Indianapolis — Michigan State’s Big Ten Tournament run is over.
In Saturday’s first Big Ten semifinal at Indianapolis’ Gainbridge Fieldhouse, John Tonje powered fourth-seed Wisconsin to a 77-74 upset over top seed Michigan State. Jase Richardson and Jeremy Fears Jr. provided firepower for Michigan State’s comeback bid, but it fell short and snapped an eight-game winning streak.
Michigan State (27-6) erased a four-point deficit to open the second half, putting together a 12-2 run after a pair of Wisconsin free throws. The Badgers didn’t make a field goal until 4:33 into the second half, as John Tonje shot over a falling Carson Cooper. Known for his defensive impact, Cooper had his fingerprints all over the run, with a putback and a reverse layup among his contributions.
As players took the court for a media timeout, Michigan State guard Tre Holloman took a technical foul after arguing with a referee. In the huddle, Spartans coach Tom Izzo was incensed at Holloman.
After the technical, Wisconsin (26-8) ran away with an 11-0 run. Tonje, who scored 14 points in the first, stayed hot for Wisconsin to pull back in front. His elbow 3 gave Wisconsin a 48-45 lead just past five minutes into the second half. That lead grew to seven points at the tail end of the run, with Tonje scoring nine of those points. By the end of the game, his 32 points broke a Wisconsin record for scoring in a Big Ten Tournament game.
As Tonje kept scoring, Richardson (21 points) provided an answer for Michigan State. After a layup from Fears (14 points) broke a four-minute scoreless lull with a layup at 11:44, Richardson came up clutch with two 3s before nailing three free throws to knot the game at 60 each with 6:18 to play
Wisconsin got the lead right back off an and-one from John Blackwell, the gap remaining as Wisconsin hit shots and Michigan State got to the free throw line. Michigan State’s bigs brought the game close as Cooper rebounded a missed free throw and fed Jaxon Kohler for a shot. Kohler drew a foul at 3:24 to shoot free throws, down 68-67.
Kohler missed what would have been a tying free throw before his team boarded the offensive rebound, but the Spartans didn’t hit the ensuing shot. Tonje drew a foul at the other end, reaching 30 points with his ninth and 10th free throws to take a three-point lead.
After a Blackwell layup, Kohler hit a three from the top of the arc to make it a 72-70 game. Michigan State had 1:01 to make a comeback as Tom Izzo called timeout to strategize. Tonje missed a 3 before Akins fouled on the rebound, sending Blackwell to the line where he hit both shots. From here on, the teams traded fouls and free throws as Michigan State stayed within a shot.
With 21.7 seconds left, Wisconsin forward Nolan Winter split free throws that could’ve ice a win. Fears hit both to trail just 75-74 with 14.9 seconds remaining. Tonje hit two free throws to make 12 of his first 12 free throws. Fears drove down the court looking for the equalizer, but Wisconsin’s Carter Gilmore blocked him. Sent to the line once more, Tonje missed both to give Michigan State another chance, but Tonje got a hand on Fears’ tying shot attempt to seal the 77-74 win.
Richardson made his impact felt early Saturday. After a brief hiccup fouling 15 seconds in, Richardson quickly made up for it with a second-chance corner 3 to open the scoring. He wove to the rim and finished a layup before draining a contested 3 from up top as the Spartans took an 8-0 run and a 13-7 lead into the first media timeout.
Michigan State sorely missed the rebounding of Kohler most of the first half as he sat the final 11:07 in foul trouble. After a back-and-forth stretch, Wisconsin swung a six-point deficit into a four-point, 37-33 halftime lead in this span. Clean rebounding and a stronger post presence were among the most notable elements missing without him.
In Kohler’s absence, Frankie Fidler played more minutes at the four in a small-ball look that cast him next to three guards and Cooper. Tonje found his groove in this stretch, scoring 14 by the end of the half.
Just under the five-minute mark, an errant pass went off the foot of a referee and sprung Wisconsin’s Blackwell on the break. From the opposite side of the court, Akins chased him down before blocking the ball off the backboard to deny the shot. But Wisconsin continued to chip away, drawing within two points off a driving layup from Max Klesmit, who missed the regular season meeting between these teams with an ankle injury.
With just under two minutes to play in the first half, Blackwell drew a blocking foul on Jeremy Fears Jr. before throwing the ball at the Spartans point guard to earn a technical foul himself. After a long review, Blackwell and Tre Holloman each split free throws in an anticlimactic result.
Michigan State hasn’t played in the Big Ten tournament championship game since 2019, when Cassius Winston led a 65-60 win over Michigan. Michigan State later made it to the Final Four as a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
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