Misery in Madison
Spartans’ struggles at Kohl Center continue as Lucas sprains ankle
By Joey Nowak (Last updated: 02/03/10 12:43am)Madison, Wisc. — Leave it to pesky Wisconsin, the daunting Kohl Center and the ever-stymieing Bo Ryan to put an end to the greatest Big Ten start in MSU men’s basketball history.
The Badgers, a perennial thorn in the Spartans’ side, had all the momentum in a marquee showdown Tuesday night in Madison, Wisc.
They rode a seemingly unstoppable shooting performance and held the red-handled knife in the Spartans’ hearts all the way to a 67-49 victory.
“For the most part,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said, “that was an old-fashioned whooping.”
It was the annual rehashing of a rivalry that has been a road hex for the Spartans for nearly a decade. No. 5 MSU (19-4 overall, 9-1 Big Ten) still has not won in Madison since 2001, while the Badgers are now 133-10 (.930) at home since Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan took over.
To make matters incalculably worse, junior guard Kalin Lucas, the Spartans’ co-captain and leading scorer, went down with a sprained right ankle at about the 10:40 mark of the second half. He did not return and Izzo said his status was uncertain.
“It’s not good, that’s for sure and we’ll just probably have to evaluate it when we get home,” Izzo said. “I have no idea.”
Junior guard Durrell Summers was the only Spartan to score in double figures (11 points) while senior forward Raymar Morgan had eight points and 10 rebounds.
Perhaps it’s the rims or a creak in the floor, but it appeared all the mojo — every bounce of the ball and each roll around the rim — seemed to favor the charged-up No. 16 Badgers (17-5, 7-3) as they held MSU to a season-low 49 points.
“I would say, defensively, tracking down loose balls, we played pretty well,” Ryan said. “In order to beat a team like that, you have to play well.“
But more important to the here and now, the Spartans have been knocked back to mortality without their leader and their lead in the conference has dwindled by a game.
“I think we all did (see it coming),” sophomore guard Korie Lucious said. “In practice, we just haven’t been bringing it like we should have. We haven’t had the energy like we should have. Coach has been telling us that for the last couple days about practice so I think that was probably the main reason we just lost the game tonight.”
The teams’ contrasting styles were evident from the get-go. Wisconsin was intent on draining the shot clock to single digits before finding a perimeter shot to their liking, while the Spartans focused on getting the ball into the paint quickly.
In the first eight minutes, five of Wisconsin’s seven baskets were 3-pointers, one was a deep two-pointer and the last was a fade-away jumper. The raucous home crowd liked it just fine, as the Badgers streaked to a 13-4 lead.
With both teams’ point guards and leading scorers — Lucas and Wisconsin senior Trevon Hughes, each averaging 16 points per game — on the bench with foul trouble early, MSU’s deficit grew to as much as 18.
“When we made a little comeback we had a couple critical (turnovers),” Izzo said. “When we cut it to nine, two of the next three (possessions) were turnovers.”
The Spartans did more than save face early in the second half, cutting the Badgers’ lead to single digits by the 14-minute mark. But with Lucas in the locker room, the Wisconsin wave rolled.
With Lucas’ status uncertain, MSU might be without their leader for the toughest stretch of the season — for ESPN’s College Gameday against the Fighting Illini in Champaign, Ill., on Saturday and Purdue at home on Tuesday.
“I told a lot of people we’re not going to go undefeated and we have to find out how to bounce back,” Izzo said, “because the road doesn’t get any easier.”
Originally Published: 02/02/10 11:15pm
Chemist
02/03/10 1:47amTough game and valuable lesson in a loss. I am sure Lucas will get back to the court soon and the Spartans will regroup around him.
Old Logo
02/03/10 7:09amJust goes to show that these bums can’t win any worthwhile games. Maybe Izzo’s new logo will help with that. 49 points? Nice junior high point total.
Sparty
02/03/10 7:26amOLD LOGO……what a dumb a$$! You sure are showing your true Spartan colors you dumb $hit. If you can’t support the team when they faulter then take a hike and find another team. Who needs “fans” like you?
Johnny
02/03/10 9:35amThis team is overrated and is not top five material. We haven’t beaten anyone of significance and we continue to have close calls after slow starts. I hope to see more focused effort against Illinois.
Anon
02/03/10 9:41amNo team deserves a top 10 ranking if they can’t “bring it” to every game.
RED CEDAR
02/03/10 9:42amI just can’t understand why always play like crap and can’t we beat the Badgers in Madison? So frustrating!!!
Bucky Fan
02/03/10 10:10amOverrated. You’ll never win in our house MSU. Go Bucky!!
Home Advantage
02/03/10 10:26amTo be fair, you’ll never win in ours either.
Circa this year, your #1 ranking a couple years back, etc.
