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Spartans upset top-ranked Badgers
MSU still eyeing
tourney
The Michigan
State Spartans and the energetic crowd at the Breslin Center Tuesday
night were determined to not let the Wisconsin Badgers get too comfortable
in their new position atop the AP poll.
The unranked
Spartans pulled off a stunning upset by beating the number one ranked
Badgers 64-55 keeping their shot at an NCAA tournament bid alive.
The win
marked the first time that Michigan State has beaten a number one
ranked team since 1979, when the Spartans beat Indiana State to
win the national championship.
The Badgers
had moved to number one on Monday following Florida’s loss
to Vanderbilt last week.
Michigan State got another great game from star junior guard Drew
Neitzel. He finished the night with a game high 28 points.
Neitzel
seemed to make a big play whenever Michigan State needed him to
step up. Neitzel ended a dismal offensive stretch for the Spartans
in the second half where they only scored four points in 8:42 by
hitting back-to-back three pointers.
Neitzel’s
three pointers put the Spartans up 51-49, and they never looked
back.
Wisconsin
took a one point lead to the locker room at halftime following a
hard fought first half. The Badgers escaped with a 30-29 lead after
a half that saw 11 lead changes.
Alando Tucker,
Wisconsin senior guard and player of the year candidate, led all
scorers in the first half with 14 points. He shot 80 percent from
three point range making four of five attempts in the half.
The Spartan
defense answered the call in the second half however, and held Tucker
to only four points in the half. After a solid first half, Tucker
finished with only 16 points.
Michigan
State beat Wisconsin on the glass and pulled down 36 rebounds to
the Badgers’ 23. The Spartans also finished the game with
five blocks.
The Spartans
were also successful at sending Wisconsin, a team that thrives at
getting to the line and making free throws, to the free throw line
12 times.
Sophomore
forward Marcus Landry came off the bench for Wisconsin and scored
a team high 18 points.
Travis Walton,
Spartan sophomore guard, notched his first career double-double
scoring 13 points and adding 10 assists.
With Tuesday’s
improbably upset, Michigan State has kept its hope of a tournament
spot alive.
It’s
possible that the Spartans caught the Badgers looking ahead to their
match-up with the Ohio State Buckeyes, the number one team in the
ESPN/USA Today poll, for the Big Ten championship on Saturday.
Whatever
the case, Michigan State will have to count on another outstanding
effort when they close out the regular season in Madison squaring
off with the Badgers again.
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