Top 10 Bo Ryan/Tom Izzo Games

In the wake of Sunday's classic Big Ten Tournament Championship game, I thought it would be a good idea to do a top 10 list of the matchups between these two future Hall of Fame coaches. There have been so many classics that I had to leave some great games off the list. The order was really difficult to choose and to be honest, any one of these could be at the top of the list. So without further ado, here is my list of the top two Ryan/Izzo games, and what better way to start the list than to start it with the very first meeting...

10. January 12, 2002: Wisconsin 64, Michigan State 63

Michigan State was coming off of three consecutive Final Fours, including a championship in 2000, and was riding a nation-leading 53-game home winning streak. After playing a grueling non-conference schedule and starting the Big Ten season 0-2, the No. 25 Spartans had a modest 9-6 record. Wisconsin came in at 8-8 and 2-2 in the Big Ten and had lost its last eight to Michigan State. The Badgers came out on fire, making their first five shots from the field en route to a 16-6 lead, which was answered by a 12-0 MSU run. The Spartans lead grew to as many as 10 early in the second half, but the Badgers responded to trim the deficit to two only a few minutes later. The lead changed several times in the final eight minutes. With 25 seconds left, sophomore Freddie Owens came through with a clutch basket to give the Badgers the 64-62 advantage. With eight seconds left, Michigan State's Alan Anderson was fouled and went to the line for two free throws. He made the first, but missed the second. The Spartans grabbed the offensive rebound and called a timeout. Marcus Taylor missed a layup after the timeout and the ball went out of bounds with .2 seconds left. The inbounds pass came to Kelvin Torbert, who caught it in the air and shot it in. The clock did not start on time, so Spartan fans rushed the court to celebrate what they thought was a win. The refs went over to the monitor and saw that Torbert caught it cleanly and scored. Even a tip-in is hard to do in .2 seconds, so since he caught it, the refs disallowed the basket and Wisconsin won 64-63. That game started the Badgers on a run that would help them win the Big Ten for the first time since 1947.


9. January 11, 2011: Michigan State 64, Wisconsin 61 (OT)

Wisconsin had a chance to win in East Lansing for the first time in seven years and this was their chance. The Spartans were in the midst of a down year, as they finished the year at just 19-15. The Badgers jumped on MSU early, taking a 19-7 lead with a little less than nine minutes remaining in the first half. The Spartans battled back to cut it to three by halftime and eventually led 31-28 with 15 minutes left. But Wisconsin came back and after Jordan Taylor made a pair of free throws, the Badgers led 53-44 with 2:39 left.That is when it all came apart for the Badgers. After a Draymond Green 3-pointer, Wisconsin got a stop. Badgers were in good shape, still up six. But then Rob Wilson tried to make a highlight reel exclamation point with a dunk over two MSU players with plenty of time on the shot clock, but he was blocked by Green. That led to a Kalin Lucas free throw. Then Jon Leuer and Wilson had back-to-back turnovers, which led to a Lucas dunk and a 3-pointer by Wisconsin-native Korie Lucious to tie the game up, Regulation would end that way with the game tied at 53. In a back and forth overtime, Taylor had a chance to win the game for the Badgers, but his shot was blocked by Green. After two free throws by Lucas, Taylor's desperation 3-pointer from near half court was missed and the Spartans had a comeback victory.

8. February 9, 2014: Wisconsin 60, Michigan State 58

The Badgers needed a win in the worst way. After a school-record 16-0 start, the Badgers had lost five of six, including losing three consecutive games at the Kohl Center. The Badgers came in unranked for the first time on the year, playing against preseason No. 2 Michigan State. The Spartans had to battle through injuries and were not at 100 percent. The teams traded punches for much of the first half, and MSU took a 22-19 with 6:51 left in the first half. That would be significant as MSU failed to score the rest of the half and Wisconsin ended the half on an 11-0 run to take an eight point lead into halftime. Michigan State's Gary Harris was held scoreless in the first half, but started the second with two straight dunks to cut the Wisconsin lead to a single point. Wisconsin would grow the lead to as many as 10, but MSU came fighting back each time Wisconsin tried to pull away. A Frank Kaminsky 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to put the Badgers up five seemed to be the dagger. However, Harris, would shoot just 3-20 from the field on the day, made a jumper to cut it to three. And after a missed free throw by Ben Brust, Adreian Payne made a 3-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game. On Wisconsin's final possession, Traevon Jackson dribbled up the floor and pulled up and buried a jumper in the face of Harris with 2.1 seconds left. Travis Trice's desperation 3-pointer went off the rim and the Badgers came away with a big 60-58 win. That game ignited an eight game winning streak for the Badgers and started them on a journey that would lead them to the Final Four.

