John Tonje dominates as Wisconsin stuns Michigan State basketball in Big Ten Tournament semifinals

INDIANAPOLIS – The No. 1 seeded Michigan State Spartans got upset by the No. 5 seeded Wisconsin Badgers 77-74, snapping their eight-game winning streak in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.

The game was a tough back-and-forth, as each team withstood the other’s body blows, but the Badgers upset the Spartans.

Heading into the semifinals on Saturday (March 15) the Spartans rode an eight-game winning streak which came against all Quad 1 opponents.

MSU surged past the No. 8-seeded Oregon Ducks 74-64 on Friday afternoon inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

--> Michigan State basketball surges past Oregon to secure Big Ten Tournament semi-final spot

But Wisconsin star decided to take the game into his own hands as he dominated early and often.

1st half

The Spartans jumped out to a 13-4 lead behind star guard Jase Richardson, who scored eight points quickly to get the fans involved.

The freshman is special and looks to be a one-and-done player as he was doing work on both ends of the floor.

Richardson ended the first half with 10 points, four rebounds and one assist.

He got contributions from Tre Holloman who chipped in with eight points and one rebound as the Spartans took command for the majority of the half.

But the Badgers didn’t seem worried as John Tonje started heating up.

Tonje was a man amongst boys Saturday afternoon as he got to the rim at will.

He even started grooving from deep. He ended the half shooting 3-5 from the field and 2-4 from beyond the arc, scoring 14 points and grabbing 6 rebounds.

Every time he attacked the rim, he drew a foul (6-6 free throws) on the Spartans, who let go of the rope to end the half, as the Badgers took a 37-33 lead into the break.

A few plays stood out. First was MSU’s weird turnover. The ball bounced off the referee, who was standing out of bounds, but he said the ball was live.

The Badgers player grabbed the ball amid the fans’ jeers and coasted for what looked to be an easy layup, but Jaden Akins did his best Tayshaun Prince impersonation and blocked the shot off the rim, turning the Spartans fans’ jeers into cheers.

Next was the play in which Badgers guard and Bloomfield Hills native John Blackwell ran over Jeremy Fears Jr., but the refs called a block.

As Fears lay on the ground, Blackwell tossed the ball at him, causing the MSU guard to jump up and pursue him, but his teammates restrained him.

2nd half

MSU opened the second half on a 12-6 run to take a 45-43 lead.

But Tonje answered the bell as he went on a personal 5-0 run to help his team retake the lead 48-45.

Tonje then threw an assist to Carter Gilmore for a made dunk to extend the run at 7-0.

The 6′5″ guard came down on the next play and made another layup to get the Badgers fans hype inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse as he and his team extended the run to 9-0 (52-45) forcing Spartans head coach Tom Izzo to take a time out.

Fears Jr. stopped the bleeding with a layup to cut the lead to seven with 11:24 to play.

At this point in the game, Tonje, with a smile on his face, scored 23 points.

Michigan State dug deep and started grooving on offense. As Richardson woke up, they found a mini run of their own, helping the team go on a 10-point run.

But a quick six points scored and assisted by Tonje and Blackwell put the lead up to three, 60-57, with a little under seven minutes to play.

Richardson later got fouled on a three-point shot tying the game at 60. It was his 19th point of the game.

As the crowd got back into the game, Blackwell drew contact at the rim for an and-one to go up 63-60.

The Spartans go on a 7-5 run to cut into the lead with 3:24 remaining, 68-67.

Both teams’ fan bases get back into the game, and the waiting moments make the atmosphere in Indianapolis gut-wrenching.

With the game on the line, Badgers head coach Greg Gard put the ball back in Tonje’s hands who drew another foul.

Knocking down both free throws, Wisconsin took a 70-67 lead with 2:12 to play.

On the next possession Blackwell drove to the rim for a tough layup to go up 72-67.

But Michigan State big man Jaxon Kohler has the shooter’s touch as he knocked down a massive three pointer to cut the lead down to 72-70 with 1:01 remaining.

After a tough three point brick by Tonje, a great hustle play by Blackwell sent him to the line for two, sinking both to take a 74-70 lead with 31.4 seconds to play.

Like Gard, Izzo drew a play for his best player Richardson who drew a foul with 22.6 remaining. He made both to cut into the lead 74-72.

With 21.7 seconds to play, Izzo decided to play the foul game. Nolan Winter made the first one but bricked the second one.

With 14.9 left, Fears Jr. draws the foul and makes both to cut the lead to 75-74.

Tonje was fouled on the inbounds pass, and he drained both to make the score 77-74 with 14.3 seconds to play.

With the game on the line, Tonje bricked both free throws, then stole the ball on a controversial no call to advance to the Big Ten Tournament, where they will await the winner of the Michigan Wolverines and the Maryland Terrapins.

Tonje led all scorers with 32 points, followed by 14 points from Blackwell and 10 points from Carter Gilmore in the victory.

Richardson led the Spartans with 21 points in the loss. Fears Jr. dropped 14 points followed by Holloman who chipped in with 10 points.

In their previous meeting, MSU’s defense, led by Coen Carr and Akins, limited Tonje to 1-for-8 from deep.

The Spartans, who boast the country’s second-ranked 3-point defense, gave up 9-29 from deep on Saturday, but those nine came in big moments.

MSU, like they did in their previous matchup, won the rebounding battle 37-33 with 10 coming from big man Carson Cooper.

Despite the loss, the Spartans still hold an 86-69 all-time lead over the Badgers.