Three Things: Wisconsin Basketball vs. Michigan State

Wisconsin basketball returned to the Kohl Center looking to get back in the win column after the letdown in Champagne. Once again, without Tyler Wahl, Wisconsin faced a difficult challenge taking on the Michigan State Spartans. The Badgers lose a tough one 69-65, here are three things from the loss.

No Tyler Wahl

As mentioned above, the Badgers had to overcome the absence of leading scorer Tyler Wahl. Hopefully, this will be his last game missed due to this ankle injury. Wisconsin’s frontcourt was tested again tonight, having to match up with the talented Spartan forwards Joey Hauser and Malik Hall. Greg Gard turned to Markus Ilver and even Chris Hodges, who recorded his first career bucket on a nice up-and-under move. It’s become painfully obvious that Wisconsin cannot win these Big Ten games without Tyler Wahl.

Points Off Turnovers

Not only does Wisconsin basketball not turn the ball over, but they also make you pay for yours. Michigan State committed 14 turnovers and allowed 27 points off of those turnovers. For a Badger team that sees their offense become stagnant at times, it’s so important to capitalize on your opponent’s mistakes. So far this year, Wisconsin has been great at forcing turnovers and scoring on those chances.

Defense Down the Stretch

This is now back-to-back games where Wisconsin’s defense has totally let them down. When they needed to step up on that end, Michigan State completely dominated them. Finishing the game with eight straight field goals made. It is almost impossible to win a close game if you cant get consistent stops.

Michigan State has made eight-straight field goals.

Not gonna close this one out like that.#Badgers

— Evan Flood (@Evan_Flood) January 11, 2023

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