INDIANAPOLIS— No. 7 Michigan State men’s basketball is set to take on No. 18 Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals.
MSU took down No. 23 Oregon on Friday in the quarterfinals 74-64. Four Spartans finished in double figures in points including freshman guard Jase Richardson (17), senior guard Jaden Akins (12), redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. (11) and sophomore forward Coen Carr (10).
MSU shot 46.6% from the field, 46.7% from behind the arc and 58.6% from the free throw line against Oregon. It also recorded 36 rebounds, 13 assists, 12 turnovers and seven steals.
The Spartans have now won eight straight and has added its 13th quad one win. They are 12-4 when playing quad one teams this season.
MSU previously met Wisconsin on March 2 in East Lansing, with MSU winning, 71-62. The Badgers had outscored the Spartans in the first half in their previous matchup, 34-32, but MSU adjusted after halftime and outscored Wisconsin 39-28 in the second half to walk away with the win.
The Spartans lead the all-time series with the Badgers 87-69. The two teams last met in the Big Ten Tournament in 2022 for the quarterfinals which MSU won 69-63.
Scouting Wisconsin
Wisconsin pushed past UCLA on Friday 86-87 in the quarterfinals. Four Badgers finished in double-figures against the Bruins and were led by graduate guard John Tonje with 26 points.
Tonje was perfect from behind the arc, 6-6. He also went 9-10 from the field and 2-3 from the line. Additionally, Tonje led in rebounds with nine.
Wisconsin shot 51.7% from the field, 59.4% from behind the arc and 53.8% from the free throw line. Its impressive beyond the arc performance tied the Big Ten Tournament record for three-pointers in a game, 19.
The Badgers defense held the Bruins to 22-68 from the field, as this marked the second straight game for Wisconsin holding its opponent to less than 37% shooting from the field.
MSU and Wisconsin will square off on Saturday with tip-off set for 1 p.m. Tune into the live radio broadcast featuring Matt Merrifield and Allie Cohen locally on 88.9 FM or at impact89fm.org/listen-live/.
