Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo didn’t need many words to sum up Wisconsin’s 92-71 win over his Spartans on Friday night.
“First of all, that was a good, old-fashioned, a**-kicking, to be honest with you,” Izzo began. “Give them credit. Well-coached, those guards played well. One of my favorite guards in the league, [John Blackwell], didn’t even play half the first half.”
Advertisement
Wisconsin controlled the contest from the opening tip. It built a double-digit first-half lead, held a 17-point advantage at halftime, led by as many as 24 and closed with the 21-point margin. As Izzo noted, the Badgers did that with Blackwell playing limited first-half minutes. Still, the star guard finished with 24 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals, while shooting 6-of-14 from the floor and 4-of-9 from 3. Nick Boyd, the Badgers’ other backcourt star, tallied a game-high 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the floor and 5-of-7 from 3.
The performance defines Wisconsin’s recipe for success: strong defense and red-hot outside shooting. The Badgers held the Spartans to just a 36% field-goal rate, while connecting on 48% of their own shots, including a 43% mark (15-of-35) from 3.
Izzo continued to heap praise on Wisconsin’s performance, and specifically the job that head coach Greg Gard has done this season.
“I think Greg [Gard] has done a great job here,” Izzo continued. “I don’t think he gets enough credit. He lost a couple tough games early. But he’s been as consistent and steady as anybody. I came here to speak last year, and I was so impressed by the people and everything. Appreciate him. Sometimes I get more credit in the league, sometimes [Matt Painter] does. I don’t think Greg gets enough credit for what he’s done. So my word to you guys who are Badgers, appreciate him. He’s adjusted a little bit, tried some things, and he did a hell of a job tonight. They outplayed us in every aspect of the game.”
Advertisement
Wisconsin improves to 18-7 (10-4 Big Ten) with the win. The team unsurprisingly continued its rise in both KenPom and ESPN’s Basketball Power Index. This triumph and the team’s recent road win over No. 8 Illinois have it positioned well before postseason play begins.
The Badgers continue with a road matchup against Ohio State on Tuesday. The team has six games remaining in the regular season, the most notable coming on March 7 at No. 13 Purdue. A continued run of success should make it one of the sport’s more dangerous teams entering March Madness.
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin basketball Michigan State win Tom Izzo postgame comments
