La Crosse native was coming off a career high 27 points
EAST LANSING, Mich. — With its fourth loss in the last five games, the Wisconsin men’s basketball team is watching its Big Ten title hopes slip away.
Nick Ward had 22 points and nine rebounds in leading Michigan State to an 84-74 win over No. 16 Wisconsin.
Coming off a career-high 27 points – in a game in which he became the Badgers all-time leader in 3-pointers made – Bronson Koenig scored 17, but was just 5 of 15 from the field and 1-for-9 from beyond the arc for the Badgers (22-7, 11-5), who lost a chance to pull into a first-place tie with No. 14 Purdue.
The #Badgers had moments.
Just not enough of them. https://t.co/DJd2CjEyOw
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) February 27, 2017
The Spartans (18-11, 10-6 Big Ten) have won six of their last eight games, moving them into a third-place tie in the conference and perhaps sealing their spot in a 20th straight NCAA Tournament.
Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes scored 22 points and Zak Showalter added 15. Ethan Happ fouled out with eight points – more than six points below his average for UW.
Michigan State went on an 11-1 run midway through the second half, building a 12-point lead that it was able to maintain unlike a big lead in the first half.
In the first half, the Spartans led 36-23 only to allow the Badgers to come back with a 15-4 run to pull within a point at halftime.
Michigan State’s Cassius Winston had 10 points and eight assists and Joshua Langford had nine points.
In the last game of the season at Breslin Center, senior guard Eron Harris checked in late in the game a little more than a week after he had a season-ending knee injury. Harris, with a brace on his right knee, went to center court and kissed the Spartan logo to follow a senior tradition Shawn Respert started in 1995.
BIG PICTURE
Wisconsin: The Badgers have been shooting poorly and it is catching up with them. They were held to 43.1 percent shooting against Michigan State, a ninth straight game of connecting on 44 percent or fewer of their shots. They made 13 of 25 free throws at Michigan State after shooting 67 and 57 percent from the line the previous two games.
UP NEXT
Wisconsin: The Badgers end the regular season at home, hosting Iowa on Thursday night and Minnesota on Sunday.