Michigan Basketball: Wolverines must win on the road to win Big Ten
- by Rene Duval
- in Sport
- — Fév 14, 2019
Wisconsin scored the first five points of after intermission, with a Nate Reuvers 3-pointer and a Happ layup. Following the review, Pritzl got two free throws, both of which he hit, and Wisconsin got the ball, which resulted in a Pritzl 3.
Penn State took the lead at 10-7 and never looked back, upsetting number-seven MI 75-69 at the Bryce Jordan Center.
For the most part, things have gone swimmingly for MI basketball during the 2018-19 season and until Tuesday's terrible loss at Penn State, everything seemed to be going to plan.
Simpson and Poole hit big three-pointers down the stretch, but being forced to foul, Penn State maintained the lead their lead the rest of the game.
The two teams traded baskets down the stretch of the first half and Wisconsin led at the break, 38-37.
Senior Charles Matthews paced the Wolverines with 24 points, his fifth 20-point game of the season, while pulling down six rebounds.
Connecting on a last-second shot to end the first half, Penn State took a 40-27 lead into the locker room at the half.
MADISON, WISCONSIN - FEBRUARY 12: Khalil Iverson #21 of the Wisconsin Badgers attempts a shot while being guarded by Aaron Henry #11 of the Michigan State Spartans in the first half at the Kohl Center on February 12, 2019 in Madison, Wisconsin.
As dominant as Happ was at times, he accounted for six of the Badgers' 10 turnovers.
Perhaps the difference in the game was at the free-throw line. Goins and forward Nick Ward each added 12 points. He was scoreless in the second half until a three-point play with 15.7 seconds left that sealed the victory. Happ went over 2000 points for his career and is only the 4th player in Big Ten history with over 2000 points and 1000 rebounds. Ward ran the court and collected a long outlet pass from Winston for a dunk, then Goins and Winston hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put MSU up 21-18 with 8:36 left.
Wisconsin will lose close games in the Big Ten, especially to ranked opponents.
Wisconsin: The Badgers, who had their six-game winning streak snapped on Saturday by MI, missed out on a chance to keep pace with the conference leaders. They will play four of their final six regular-season games at Breslin Center, with road games left at IN and MI.
