Fouled out: Badgers down MSU, 65-63

Wisconsin advances to title game

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Indianapolis — In a span of three minutes, the MSU men’s basketball team lost four players and a 10-point lead.

Then it lost the game.

The No. 19 Spartans (25-8 overall), thanks in part to sophomore forward Raymar Morgan, senior center Drew Naymick and junior centers Idong Ibok and Goran Suton fouling out in the final seven minutes, fell to No. 8 Wisconsin (28-4), 65-63, in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals at Conseco Fieldhouse on Saturday.

“I don’t plan on getting over this today,” an emotional Tom Izzo said after the game. “I don’t plan on getting over this tomorrow. On Monday, I“ll get over it. I thought we did just about everything we needed to do to win a game.”

Senior guard Drew Neitzel had 26 points in 35 minutes of play and freshman guard Kalin Lucas had 14 in the second half, leading to a total of 18. Wisconsin’s Brian Butch and Marcus Landry had 19 and 18, respectively.

Wisconsin’s Michael Flowers picked up a steal and drove the length of the floor for a lay-up with less than thirty seconds remaining to give Wisconsin its first lead of the second half. After Lucas missed a desperation runner, MSU had a second chance at a victory thanks to two missed free throws by Wisconsin’s Jason Bohannon.

After the two misses, Neitzel brought the ball down and attempted a game-winning three pointer, but it hit back iron.

“We just got the rebound and I tried to push it up and I saw an opening so I pulled up,” Neitzel said. “I just missed it.”

The Spartans piled up 30 fouls, sending the Badgers to the line 37 times, where they shot 70.3 percent. To add insult to injury, the Badgers converted every free throw that came with an MSU player fouling out.

“We were able to come back because we were scoring when the clock was stopped and that’s to our benefit,” Flowers said.

Wisconsin advances to the Big Ten Tournament finals on Sunday, while the Spartans await their seeding in the NCAA Tournament.

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