7. March 2, 2004: Wisconsin 68, Michigan State 64 (OT)

Both Wisconsin and Michigan State had dreams of winning the conference. The Badgers came in at 10-4 in the Big Ten and the Spartans were 11-4. With a win, MSU would win at least a share of the Big Ten. With the game in East Lansing, the Spartans were prepared for a celebration after a win, so much so that Michigan State had a banner hanging in the rafters, ready to be unfurled after the big win against Wisconsin. Too bad nobody told the Badgers about the party. In a back and forth contest, the Spartans led 52-49 with less than a minute to play. That is when Big Ten Player of the Year Devin Harris took over, draining a 3-pointer to tie the game with 44 seconds left. After a foul, Michigan State's Chris Hill had a chance to give MSU the lead back, but missed both free throws with 22 seconds left and the game went into overtime. The dagger came in the form of walk-on Clayton Hanson. With less than a minute to play and the Badgers clinging to a one point lead, Harris dribbled along the right side trying to create. With the shot clock winding down, Harris drove in and found a wide open Hanson, who buried the wide open triple. Wisconsin made its free throws down the stretch and the Badgers escaped with an overtime win.

6. March 3, 2007: Wisconsin 52, Michigan State 50

It was Senior Day for Alando Tucker and Kammron Taylor. The Badgers were limping in, having lost two consecutive games, including a game at Michigan State just 11 days earlier. The Badgers also lost Brian Butch for the season in the last game at Ohio State. The game was close throughout, with nobody getting a leading larger than six points. Badger killer Drew Neitzel drilled a long jumper to give the visitors a 50-49 lead with less than a minute and a half left. Taylor then had a chance to give the Badgers the lead back, but missed a free throw line jumper. On Michigan State's possession, the Badgers were able to successfully deny Neitzel the ball and Travis Walton was forced to hoist up a deep jumper, which he missed. What followed next was pure Hollywood. After struggling during the two game road trip and having missed a shot that would have given his team the lead less than a minute prior, Taylor was given the ball. After a timeout, Taylor had the ball and worked off of a screen from Tucker and shot a triple with a hand in his face. It was nothing but net for the senior with a 3.9 seconds left. Neitzel's 25-foot 3-pointer was short and the Badgers came away with the two point win.

5. March 15, 2008: Wisconsin 65, Michigan State 63

The two teams had met a few weeks before with Wisconsin winning 57-42 at the Kohl Center, but Tom Izzo is at his best in March. He led the Spartans to a two point halftime led and the Spartans eventually led 53-41 with 8:16 left after Kalin Lucas nailed a 3-pointer. The Big Ten Tournament's No. 1 seed needed a spark. Jason Bohannon's four-point play ignited a Badgers comeback. Wisconsin's next seven points and 11 of 17 came from the foul line as Michigan State was called for 30 fouls in the game and had four players foul out. Big 3-pointers by Brian Butch and Marcus Landry helped the Badgers cut the deficit to a single point. Two Landry free throws tied the game at 63 with less than two minutes to play. With MSU trying to take the lead with less than 40 seconds to play, Kalin Lucas drove the lane and tried to pass it to Drew Neitzel. Michael Flowers had other ideas, as he stole the pass and went the distance for the layup to give the Badgers the 65-63 lead. After a Spartans miss, Jason Bohannon had a chance to ice the game, but he missed both free throws. Neitzel had a chance for the win, but his 3-pointer hit the back of the iron and Wisconsin hung on for the thrilling win.

4. January 16, 2005: Wisconsin 62, Michigan State 59

Three years earlier, Wisconsin had ended Michigan State's 53-game home winning streak. This time, the Spartans wanted payback. Wisconsin brought a 37-game home winning streak into a January date with the Spartans as Bo Ryan tried to go 6-0 against Tom Izzo. Michigan State took a four point lead into halftime and after a 9-0 run, had a 59-51 lead with less than two minutes to play. The Badgers had one more rally in them, It started with a 3-pointer by Penn State transfer Sharif Chambliss to cut it to five. Just like in East Lansing a year earlier, Chris Hill missed a clutch free throw and then Mike Wilkinson made two on the other end to cut it to three. After another one-and-one miss by MSU, Wilkinson again made two to cut it to one with 1:14 left. After a block on the Spartans' next possession, Kammron Taylor scored on a runner in the lane to put the Badgers ahead for good. Alan Anderson's late shot was missed and the Badgers tacked on two more free throws to make the final score 62-59. The winning streak did not last for Wisconsin, though, as the Badgers lost their next home game to No. 1 Illinois.

