INDIANAPOLIS — It felt like a heavyweight prize fight, or at least a championship-caliber game
Every shot John Tonje hit, No. 6 Michigan State basketball somehow found an answer by committee. Every response the Spartans delivered, No. 14 Wisconsin would drill a big bucket to stem the tide.
It came down to the final 15 seconds in the Big Ten tournament semifinals and a whole lot of craziness — a blocked Tre Holloman 3-pointer by the Badgers’ Carter Gilmore, two missed free throws from Tonje, and a no-call on a Jeremy Fears Jr. heave attempt that left the Spartans apoplectic and heading home with a 77-74 loss to the Badgers on Saturday afternoon at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The non-call was correct.
That snapped an eight-game win streak for top-seeded MSU (27-6), which now awaits its NCAA tournament seeding and placement. The Spartans may have seen their shot at a 1-seed in March Madness come to an end with the loss. The Selection Sunday show will begin to reveal the 2025 NCAA men’s tournament bracket at 6 p.m.
Jase Richardson scored 21 points and seven rebounds for MSU, while Fears added 14 points and six assists. Holloman had 10 points but on just 3-for-12 shooting and committed a tide-turning technical foul in the second half.
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Carson Cooper had eight points and 10 rebounds and Jaxon Kohler added seven points and seven boards. The Badgers bottled up Jaden Akins to just six points on 2-for-8 shooting.
Tonje scored 32 points on 8-for-15 shooting and made his first 12 free-throw attempts before missing twice with 6.0 seconds remaining. John Blackwell, a Bloomfield Hills native and Birmingham Brother Rice graduate, added 14 points for the Badgers, including four critical points in the final 1:11, while Gilmore scored 10.
Fifth-seeded Wisconsin (26-8), which beat Northwestern on Thursday and UCLA on Friday, advances to Sunday’s championship game (3:30 p.m., CBS) against the winner of Saturday’s second semifinal between No. 21 Michigan and No. 11 Maryland.
The Spartans won the only regular-season meeting on March 2 in East Lansing, 71-62. Tonje — a first-team All-Big Ten selection — had only 11 points in that game on 3-for-13 shooting.
Tre Holloman technical sparks Wisconsin
After a crisp start, the Spartans found themselves in familiar territory — trailing at halftime. A pair of free throws to open the second half by Max Klesmit, who missed the first meeting, extended the Badgers’ lead to six. Richardson picked up two quick fouls and had three by the first minute of the final period.
But as MSU has done all season, it summoned up some resolve and recovered. Cooper had a pair of layups, Holloman scooped in another, and a Fears to Coen Carr alley-oop made it an 8-0 run to give the Spartans back a 45-41 lead with 15:54 to play.
Momentum flipped, however, during a stoppage of play.
After a Tonje jumper followed by a foul call on Akins brought a media timeout with 14:39 left, Holloman got called for a technical while walking through the Badgers’ huddle.
It sparked Wisconsin to life. Tonje made it a five-point play by hitting the two technical free throws and a 3-pointer, part of an 11-0 run capped by his driving layup. MSU coach Tom Izzo called timeout with 12:45 left and his team reeling.
But like the Spartans did all season, they clawed back. Richardson hit a 3 and Fears a driving layup cut it to a one-possession game. The two teams traded haymakers from there, with the Spartans drawing within a point with 4:15 left on a Kohler bucket.
But Wisconsin answered with five straight points, including two Tonje free throws and a layup from Blackwell. Kohler hit a 3-pointer to close within two, but Akins got called for a foul with 31.4 left on a rebound attempt and Blackwell hit both free throws to help secure a spot in the finals.
Spartans spear, Badgers claw back
MSU opened the game strong, hitting its first three 3-pointers to build an early nine-point lead and controlling the glass at a high level.
But when Kohler got into foul trouble, things flipped in a hurry. The junior drew his second whistle on a layup by Wisconsin’s Xavier Amos that made it 22-16 Spartans. Kohler, who had four rebounds to that point and was pivotal in moving the ball on offense through the post, sat the final 11:07.
Izzo struggled to find the right interior combination from there. Tonje started getting hot, scoring 10 points after Kohler went to the bench, including a pair of 3-pointers. The second Tonje deep ball sparked a 9-1 run to close out the half over the last 2:43 and gave the Badgers a 37-33 cushion at the break after not leading for the first 17-plus minutes.
Tonje had 14 at the half on 3-for-5 shooting and 6-for-6 at the free-throw line.
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
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