Wisconsin Badgers beat Michigan State, advance to Big Ten title game
John Tonje attempts a shot over Tre Holloman of the Michigan State Spartans. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS - John Tonje scored 32 points and grabbed seven rebounds to help No. 18 Wisconsin beat No. 7 Michigan State 77-74 on Saturday in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
By the numbers:
John Blackwell added 14 points as the Badgers (26-8) won for the third time in four days. They will play No. 22 Michigan for the tournament title on Sunday.
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Jase Richardson had 21 points and seven rebounds for the Spartans (27-6). Jeremy Fears Jr. had 14 points and six assists, but he had the ball knocked away in the waning seconds as he tried to tie the score with a heave from near the midcourt logo.
Michigan State, the league's regular-season champs, had won eight in a row.
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Wisconsin erased a 45-41 deficit with an 11-0 run in the second half. The Badgers were pushed to the very end, but they used four straight points to make it 72-67 with 1:10 to play.
Dig deeper:
After Tonje missed a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left, Blackwell tried to chase down the rebound, but his path was impeded by Jaden Akins, who was called for the foul. Blackwell made both free throws to give the Badgers a 74-70 lead with 31.4 seconds to go.
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The Badgers made three more free throws than Michigan State, 22-19.
Big picture view:
The Badgers followed an 86-point game with 19 3-pointers by showing they could win a grind-it-out game, too. Tonje could make Wisconsin a sneaky Final Four pick.
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The Spartans were rolling until Saturday. Could this loss cost the Spartans a No. 2 seed for the NCAA tourney? Maybe. But getting an extra day off might help more.
What's next:
Wisconsin will try to win its first Big Ten tourney title since 2015 and claim the league’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid. The Spartans will find out their tourney fate Sunday.
The Source: The Associated Press provided this report.