With Wisconsin playing at Michigan State next Thursday and this being March 1 (close to the date that this game happened), this is a perfect game for the second flashback feature.
Wisconsin came into this game 19-6 overall and 10-4 in the conference, ranked No. 10 nationally behind star point guard Devin Harris. Michigan State could clinch at least a share of the Big Ten title with a win at home against Wisconsin. The Badgers had already beaten the Spartans earlier in the year, 77-64, in Madison and were looking for the sweep.
This was Michigan State's last regular season game of the year and was coming in 12-3 in conference. A win for Michigan State would clinch a share of the conference title. Illinois finished 13-3, but would have won the tiebreaker as it crushed Michigan State in Champaign in their only meeting.
Wisconsin would need some help to win a share of the title, but Illinois won its final two games of the regular season on the road by a combined three points to win the championship outright.
Anyway, Michigan State was ready to celebrate another conference championship, so much so that the Spartans had a Big Ten Championship banner ready to be unfurled once they knocked off Wisconsin. Or so they thought.
Wisconsin led at halftime 35-30 after it closed the first half on an 11-2 run. Mike Wilkinson scored the first nine points for the Badgers in the game and scored 11 of his 18 points in the first half. Harris also scored 18 for the Badgers.
With Wisconsin trailing 52-49 with less than 50 seconds remaining, it called on its star. And he delivered. Harris stopped and popped a 3-pointer to tie the game at 52-52.
But Wilkinson then fouled Chris Hill on the following possession. Hill, a 75 percent free throw shooter, missed both free throws. Harris missed a mid-range jumper at the end of regulation, so the game went into overtime.
Wisconsin scored the first three points in overtime and led by three on four different occasions in the extra session. But with the Badgers leading by one with less than a minute left, sharp-shooter Clayton Hanson stepped up. Michigan State figured late in the game, the ball would be in Harris' hands, and it was. But instead of shooting, Harris found a wide open Hanson from the left wing, who knocked down the 3-pointer to give Wisconsin the 62-58 lead.
The Badgers made all six of their free throws in the final minute of overtime and despite Hill's late 3-pointers in overtime to try to bring Michigan State back, Wisconsin held off the Spartans 68-64.
As Wisconsin play-by-play announcer Matt Lepay said, "And the Badgers have crashed the party in East Lansing."
Paul Davis scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but sat for the last seven minutes with a leg cramp.
Illinois won its final two games to win the outright conference title, with Wisconsin and Michigan State tying for second. Wisconsin won for a third time on the season against Michigan State, 68-66, in the Big Ten Tournament before crushing Illinois 70-53 to win the Big Ten Tournament.
Even with all of the success the Badgers had that year, this game is the one that will be remembered for a long time. And that begs the question, I wonder if they still have the banner?
No comments:
Post a Comment