Field Level Media
Mar 2, 2018
Sophomore guard Miles Bridges had 20 points and nine rebounds as No. 2 Michigan State extended the nation's longest active winning streak to 13 games by holding off Wisconsin 63-60 in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament on Friday afternoon.
Fellow sophomore Cassius Winston piled up 17 points, five rebounds and five assists from the backcourt for the Spartans (29-3), the tournament's top seed. They advance to the semifinals, where they will meet No. 15 Michigan on Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.
Junior forward Ethan Happ led the ninth-seeded Badgers (15-18) with 22 points, four rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Freshman guard Brad Davison and junior guard Khalil Iverson added 10 points apiece.
The Spartans outrebounded Wisconsin 41-27 and made 10 of 11 free throws, while the Badgers made just two of six foul shots.
Winston drilled a 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer to give Michigan State a 32-28 lead. Winston and Bridges scored 11 points apiece before the break. Happ and Davison combined for 17 points by halftime, but both had to retreat to the bench after picking up their second fouls.
Michigan State led by six early in the second half. The Badgers then reeled off 10 unanswered points, six by freshman forward Aleem Ford off the bench. He made a pair of 3-pointers to get the run started.
The Spartans responded with seven consecutive points, including five from Bridges, to take a 45-42 lead.
Wisconsin battled back to tie it at 51, but Michigan State came right back with another 7-0 spurt. Winston hit a transition jumper, freshman forward Jaren Jackson Jr. converted a three-point play and junior guard Matt McQuaid made a runner in the lane.
Happ went on a personal five-point run to pull the Badgers within two.
Missed free throws prevented the Badgers from tying it. McQuaid then hit a 3-pointer with 1:29 remaining to make it 63-58.
After a Davison layup, Bridges missed the front end of a one-and-one. But Davison's desperation 3-point try with the clock running out fell well short.
The Spartans won both regular-season meetings with the Badgers, including a 68-63 road triumph in the regular-season finale at Wisconsin on Sunday.
--Field Level Media