The Badgers, playing their third game in three days, had the edge and played mistake-free basketball when it mattered most, led by transfer forward John Tonje’s heroic 32-point performance. 

"That’s a hell of a basketball game," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said after the Spartans’ 77-74 defeat to send them home for Sunday. 

The showdown between two well-coached, hungry teams playing at a high level was a reinforcing sign that March hoops have arrived. 

And the Spartans were reminded of how costly even the simplest mistakes can prove. 

MSU’s eight-game Quad 1 win streak ended in a game that felt like a second-weekend NCAA Tournament clash — tight margins, high stakes and one unstoppable player. The Spartans fought back from a seven-point deficit in the final 10 minutes, leaning on freshman Jase Richardson. He delivered, scoring 21 points, grabbing seven rebounds, and going a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line despite early foul trouble.

But they also ran into Tonje, the best player on the floor Saturday, and a few too many empty trips. And, in the end, a loss that won’t mean much if they handle business as a top-eight overall seed in March Madness next weekend. 

This wasn’t the ending MSU wanted in Indianapolis. But in the grand scheme, it might be the kind of game it needed to understand what it takes to deliver results under small margins for error. 

"It just shows that the little stuff matters," freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. said. "Going into next week, when you play in March Madness, that every possession matters."

MSU is now left waiting for its NCAA Tournament seeding, which will be announced on Sunday, March 16, at 6 p.m. on CBS. The Spartans are projected as a No. 2 seed by all major bracketology sites. 

Saturday was a lesson in March’s merciless nature — where the smallest details decide who stays and who goes. A missed box-out, a front end of a one-and-one, a perfect look that doesn’t fall, or a tough whistle from the officials.

March basketball can be brutally unforgiving. 

"We didn’t get rebounds, those late rebounds, we didn’t (make) late floaters, a couple missed free throws here and there," Richardson said. "Those little things just lost us the game."

For the Spartans, Izzo said the game was lost before Jaden Akins fouled Wisconsin guard John Blackwell on a critical loose ball inside one minute to play — before Tonje deflected Fears' last attempt at tying the game as MSU’s bench looked for a foul call that never came. 

This loss was a lesson in execution. Small breakdowns throughout the game — not just in the final moments — cost the Spartans a trip to the championship.

"Down the stretch, we didn’t do what we needed to to win the game," Fears said. "It was the little things, like the small possessions, that just matters the most, especially around this time."

MSU was right there. One stop, one shot, one possession away for most of it. 

But there are no do-overs starting next week. 

"We will get better," Izzo said. "But we did not quit. We did come back. We played a hell of a team right to the end."

The stakes only rise from here.