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 Wisconsin (31-3) beat Michigan State 80-69 in overtime in Sunday's
Big Ten tournament title game to complete a championship sweep and
were rewarded with the first No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed in program
history.
"I'm sure it will sink in," Badgers coach Bo Ryan said. "What we
need right now is to get these guys back (home). We have class
tomorrow, some of these guys have tests, they've got midterms this
week. So it will be business as usual for our student-athletes."
But players like forward Frank Kaminsky, the Big Ten tournament most
outstanding player, are pretty pumped up.
"It's awesome," Kaminsky said. "First No. 1 seed in program history.
That's an accomplishment in and of itself, but we have a lot of
goals and aspirations in the NCAA Tournament. So we're going to
prepare for our first game and be ready we tip the ball up."
No. 6 ranked Wisconsin, the league's regular-season champion,
claimed the Big Ten's automatic NCAA berth with the overtime win at
the United Center and meets No. 16 Coastal Carolina (24-9) in
Friday's West Region opener in Omaha, Neb.
The overtime outcome was the first in Big Ten tournament history.
Michigan State (23-11) is also tourney bound with a No. 7 seed in
the East Region. The Spartans will face Georgia, which is the 10th
seed, on Friday in Charlotte, N.C.
Ryan was initially at a loss for words after the Badgers' dramatic
come-from-behind win.
"I'm speechless and that's hard to do," he said. "It was the fight
in this group, and to do what they did when it seemed like Michigan
State couldn't do anything wrong. I just hope we have something left
in us come NCAA Tournament time."
The Badgers rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit and back
into contention late in the game. They then scored 11 unanswered
points in overtime behind seven points form forward Nigel Hayes.
Hayes closed with a game-high 25 points and was 12-for-12 from the
free throw line. Kaminsky had 19, guard Bronson Koenig finished with
18 while reserve forward Duje Dukan added 11.
Michigan State, making its third title game appearance in four
years, was led by forward Branden Dawson and guard Denzel Valentine
with 16 apiece while reserve guard Bryn Forbes had 10.
"I thought we played one of the greatest games we've ever played for
32, 32 and one-half minutes or 35, 36 minutes," Spartans coach Tom
Izzo said. "And then we made a couple of mistakes and they made a
couple of great shots and that's the way the game goes."
Wisconsin trailed 57-46 in the second half when Koenig launched a
comeback with a 3-pointer and added another with 4:19 left to give
the Badgers a temporary 60-59 lead.
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"We were down eleven and they thought they had it in the bag,"
Koenig said. "But I kept reminding my teammates that we were never
going to give up."
Guard Lourawls Nairn's 3-pointer then put Michigan State up 62-60 as
the teams exchanged leads three times and tied four times. The last
in regulation came on Koenig's two free throws for a 69-69 deadlock.
A potential game-winning shot by Dawson rolled in and out as
regulation time expired.
In the first half, Michigan State outscored Wisconsin 10-5 in the
final 3:25 for a 32-31 halftime lead after a half that saw with
seven lead changes and five ties. The Spartans opened a 32-28 lead
after a turnover by Koenig and a rebound put back by forward Marvin
Clark with 25 seconds showing. But Wisconsin narrowed the deficit to
32-31 as Kaminsky hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
It was the Badger's fifth successful shot from beyond the arc in the
half. Wisconsin ended 13-of-26 (50 percent) on 3-point shooting for
the game.
NOTES: Sunday's game was tied 13 times and had 14 lead changes. ...
The Badgers claimed a 68-61 win in March in the long regular season
meeting behind F Frank Kaminsky's season-high 31 points. ... The
Badgers' two previous Big Ten tournament titles came in wins over
Illinois in 2004 and 2008. ... Wisconsin's 31 wins match an all-time
record for wins in a season set in 2007-08. ... The Badgers are
16-12 against the Spartans under head coach Bo Ryan but Michigan
State holds a 75-63 all-time series lead.. ... Michigan State
rallied from a 16-point deficit on Saturday vs. No. 2 seed Maryland,
the largest comeback win since Jan. 28, 2004, in a 23-point comeback
to an overtime win at Minnesota.
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