After clinching a share of the Big Ten regular season title and earning the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, the Wisconsin Badgers are going home after just one game, falling to the No. 7 seed Michigan State 69-63.
It was an unusually poor offensive performance from the Badgers on Friday night, scoring just 22 points in the first half. It seemed as if there was a lid on the basket for a good chunk of the game, to go along with not getting many calls to go their way from the officiating crew.
Brad Davison led the scoring for the Badgers with 23 points, but he fouled out in the final minute of the game. Chucky Hepburn added 11 points, including some clutch shots down the stretch to keep the game within arm's reach. Johnny Davis had 11 points as well, shooting just 3-for-19 from the field and 0-5 from beyond the arc. Still, Davis ended with a double-double as he had 11 rebounds as well.
For the Spartans, Marcus Bingham led the way with 19 points, followed by 11 points from Tyson Walker.
It was a tough showing for the Badgers in a wide open Big Ten Tournament that saw No. 1 seed Illinois fall earlier in the day. Now the highest remaining seed is Purdue, the 3 seed, and they play Friday night against Penn State.
The Big Ten Tournament is now over for the Badgers and they will await their fate on Selection Sunday. They're projected to be a No. 2 or No. 3 seed, but with their early exit from the conference tournament, a No. 2 seed may not be in the cards. From there they will learn their opponent as well as when and where they will play their first round game.