Michigan State players were visibly down, but avoiding discouragement, after the Spartans 81-66 loss to Wisconsin on Friday night in Madison.
“I take everything one game at a time; I’m more so looking forward than looking back,” Malik Hall said following the game. “We have to learn from our losses, but, in my head, I’m just making sure we show up every day and ready for the next one to matter.”
Hall provided a spark in the first half of the game, scoring nine of his 13 total points before getting into foul trouble and leaving the game midway through the half.
"Malik played very well early and that [foul trouble] kinda took him out of the game, kind of hurt us, too," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said about Hall.
“Every game is important to us,” Hall said when asked about playing catch up after the slow start to the Big Ten season. “I feel like we’re always playing catch up, not necessarily in a bad way.”
The Spartans were outplayed in the game in most facets and had trouble gaining momentum offensively . A.J. Srorr finished with 28 points and has been the catalyst in both wins for the Badgers this year against MSU.
“He hit some shots and the basket got a little bit bigger for him,” A.J. Hoggard said about guarding Storr. “We have to do a better job at taking away player’s confidence when we’re on the road.”
Hoggard led the Spartans in scoring with 19 points and continues to play well into the heart of conference season. The loss snaps Michigan State’s three-game win streak and keeps head coach Tom Izzo stuck at 699 career victories.
“We have to play harder,” Hoggard said. “We’ve done it in spurts and put a couple games together, but we have to do it more consistently in the Big Ten.”
Tyson Walker, the Spartans leading scorer, finished with a season-low 11 points on 4-14 shooting from the field. The senior guard had trouble being guarded by the Badger’s Chucky Hepburn, but cited it was a team effort for them on the defensive end.
“They did a good job all-around being physical with us,” Walker said after the game. “He (Chucky) did a good job, but he had help behind him. If I got past him, he had help.”
"They grab ahold of ya and chuck ya," Izzo stated. "And I mean that respectfully, don't take that wrong, I think this is one of the more physical teams in the league and I personally like that. I just don't like playing against it, but I appreciate it."
This was the first time Wisconsin has swept MSU in the regular season since the 2003-2004.
The Spartans have another big game on Tuesday vs. their in-state rival Michigan at the Breslin Center and will look to get back to .500 in conference play.
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