Old Logo
02/03/10 11:04amSparty – yeah, I’m the dumb $hit who thinks that this is a good team, when they’re barely capable of beating mediocre Big Ten teams. By the way, if you’re going to call me dumb twice in one comment, you should spell falter correctly.
Izzone Alum
02/03/10 11:31amPathetic performance against a mediocre team. I also agree with everyone else saying how overrated we are (were). We are, at best, the 20th best team in the nation.
This is the kind of season where I see us coasting to a Big Ten championship, and then losing in the first round of the tourney when we finally get exposed to some real talent who wants it more than we do.
02/03/10 12:10pmFrustrating, but let’s keep some perspective here. We are 9-1 in the Big 10 and two games in front of everybody else. We’ve got Izzo and a TON of talented players.
It’d be nice to still have Lucas, but even if we don’t, the cupboard isn’t exactly bare.
We’ll be just fine. Go Green!
Wolverine
02/03/10 12:27pmThe only reason Lucas was even playing is because he did not get suspended for that elbow the other night. Funny how things have a way of working out. If you look at his elbow and mannys elbow from last year, Lucas comes up to the face from his waist. Dirty and cheap! Stay classy sparty!!!
Breslin East
02/03/10 12:43pmIt’s a long way up from the bottom, isn’t it Wolverwhine??!!
Sparty
02/03/10 12:44pmIf all you slime bag, half a$$ed fans think so poorly of the Spartans why don’t you put your tickets up for grabs so others who have the Spartan spirit and believe in the team can go to a game or two. You’re a bunch of pathetic idots who need to be banned from Breslin. Scum bags!
Sparty Fan
02/03/10 12:55pmHey Bucky Fan, we may not win in “your house”, but you will never make it to the final four, which is considered our house. later douche
Rocky Dennis
02/03/10 1:02pmA complete and utter disgrace.
Matilda
02/03/10 1:04pmHave you noticed that with the exception of last year Izzo hasn’t won any games on the road against teams in the top 25? And only at home against Big Ten teams, who, on the whole, can’t match up to any other conference? I mean, we even lost to North Carolina, and they’re now unranked. OVER-RATED!
Jimmy
02/03/10 1:06pmYou’re never going to be elite if you can’t recruit anyone but Michigan and Ohio players. NC, DUKE and KY get players from all over the nation, and we get people from Toledo and Saginaw? Our program has to do better to get some NBA stars. There’s no way we can hang with anyone outside the Big 10 who is in the top 25 AP – why? They’re stacked with NBA ready players. When was the last time we had guys like that? Richardson? Randolph? Our program sucks.
Old Logo
02/03/10 1:12pmSure, it makes sense to believe in a talented team that puts up half-assed performances every game. When they start trying, I’ll start caring. I’m sure participation ribbons count in your world, Sparty. Keep blindly “believing” in a team that hasn’t performed in a single big game and let me know how that works out.
bd
02/03/10 1:30pmI think most Spartan fans knew we were overrated going into last night. It may have been a suprise how we lost, but I was not suprised with a loss. Why trash the program? We have had a great 10 years or so and no reason to believe that will not continue going forward. Which program would you prefer – MSU or WIS?
Alum in Cheeseland
02/03/10 1:45pmHey Jimmy, I can think of 10 teams in the big ten that would love to be in MSU’s spot. And about getting NBA stars, how long do they stay in college; randolf 1 yr., Richardson 2yrs. And if our program sucks please explain the 5 final four’s in the last 10 years. More than KY, Duke, NC. There’s a phrase for you Jimmy, Fare weather fan or bandwagon jumper. go root for this weeks #1 team.
Anon
02/03/10 2:19pmWolverwine, Harris has established he is dirty by not only giving blatant elbows in games but also to teammates in practice. Your argument is invalid.
Calling our program a wreck is an exaggeration. We have made it deep in the tournament for most of the past decade, hardly any other program can say that. I do agree that we are not a top 5/10/20 team or at least not playing like it/want it.
KO
02/03/10 2:21pmI can’t believe how ill informed some of you people are. (Jimmy, Old logo, I’m looking at you here).
We’ll start with Jimmy: It’s interesting the three programs you named “NC, Duke, and Kentucky”. Carolina has had a fabulous run the last few years, and has been a thorn in our side with their athleticism, I’ll give you that. But Duke hasn’t advanced passed the Sweet 16 in 5 years.
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SpartyLuver
02/03/10 2:27pmI love my Spartans as much as any of you but even i will admit that, as the fans often like to chant, “BO OWNS IZZO”. Sad but true. :(
Old Logo
02/03/10 2:55pmKO – that was a nice fluff piece about recruting and history, but what about the performance of the team THIS season. You managed to ramble on about everything but the topic at hand. With our current roster, we should have more than ZERO quality wins this season.