Head coach Tom Izzo watches while the team reacts as a foul is called against MSU after Wisconsin scores during the second half of the game at Kohl Center on Thursday night. The Spartans were defeated by the Badgers 57-42.
Madison, Wisc. — At times, it wasn’t clear what was icier — the 19-degree Wisconsin weather or MSU’s offense.
The MSU men’s basketball team and Wisconsin shot 34.5 and 38.8 percent from the field, respectively. Then the Badgers plugged in the heating lamp late in the second half, allowing them to edge the chilly Spartans, 57-42, Thursday night at Kohl Center.
“With everything we went over, we did what we wanted to,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. “We just couldn’t hit a shot. The score wasn’t indicative of the game.”
The statistical numbers may look deceiving, as No. 19 MSU (22-6 overall, 10-5 Big Ten) outrebounded No. 10 Wisconsin (24-4, 14-2), kept the Badgers’ free throw attempts down to 14 and turned the ball over just six times.
And normally when MSU’s turnover count is in single digits, they are victorious. But when your opponent misses perfection with a single turnover — the least amount of turnovers in school history — it’s tough to win the game.
“I don’t know what else you can say,” Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said. “Statistics always speak with a loud tone. I’ve never coached in a game where that’s happened. I really liked our effort.”
Junior center Goran Suton paced the Spartans with 14 points and 15 rebounds — his sixth double-double of the season.
“I was aggressive,” he said. “I think I was being more comfortable. I let the game come to me — I didn’t force anything. But it’s disappointing because we could have won as it was a four to six point game the whole time until the end. Hopefully we get another chance (to play Wisconsin) in the Big Ten Tournament.”
Wisconsin’s Brian Butch scored 16 points — 12 of them coming from 3-point range, while Trevon Hughes finished with 13 points and four assists.
The Spartans trailed 37-33 with 9:52 to play when Wisconsin kicked it into high gear with a 16-3 run.
It started with free throws, continued with put-back layups and triples and got out of hand when MSU couldn’t answer with some of their own.
“I had some open looks, I just didn’t knock them down,” said senior guard Drew Neitzel, who finished with three points on 1-for-10 shooting. “(Michael) Flowers is a good defender. He did a good job of keeping me off balance and I hesitated a little bit. He’s one of the top defenders in this conference.”
Sophomore forward Raymar Morgan admitted Wisconsin’s squad is much more aggressive than last year, “really getting after it on defense.”
MSU and Wisconsin battled back and forth for the majority of the first half — no team leading by more than six.
“Our two best scorers (Neitzel and Morgan) didn’t score and that makes a big difference,” Izzo said.
MSU continues play against Indiana at 2 p.m. Sunday at Breslin Center.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
