Michigan State Falls Short Against Wisconsin in Big Ten Tournament Semifinals, 77-74

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Top-seeded Michigan State fought back from a second-half deficit and had chances down the stretch but fell short in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals, losing to fifth-seeded Wisconsin, 77-74, on Saturday afternoon at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Freshman guard Jase Richardson scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead three players in double figures for the Spartans.

Redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. tied his career-high with 14 points, handed out a team-best six assists and grabbed three rebounds, junior guard Tre Holloman added 10 points, two rebounds and two assists and junior center Carson Cooper chipped in eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Records
Michigan State falls to 27-6 overall, while Wisconsin improves to 26-8.

Recap

The Spartans trailed at the break (37-33) and were down 52-45 in the second half before rallying back with less than 10 minutes to pull within 54-52.
Wisconsin pushed its lead back to six points, 60-54, with 7:11 left but a 3-pointer form Richardson and three free throws from the freshman with 6:18 left tied the game at 60-all.
The Badgers pushed the lead back to five points, 68-63, but a layup from senior guard Jaden Akins and a jumper from junior forward Jaxon Kohler made it 68-67 with 4:19 left.
The Spartans again fell behind by five points, 72-67, but Kohler hit a 3-pointer with 1:03 left to keep the game one possession.
MSU trailed 77-74 when Wisconsin's John Tonje missed two free throws with five seconds left but a shot to tie the game from Fears was blocked as the Spartans fell just short.
Michigan State led for most of the first half before Wisconsin used a late run to take a 37-33 lead at the break.
The Spartans came out with a 12-4 run over the opening 4:05 of the second half and took a 45-41 lead on a dunk from sophomore forward Coen Carr.
Wisconsin responded with an 11-0 run over 2:40 and took its biggest lead of the game, 52-45, on a driving layup from John Tonje with 12:50 to play.
The Spartans followed that up with a 7-2 burst over 2:20 and pulled to within two points, 54-52, on a floater from Fears with 9:24 to play, setting up the wild final minutes.
The Spartans went into the half trailing by four points (37-33) after leading, with Wisconsin taking the lead in the final 1:14 of the break.
MSU had led by nine points early (13-4), but went without a field goal for the final 5:27 to the half.
Led by Richardson's eight points, the Spartans jumped out to an early 13-4 lead on a 3-pointer from Akins at the 16:07 mark.
The Spartans continued to maintain a lead, with junior center Carson Cooper hitting free throws to make it 15-7 (15:30), junior guard Tre Holloman hitting a 3-pointer to make it 20-12 (11:57) and free throws from Holloman giving MSU a 24-16 edge (10:34).
Senior forward Frankie Fidler hit a layup with 5:27 to play, giving MSU a 30-25 lead, but the Badgers outscored MSU 12-3 over the final 5:27, with a 3-pointer from Crowl and free throws form Tonje in the final 1:14 giving Wisconsin a 37-33 lead.

Key Stats

Michigan State out-rebounded Wisconsin, 37-33, and outscored the Badgers, 30-24, in the paint.
Wisconsin's John Tonje scored a game-high 32 points, hitting 12-of-14 free throw attempts.
After shooting just 34.5 percent in the first half (10-of-29), the Spartans connected on 46.7 percent of their second half shots (14-of-30).

Notes

Michigan State leads the all-time series with Wisconsin, 87-70.
- MSU is 7-5 all-time against Wisconsin the Big Ten Tournament.
- The Spartans had a three-game win streak against the Badgers in the Big Ten Tournament end.
Izzo's career record is now 734-301.
This was the 17th appearance in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals for the Spartans.
- MSU is 7-10 all-time when playing in the semifinals.
Michigan State has a 36-21 all-time record in the Big Ten Tournament.
The Spartans had an 8-game win streak come to an end.
The Spartans are 6-6 when trailing at the half … this was the first time in seven games the Spartans lost while trailing at the break.
The Spartans were out-shot by Wisconsin (42.6% to 40.7%) and MSU is 2-4 when their opponent shoots better.
Michigan State out-rebounded its opponent for the 29th time this season and has a 25-5 record in those situations.
Michigan State is now 25-1 when scoring at least 70 points.
The Spartans are 6-5 when opponents score between 70 and 79 points.
The Spartans received 26 points from the bench, the 31st time in 33 games with at least 20 points.
Jase Richardson scored a team-high 21 points, adding seven rebounds, one assist and one block.
- Richardson has scored in double figures in 11-straight games.
- He has reached double figures in 20 games this season.
- Richardson has five games with at least 20 points.
- This was his 10th time leading the team in scoring.
Jeremy Fears Jr. tied his career-high with 14 points, handed out a team-best six assists and grabbed three rebounds
- It was his 11th game scoring in double figures and the 11th of his career.
- He has led the team in assists 18 times this year and 19 for his career.
Tre Holloman scored 10 points, grabbed two rebounds and had two assists.
- This was his 13th game scoring in double figures this year and the 19th of his career.
Jaden Akins finished with 6 points, snapping a streak of four games in double figures.
- Akins now has 1,197 career points, passing Alan Anderson (2001-05) and Kelvin Torbert (2001-05) for 37th place and needs 16 points to pass Kirk Manns (1986-90) and Ken Redfield (1986-90) for 35th place all-time.
Carson Cooper scored 8 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
- This was his second game with at least 10 rebounds this season and the third of his career.
- He has led the team in rebounding six times this year and 13 for his career.

Up Next
Michigan State will await the announcements for the 2025 NCAA Tournament during Selection Sunday on March 16.

Michigan State Falls Short Against Wisconsin in Big Ten Tournament Semifinals, 77-74

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Team Stats

Jase Richardson

Jeremy Fears Jr.

Tre Holloman

Carson Cooper

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Coen Carr

Carson Cooper

Jeremy Fears Jr.

Frankie Fidler

Tre Holloman

Jaxon Kohler

Jase Richardson

Michigan State Falls Short Against Wisconsin in Big Ten Tournament Semifinals, 77-74

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Next Event

Team Stats

Game Leaders

Jase Richardson

Jeremy Fears Jr.

Tre Holloman

Carson Cooper

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Coen Carr

Carson Cooper

Jeremy Fears Jr.

Frankie Fidler

Tre Holloman

Jaxon Kohler

Jase Richardson

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