Three quick things to remember about Wisconsin’s 81–66 win in Michigan State
The No. 13 Wisconsin Badger ended the week on a high note by beating the Spartans of Michigan State 81–66 at home. Both teams played very well.
After the Badgers beat the Spartans from Michigan State 81–66, here are three things you should remember.
The Badgers made a lot more accurate shots in the win. They made 50.9 percent of their field goal attempts and 36 percent of their three-point attempts. They also scored 1.35 points per possession.
The Badgers’ defense let the Spartans shoot only 41.7 percent to the field, which is why Michigan State only scored 1.01 points each possession in the day.
Thursday, Chucky Hepburn didn’t make a field goal until the very end of the game on Monday. He ended with three points to help the Badgers win.
In the end, the Badgers guard had three steals, which stopped Michigan State’s top scorer and main source of offense.
Well, Hepburn’s main job on Friday wasn’t to take over offensively. Instead, it was to make things as hard as he could for Michigan State’s guard Tyson Walker, which he did.
Despite only scoring 11 points on 4/14 shooting, Walker was felt in a lot of other ways as well.
During a tough battle, Hepburn stuck to his job and worked hard off the ball while Walker attempted screens, when he had the ball, to get open, but nothing stuck.
As long as Walker can work at his normal speed, this game will be a lot closer. But Hepburn was an important part of Wisconsin’s defense.
He took on the hardest assignment and played very hard on the defensive side to limit Walker’s impact.
It never got going for Tyson Walker. AJ Storr was unstoppable. They also never had a lead toward No. 10 Wisconsin for their second time this season. Wisconsin finished the sweep by earning an 81-66 win at Kohl Center on Friday night.
Walker finished with 11 points and five assists, but he only scored four points in the first half. Walker also made only four of fourteen shots for MSU (12-8, 4-5 Big Ten), which lost its three-game win streak.
There were 19 points scored by A.J. Hoggard, and 11 of them came in the second half. He also had four assists.
They got 13 points from Malik Hall and 10 points from Jaden Akins. On Tuesday night, they’ll play their first of two games at home this season against rival Michigan.
The game starts at 9 p.m. and can only be watched online on Peacock. This is MSU head coach Tom Izzo’s second chance to secure his 700th career win.
Steven Crowl scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds to help the Badgers win their 15th game in 17 games. They have won nine of their last 11 games since beating the Spartans at Breslin Center on December 5.
Wisconsin won the boards 35–25 in the end, with 12 offensive rebounds which led to 17 second-chance points. After making 9 of 17 shots, Storr scored 28 points to help Wisconsin (16-4, 8-1) get closer to first place in the Big Ten.
Wisconsin is one game ahead of No. 2 Purdue in the Big Ten, with a record of 16-4. Coach Greg Gard is happy with how his team copes with the pressure that comes with being successful.
Gard said, “They know that success can’t change how you go about your day and how you work.”
“Their goals are big, and it’s our job to guide them, show them what they need to work on, and hold them responsible for it.” The Spartans lost both games in the series, but the Badgers won both.
Malik Hall scored 13 points and A.J. Hoggard scored 19 for Michigan State (12-8, 4-5), and these lost its third straight game. Tom Izzo, the coach of the Spartans, was still at 699 wins in his career.
Storr missed his career high by one point because he only made 9 of 17 field goals and 7 of 8 free throws. Tyson Walker scored 11 points for Michigan State, but Wisconsin forward Chucky Hepburn stopped him. Walker came into the game averaging 19.7 points per game.
She said, “We couldn’t use a fish net to protect Storr.” “This league has a lot of really good players.” His play is one of the best I’ve seen here, but I don’t want to curse him.
Izzo said he was impressed by how Hepburn led and played defense. In the end, Hepburn had four baskets, three steals, three rebounds, and two assists.
“Chucky, he came here to score, but now he’s in charge of their team,” Izzo said. “He does everything.” “What a coach’s dream!”