 12th double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Badgers finished with incredible 48-43-74 shooting splits.
