MADISON – There should be no debate how much Wisconsin has improved since an ugly five-game losing streak that began in late January and carried over into February.
The Badgers played well enough and displayed enough toughness to beat many teams in the Big Ten Sunday at the Kohl Center.
They were not good enough to take down No. 1 Michigan State, however.
The Spartans battled to build a seven-point halftime lead, withstood UW’s best shot midway through the second half by hitting big shots on four consecutive possessions after falling behind by two and then were perfect from the free-throw line down the stretch to escape with a 68-63 victory.
UW (14-17, 7-11 Big Ten) lost to Michigan State for the second time this season and saw their winning streak end at three games.
BOX SCORE: Michigan State 68, Wisconsin 63
Michigan State (28-3, 16-2) extended its winning streak to 12 games and clinched just the third outright regular-season title under Tom Izzo.
The others came in 1999 and 2009.
Michigan State’s last loss came on Jan. 13, a 10-point decision to visiting Michigan.
Brad Davison appeared to dislocate ins injured left shoulder in the second half but returned quickly and was magnificent.
He scored a college-high 30 points, with his last basket a three-pointer with five seconds left to pull UW within 66-63.
Davison hit 3 of 6 three-pointers and 10 of 19 shots overall and became the first UW freshman to score 30 points since Sam Okey had 30 against UWM on Dec. 10, 1996.
Ethan Happ, who missed his first nine field-goal attempts in the teams’ first meeting, missed his first five shots Sunday.
Happ hit 4 of 10 field-goal attempts and just 1 of 5 free-throw attempts in the first half. He finished 6 of 17 for 13 points.
Sophomore guard Cassius Winston, who scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half of the teams’ first meeting, didn’t wait to warm on Sunday.
Winston helped the Spartans build a 34-27 halftime lead by hitting 3 of 3 three-pointers and contributing 11 points, five rebounds and two assists in 19 minutes.
He hit 6 of 6 three-pointers, 7 of 11 shots overall and finished with a team-high 20 points.
Nick Ward added 14 points and six rebounds. Jaren Jackson added 11 point and six rebounds.
Forward Miles Bridges, whose name was linked Friday to an FBI probe into college basketball corruption, was cleared less than 24 hours later after MSU officials conducted an internal review and presented their findings to the NCAA.
Bridges went 0 of 7 from three-point range and hit just 3 of 15 shots overall but finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Bridges hit two free throws with 4.7 seconds left – after Davison's three-pointer cut the deficit to 66-63.
Michigan State hit 8 of 8 free throws in the last 1 minute 32 seconds to hold off UW.
The Badgers got off to a slow start as Happ missed four shots and turned the ball over twice.
The Spartans took advantage to build an 11-3 lead just 3:47 into the game by turning three offensive rebounds into seven second-chance points.
Davison carried UW early and when Brevin Pritzl (seven points, nine rebounds) scored inside with 12:39 left I the half the Badgers had forged an 11-11 tie.
Led by Ward on the inside and Winston on the outside, the Spartans gradually took control.
Winston’s three-pointer gave the Spartans a 26-17 lead with 7:21 left in the half, forcing a UW timeout.
Aleem hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 26-20 but Winston hit back-to-back three-pointers, in a span of 55 seconds, to push the Spartans’ lead to 32-22 with 3:35 remaining.
UW closed within 33-26 on a basket by Happ and had a chance to pull within five points but Happ made just 1 of 2 free throws with 1:04 remaining.
Happ went to the line for two shots with 26.5 seconds left and UW trailing, 34-27, but he missed both shots.
Michigan State failed to score, however, and UW faced a seven-point halftime deficit.
The halftime deficit was 16 when the teams met last month in East Lansing.
Michigan State missed its first six shots of the second half but UW hit just 2 of 6 attempts and was only able to close the gap to 34-31.
UW lost Davison with 13:59 left, albeit briefly, when the freshman injured the left shoulder he first dislocated in November.
He returned with 13:36 left and UW down, 39-36.
Davison hit three jumpers, the last coming with 11:32 left, to pull UW back into a tie at 42-42.
UW’s upset hopes began to fade as Michigan State started hitting big shots.
After Nate Reuvers hit two free throws to give UW a 49-47 lead with 7:18 left, the Spartans hit four consecutive shots in an 11-2 run.
Winston hit 2 three-pointers, Bridges, 1 of 11 at the time, hit a jumper and Jackson hit a three-pointer.
That spurt allowed the Spartans to take a 58-51 lead with 4:45 left.
Davison responded with a three-pointer after a UW timeout to cut the deficit to 58-54. After a Michigan State turnover with 3:58 left, Davison was fouled and hit two free throws.
Bridges answered with a right-handed hook for a 60-56 lead with 3:32 left.
Davison missed a three-pointer but Bridges did the same.
Happ tried to back Jackson down but Jackson blocked the shot and gathered the ball in with 1:57 left.
The Spartans called a timeout with 1:46 left and Jackson was fouled going for a rebound and hit two free throws for a 62-56 lead with 1:32 left.
Davison answered with two free throws with 1:23 left but Jackson hit with 57.2 seconds left for a 64-58 lead.
Pritzl missed a contested three-pointer and Bridges drained two more free throws, this time with 37.9 seconds left for a 66-58 lead.
UW was, for the most part, overmatched, when the teams met last month in East Lansing. That wasn't the case Sunday, but UW still wasn't good enough to pull off the upset.