Sunday, March 2
East Lansing, Mich.
1:30 PM
Michigan State University
24-5,15-3Big Ten
71
vs
62
Wisconsin
22-7,12-6Big Ten
1
2
F
Wisconsin
34
28
62
Michigan St.
32
39
71
Photo by: Matthew Mitchell Photography
Akins Scores 19, No. 8 Michigan State Uses Late Run to Pull Away from No. 11 Wisconsin, 71-62, for Fifth-Straight Win
3/2/2025 4:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Senior guard Jaden Akins scored a game-high 19 points to lead three players in double figures as No. 8 Michigan State used a late run to pull away from No. 11 Wisconsin for a 71-62 win at the Breslin Center on Sunday afternoon.
Akins scored 11 of his 19 points in the first half and tied his season-high with four 3-pointers, while adding eight rebounds.
Junior forward Jaxon Kohler recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 10 points and a career-high 16 points and two assists and freshman guard Jase Richardson scored 11 points, handed out a team-best six assists and grabbed five rebounds.
Records
Michigan State, winners of five-straight games and six of the last seven overall, improves to 24-5 overall and 15-3 in the Big Ten Conference, while Wisconsin falls to 22-7 overall and 12-6 in league play.
Recap
Michigan State hits the road for its final Big Ten regular season game of the year, visiting Iowa on Thursday, March 6 (8 p.m. ET, BTN).
Akins scored 11 of his 19 points in the first half and tied his season-high with four 3-pointers, while adding eight rebounds.
Junior forward Jaxon Kohler recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 10 points and a career-high 16 points and two assists and freshman guard Jase Richardson scored 11 points, handed out a team-best six assists and grabbed five rebounds.
Records
Michigan State, winners of five-straight games and six of the last seven overall, improves to 24-5 overall and 15-3 in the Big Ten Conference, while Wisconsin falls to 22-7 overall and 12-6 in league play.
Recap
- Michigan State trailed at the half (34-32), tied the game at 36-all on a jumper from senior center Szymon Zapala and there were three more lead changes and two ties, the latter at 45-all after a layup from Wisconsin's Carter Gilmore with 14:32 left.
- The Spartans took the lead for good on a 3-pointer from senior forward Frankie Fidler with 13:52 to play, the start of a 13-5 run over 5:18 that saw MSU take a 58-50 lead on a dunk from junior center Carson Cooper (8:40).
- Wisconsin responded with a 7-0 run to pull within 58-57 on a 3-pointer from John Blackwell (6:57) before a fast break dunk from sophomore forward Coen Carr trigged an 11-3 burst, capped by a dunk from Cooper (1:43) and a layup from Kohler (1:26) to give MSU a 69-60 lead.
- Akins hit 2-of-4 free throws in the final 47 seconds to secure the win for the Spartans.
- Wisconsin had jumped out to an early lead, with 3-pointers from John Tonje and Steven Crowl and a conventional three-point play from Jack Janicki giving the Badgers a 13-4 lead.
- A reverse alley-oop from Holloman to Carr trigged the Spartans, as MSU went on a 15-4 run and Akins hit a trio of 3-ponters and a jumper to give the Spartans a 19-7 lead (11:49).
- The lead changed hands eight times in the first half and there were four ties from that point.
- Wisconsin took a 30-25 lead with 4:37 to play, but the Spartans used a 7-0 burst to take 32-20 lead on a 3-pointer from Akins with 1:59 to play before going into the break trailing 34-32.
- After shooting just 31.6 percent (12-of-38) in the first half, the Spartans connected on 48.5 percent of their shots in the second half (16-of-33).
- Wisconsin entered the game shooting 47.0 percent from the floor and the Spartans forced the Badgers into a season-low 33.8 field goal percentage.
- MSU hit nine 3-pointers, including six in the first half.
- Michigan State had a 51-40 advantage in rebounding and out-scored the Badgers, 26-14, on points in the paint.
- MSU out-scored Wisconsin, 20-8, in fast break points.
- The Spartans handed out 20 assists on 28 made field goals.
- MSU committed just nine turnovers.
- Michigan State trails in the all-time series with Wisconsin, 87-69.
- The Spartans ended a three-game home losing streak to the Badgers.
- MSU is 51-17 all-time at home against Wisconsin, including a 23-7 record at the Breslin Center.
- Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo is 36-25 all-time against Wisconsin.
- Izzo's career record is now 731-300.
- Izzo is now 358-173 all-time in the Big Ten, extending his lead among Big Ten coaches all-time for conference wins.
- MSU's 15 Big Ten wins are the most since the 2018-19 team won 16 games.
- Michigan State is now 14-1 at home, including an 8-1 record in Big Ten games.
- The Spartans are now 5-5 when trailing at the half, with those five wins coming in the last seven games.
- MSU shot 39.4 percent from the floor, just the fifth time this season shooting below 40.0 percent and the second time the team has won doing so.
- Michigan State out-shot Maryland (39.4% to 33.8%) and is 22-1 when shooting better than their opponent.
- Michigan State out-rebounded its opponent for the 26th time this season and has a 22-4 record in those situations.
- The Spartans tied a season-high with 51 rebounds.
- The Spartans are now 9-0 when committing 10 turnovers or fewer.
- The Spartans are 15-1 when holding opponents to 69 points or fewer.
- Michigan State is 22-0 when scoring at least 70 points.
- MSU had 10 players score at least two points in the game, the 18th time this season the Spartans have had at least 10 players score points.
- The Spartans received 28 points from the bench, the 28th time in 29 games with at least 20 points.
- Jaden Akins scored a team-high 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
- This was his 23rd game scoring in double figures this season and the 57th of his career.
- Akins now has 1,153 career points, passing Travis Trice (2011-15) for 44th place on the all-time scoring list at MSU and he needs three points to pass Lindsay Hairston (1972-75) for 42nd place all-time.
- Jase Richardson scored 11 points, handed out a team-high six assists and grabbed five rebounds.
- This was his 16th game scoring in double figures and his seventh-straight game with at least 10 rebounds.
- It was his second time leading the team in assists.
- Jaxon Kohler had his seventh double-double of the season with 10 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.
- His 16 boards were a career-high and the most by an MSU player since Malik Hall had 17 against Northwestern on March 6, 2024.
- He has scored in double figures eight time this season and 10 for his career.
- Kohler has 10 games this year with at least 10 rebounds and 11 for his career.
- It was his 15th time leading the team in rebounds this year and the 18th of his career.
Michigan State hits the road for its final Big Ten regular season game of the year, visiting Iowa on Thursday, March 6 (8 p.m. ET, BTN).
Team Stats
Wisc
MSU
FG%
.338
.394
3FG%
.156
.333
FT%
.813
.462
RB
40
51
TO
9
9
STL
3
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballTom Izzo | Men's Basketball Press Conference | Apr. 16 2025
Wednesday, April 16
Tom Izzo | Men's Basketball Press Conference | Mar. 25 2025
Tuesday, March 25
Tom Izzo | Men's Basketball Press Conference | Mar. 18 2025
Tuesday, March 18
Tom Izzo | Men's Basketball Press Conference | March 16, 2025
Sunday, March 16