3, March 13, 2004: Wisconsin 68, Michigan State 66

The Badgers had won the first two meetings of the season. As the old saying goes, it is hard to beat a team three times in a season. The Spartans scored the first seven points of the game and led 23-13 with less than eight minutes to play in the first half. Wisconsin responded with an 11-0 run, but MSU held a 35-30 lead at halftime. Big Ten Player of the Year Devin Harris just scored five points on 1-7 shooting in the first half, but exploded in the second half. He scored 16 points in the second half, including eight in a span of 1:38 in the final minutes to put the Badgers in front 60-59. Mike Wilkinson's two free throws with 49 seconds left in the game put the Badgers up for good and after a Zach Morley missed free throw, Michigan State's Maurice Ager tried a free throw line jumper to send the game into overtime, but it missed and Wisconsin escaped with its third victory over Michigan State on the year.

2. January 3, 2012: Michigan State 63, Wisconsin 60 (OT)

Two tenths of a second. That was the amount of time left in the upset victory back in 2002. It was that much time to break the Badgers' hearts this time around. It was a close back and forth contest throughout the game with no team leading by more than five in regulation. With 35 seconds left and MSU ahead by one, Wisconsin's Jordan Taylor made only one of two free throws to tie the game. Keith Appling's last shot was no good for MSU, so the game went into overtime. The Spartans controlled the overtime, taking a 61-54 lead with 31 seconds left. After a Taylor 3-pointer and two MSU free throws by Keith Appling, the Spartans led it 63-57 and setting the game up for a wild finish. Taylor again splashed a 3-pointer to cut it to three. Draymond Green missed both free throws for the Spartans, which gave the Badgers one last chance. Taylor put up a contested 3-pointer that was airballed, but Evans grabbed the rebound. He knew that there was very little time left, so he sprinted to the 3-point line and tried a turnaround contested triple as time expired. It banked in to tie the game up and send it into double overtime........or so we thought. The clocks were not all in sync, and the backboard clock showed all zeros with the ball still in Evans' hands. The desperation 3-pointer was waved off and Michigan State won 63-60 in perhaps the craziest finish in a series of terrific finishes.

1. March 15, 2015: Wisconsin 80, Michigan State 69 (OT)

I know this just happened on Sunday, but what an unbelievable game. Wisconsin was the top seeded team in the Big Ten Tournament and was in search of its first ever No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Michigan State was the No. 3 seed coming off of a victory over Maryland, one of the top 10 teams in the country. It was a back and forth affair in the first half with Michigan State grabbing the lead by one at halftime. After a 3-pointer by Duje Dukan to give Wisconsin a 41-40 lead in the second half, Michigan State went on a 17-5 run, which ended on a steal and dunk by Branden Dawson. A Frank Kaminsky dunk and foul cut the MSU lead to seven and it started an 11-0 run, which ended when Bronson Koenig canned a triple in the left corner to give the Badgers a 60-59 lead. With the Badgers trailing 64-62, National Player of the Year candidate Frank Kaminsky scored the next five, including a cold-blooded 3-pointer to give the Badgers a 67-64 lead with 1:45 left. Not to be outdone, Michigan State scored the next five to put the Spartans ahead by two. On the next possession, Koenig tried another 3-pointer, but this one was missed and it was tipped and was headed toward the sideline. Wisconsin senior Josh Gasser saved the ball from going out of bounds, but right into the hands of Michigan State's Denzel Valentine, who proceeded to pull a Jay Cutler and throw it right into the hands of a defender. Koenig had another shot and was fouled going up with the shot and went to the free throw line. He made both and Michigan State's last second shot by Dawson rolled off the rim and it went into overtime. There, the Badgers dominated, outscoring the Spartans 11-0. The Badgers nailed two 3-pointers to start off the overtime and the Badgers never looked back in the 80-69 as Wisconsin won the Big Ten Tournament and got its No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed.

Like I said, there will be debate between the order of this most likely, but there will be no debate that there have been some absolute classics between these two iconic coaches. Rip away...