Marcus Bingham Jr. reached his career record with 19 points, and Tyson Walker scored nine points in the last minute and a quarter to propel seventh-seeded Michigan State past No. 12 Wisconsin beat 63 to 69 in Friday’s Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
The Spartans (22-11) have lost five of their seven regular-season games, but they reached the conference tourney semifinals after winning two consecutive in Indianapolis.
Brad Davison was the Badgers’ leading scorer (24-7), scoring 23 points. Johnny Davison, the Big Ten’s player of the Year, was injured in his ankle but didn’t hurt himself. He missed the first eight shots and went 3 of 19, shooting from the field, with no 3-pointers. He finished with 11 points.
Wisconsin lost its second consecutive game and was forced to withdraw from the tournament with Big Ten regular season co-champion No. 16 Illinois. In the first round of the quarterfinals, Indiana defeated the top seed in Big Ten.
In the second half, Bingham won the game. Bingham scored all the points during the Spartans’ 11-2 win. With 7:57 remaining, Michigan State was leading 47-42.
Although they never trailed, the Badgers tied it at 58. However, Chucky Hepburn cut the lead to a 3, with 1:56 left. Hepburn ended the game with 11 points.
Walker responded with a jumper to break the tie, and a 15 footer to make it 62 – 58 with 58.4 secs remaining.
Michigan State won the game at the free-throw line. Walker had seven assists.
BIG PICTURE
Michigan State: This win by the Spartans was a big help to their NCAA Tournament seeding. They’re only one win away from the Big Ten title game, which they will reach for the sixth consecutive time in 10 tournaments.
Wisconsin: The Badgers were not themselves, even though Davis was struggling. In a match that was similar to their national semifinal game in 2000, they shot 24.1% in halftime. Michigan State won the game 53-41 to win their only national championship.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Although the Badgers will likely fall in Monday’s final rankings, their fate may depend on how many upsets they have in conference tournaments this weekend. It will be interesting to see how the NCAA Tournament selection panel views Davis’ injury following Friday’s match.
UP NEXT
Michigan State: Faces either No. In Saturday’s second semifinal, either 9 Purdue (or 11th-seeded Penn State) will face each other.
Wisconsin: We will find out who and where it plays Sunday night.
