Wisconsin took down Michigan State by eight points on Tuesday night.
The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team (19-4 overall, 10-3 Big Ten) came into Tuesday night’s matchup against Michigan State in East Lansing seeking to avenge a loss to the Spartans earlier in the year without Tyler Wahl.
With their starting forward back in the starting lineup, the Badgers went into the Breslin Center and snagged a huge conference road win.
Alright, alright, alright. #Badgers take down Michigan State on the road 70-62.
Johnny Davis: 25 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
— Bucky’s 5th Quarter (@B5Q) February 9, 2022
Early on, neither team could get much going offensively as both squads played well on the defensive end. By the second media timeout the Badgers, led by Johnny Davis and Steven Crowl had established a 12-8 lead.
Despite some cold shooting from deep, Wisconsin would go inside to take a five-point lead with 7:54 left in the first half. Over the next two minutes the two teams would each go on extended scoring droughts, but Davis and Chucky Hepburn would provide a quick spark to give Wisconsin a 21-13 advantage with four minutes remaining.
Davis would head to the bench shortly thereafter with two fouls, but some three-point heroics late in the shot clock by Lorne Bowman and Hepburn would allow the Badgers to take a six-point lead into the break.
Halftime in East Lansing.#Badgers up 29-23.
Johnny Davis leading the way with 7 pts and two fouls.
Crowl (6 pts), Hepburn (5 pts), and Wahl (4 pts) also playing well so far.
— Bucky’s 5th Quarter (@B5Q) February 9, 2022
The Badgers would grab a 10-point lead early in the second half, but back-to-back threes by Michigan State would trim the Wisconsin lead to six at the first media timeout.
The Breslin Center crowd would get back into the game thanks to a pair of big dunks by Malik Hall, and by the 7:33 mark, the Wisconsin lead was only two points.
A flurry of points by Davis would allow the Badgers to pull away a little bit over the next couple of minutes. Crowl would pick up his fourth foul though, and at the final media timeout, the UW edge was four points.
A quick 6-0 run by Wisconsin with Tyler Wahl nursing a sore ankle and Davis wearing No. 51 due to a ripped jersey, would help close out the game for an eight-point win.
Gonna need a full 30 for 30 about how Johnny Davis’ jersey magically ripped and then he had to wear No. 51 and beat MSU at Breslin. @30for30
— Bucky’s 5th Quarter (@B5Q) February 9, 2022
Notable stat lines:
- Johnny Davis —> 25 points (8-of-11 from the floor), six rebounds, three assists
- Chucky Hepburn —> 11 points (4-of-9 from the floor), three rebounds, three assists
- Marcus Bingham Jr. (MSU) —> 15 points (5-of-9 from the floor), two rebounds
Up next: Wisconsin will return to the Kohl Center on Saturday against Rutgers. The game is scheduled to be aired on FS1 at 1 p.m. CT.