MADISON, Wis. — Michigan State was on track to walk out of Wisconsin frustrated on Tuesday night, a winnable game given away by a rash of turnovers and defensive miscues.
But the Spartans have been in their share of dicey situations, and when Joey Hauser hit a late 3-pointer and A.J. Hoggard scored on the block and made a pair of free throws in the final minute, it helped secure a 69-65 victory over No. 18 Wisconsin at the Kohl Center, the seventh straight victory for Michigan State and the fourth in the last five trips to Wisconsin.
Hauser scored 20 to lead Michigan State (12-4, 4-1 Big Ten) while Hoggard had 10 points and eight assists. Tyson Walker scored 13, including a pair of free throws in the final seconds to help secure the victory. Jaden Akins added 12 points for the Spartans.
Steven Crowl scored 19 for Wisconsin (11-4, 3-2), which hit nine 3-pointers but couldn’t come up with a big one late in the game. Chucky Hepburn added 14 points for the Badgers as Connor Essegian had 13.
Michigan State started quickly with 3-pointers in each of its first two possessions from Akins and Walker. The Spartans, though, missed out on several chances to build an early lead, coming up empty on three straight fast breaks, allowing the Badgers to keep the game close.
The Spartans did manage to build a six-point lead 10 minutes into the half when another 3-pointer from Akins created a 17-11 advantage. But the Badgers started to get going from that point as Essegian hit a pair of triples while Wisconsin got another from Hepburn, pulling within 21-19.
Hepburn then converted a three-point play to give Wisconsin its first lead at 22-21, an advantage that lasted only seconds as Walker then hit a triple to put Michigan State back on top. The lead grew to 28-24 before Wisconsin went on a 7-0 run, getting five points from Markus Ilver, taking a 31-28 lead.
Hauser then got to the line for a pair and Walker drained his third triple of the half, putting the Spartans up 33-31 heading to the halftime locker room.
Wisconsin turned the momentum quickly to open the second half, hitting two straight open 3-pointers then getting an open layup from Crowl to take a 39-36 lead less than two minutes into the half.
The Spartans started to get to the free-throw line, getting four in a row from Akins and Hoggard to tie the game at 40 before a Malik Hall layup gave the Spartans a 42-40 lead. Crowl then buried a three and Mady Sissoko had a dunk. But Crowl answered with a bucket to give the Badgers a 45-44 lead with 11:37 to play.
The Badgers had a chance to pull away, pushing the lead to 50-46 on an Essegian 3-pointer, but Walker and Hauser scored around a Crowl bucket to keep the Wisconsin lead at two points with just more than seven minutes left in the game. But a 3-pointer from Carter Gilmore gave Wisconsin a 57-52 lead with 5:43 to play, the largest lead to that point for the Badgers.
Michigan State clawed back, however, taking a 61-59 lead on a Hauser 3-pointer with 2:19 to play. The teams went back and forth from there before Hoggard scored on the block then hit two free throws to put the Spartans up, 67-63, with 28.3 seconds left in the game.
Walker then made two more free throws as the Michigan State defense locked up the victory.
