Big Ten Tournament Semifinal Game Thread: Wisconsin Badgers vs. Michigan State Spartans

The Michigan State Spartans defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes 77-70 on Friday to advance to the semifinal round against Wisconsin Badgers. The game tips off at 1:00 p.m. EST (Noon CST) on CBS.

The Spartans found scoring from the unlikeliest of sources in their first tournament game when freshmen point guard Foster Loyer powered MSU to a win over Ohio State. With Cassius Winston limited with a toe injury and poor play in the first half, Loyer lit it up from the floor. He scored a career-high 14 points, making four three-point shots in a row at one point. He also had three assists, two steals, a rebound and was drawing charges. Winston picked it up in the second half and finished with 18 points, five assists and seven rebounds. Matt McQuaid added 12 points and four assists. MSU had eight different players score, and seven players scored at least seven points.

The Badgers narrowly defeated the Cornhuskers in the quarterfinals by a score of 66-62. Wisconsin was led by Khalil Iverson and Nate Reuvers who had 14 points each. Forward Aleem Ford contributed 11 points and six rebounds off the bench. Star big man Ethan Happ struggled with seven turnovers and just four points in 20 minutes, but he did add seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks. The Badgers found a way to pull off the win despite the poor performance from Happ.

The winner of today’s game advances to the championship round of the Big Ten Tournament, and will play the winner of the Michigan vs. Minnesota game. The Big Ten Tournament championship games tips off Sunday at 3:30 p.m. EST.

Go Green!