Madison, Wis. - A day after the No. 15 Spartans watched an eight-point lead slip away in the final three minutes of a 62-59 loss to Wisconsin, head coach Tom Izzo defended his players.
His senior group - guards Chris Hill and Kelvin Torbert and forward Alan Anderson - has often been criticized for its inability to win close games.
And Sunday's loss at Kohl Center painfully resembled their careers - where many big games were lost in the final minutes, including a series of six straight comeback wins for the Badgers.
"I wish I knew what we did; we wouldn't have this conversation," Anderson said following the game that dropped MSU to No. 19 with a 10-3 record and 2-1 in Big Ten play. "I know we just don't finish."
Izzo named off four years of accomplishments, which includes an Elite Eight appearance and a laundry list of wins the team did pull off.
But that is where the defense ended - literally. After all, the game's final three minutes of defensive play allowed now-No. 24 Wisconsin (12-3, 3-1) go on an 11-0 run.
"I'm disappointed that this team did not show more grit defensively in the last three minutes of that game," Izzo said during his Monday press conference. "That to me is the unexcusable part."
MSU did outshoot (42.1 percent to 38.2 percent) and outrebound (38-34) the Badgers. The Spartans committed only 10 turnovers -?with only three in the second half. All statistics that usually accompany a win.
A 3-pointer from Badgers guard Sharif Chambliss with 1:57 left in the second half pulled Wisconsin within five points. The Badgers fouled Hill, but the 91-percent free throw shooter missed the front end of a 1-and-1.
Badgers forward Mike Wilkinson sunk both, cutting the lead to 59-56.
With 1:32 left, MSU junior center Paul Davis grabbed a Wilkinson 3-point miss and was immediately fouled.
But Davis, who sat out some of the first half with cramps, missed the free throw while Wilkinson hit two on the next possession. MSU, which leads the nation in free-throw percentage, shot 54.5 percent.
With 31 seconds left, Wisconsin guard Kammron Taylor drove past Brown, who also had cramping problems, for an easy shot in the paint to take a one-point lead.
After Anderson missed on a layup drive, Badgers forward Zach Morley then sunk two free throws, extending the lead to 62-59, after Anderson fouled him to stop the clock.
With nine seconds left, the Spartans had one last chance when Hill found sophomore guard Shannon Brown in the corner for a 3-pointer, but the shot rolled in and out.
"It felt good - I mean, no excuses. It went in and out," said Brown, who finished with six points and four rebounds.
The loss keeps Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan undefeated, 6-0, against Izzo and the Spartans and extends the Badgers' home winning streak to 38 games, the nation's longest.
Wisconsin used nine 3-pointers from guard Clayton Hanson and Chambliss, who led in scoring with 15 and 14, respectively, to keep the game within reach.
Wilkinson added 12 points and seven rebounds, and forward Alando Tucker was held to eight points coming off a foot injury.
MSU was fueled by Davis, who posted up inside and even hit his first 3-pointer of the season. He finished with 20 points and five rebounds.
Hill, Brown and junior guard Maurice Ager all struggled throughout the game - shooting six-for-27 from the field for 16 points.
The team doesn't have much time to recover as the Spartans take on Purdue at 7 p.m. today at Breslin Center.
"These are things we know we can change. That's the good thing about it," Ager said. "We can come back and get better."
Brian Charlton can be reached at charlt10@msu.edu.
