No. 6 MSU Defeats Wisconsin, 76-61

Jan. 26, 2018

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Sophomore guard/forward Miles Bridges scored a game-high 24 points to lead four players in double figures as No. 6 Michigan State pulled away from Wisconsin for 76-61 win at the Breslin Center on Friday night.

Records

Michigan State, winners of four of its last five games, improves to 19-3 overall and 7-2 in the Big Ten Conference, while Wisconsin falls to 10-12 overall and 3-6 in league.

Summary

Michigan State took a 37-21 lead at the break, connecting on 55.2 percent of its field goals (16-of-29), scoring 14 points in the paint.
Bridges scored 15 points in the opening 20 minutes and Ward had a double-double, scoring 10 points and collecting 10 rebounds.
Wisconsin used an 11-4 run over the opening 4:45 of the second half and pulled to within nine points, 41-32, on a conventional three-point play from Ethan Happ.
The Badgers pulled to within six points, 46-40, after a jumper from Happy with 9:51 to play in the game, but the Spartans responded with seven-straight points and took a 53-40 lead on a 3-pointer from Bridges with 7:20 remaining.
That was part of a 13-4 run, capped by consecutive 3-pointers from Cassius Winston, as MSU took a 59-44 lead with 4:31 left; Wisconsin would not get closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

Key Stats

Bridges scored 24 points and had seven rebounds to lead the Spartans, while sophomore guard Cassius Winston had 17 points and six assists, Jaren Jackson Jr. added 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots and sophomore forward Nick Ward finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots.
The Spartans shot 50.0 percent from the floor (27-of-54), including 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from 3-point land.
MSU held a 36-28 advantage on the boards and handed out 19 assists.
Bridges scored 15 points in the first half ... In the second half, Winston scored 13 points and Jackson had all 11 of his points in the final 20 minutes.

Notes

Jaren Jackson Jr. blocked four shots, giving him 75 for the season and setting a new MSU single-season record. He surpassed the previous mark of 72, set by Ken Johnson in 1984-85.
The Spartans blocked nine shots in the game, giving them 177 for the season and tying the MSU single-season record, set during the 2015-16 season (35 games).
Miles Bridges scored at least 20 points for the seventh time in 2017-18 and the 17th time in his career.
Nick Ward had a double-double for the seventh time this season and it was his eighth game with at least 10 rebounds.
Cassius Winston finished with eight assists, his 12th game this year with at least seven.

Up Next

Michigan State plays at Maryland on Sunday, Jan. 28. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. The game will air on CBS, with Kevin Harlan calling the play-by-play and Jim Spanarkel serving as the color analyst.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Miles Bridges

Jaren Jackson Jr.

Nick Ward

Cassius Winston