The Wisconsin Badgers started BIG10 Conference play on Tuesday night on the road against the Michigan State Spartans and they won that won on the road easily by a final score of 70-57. With the win for Wisconsin, they improved to 1-0 in conference play on the year and are now 7-2 overall on the year.
This is their sixth consecutive victory after starting the season 1-2. They had no signs of a letdown after beating in-state rival #8 Marquette Golden Eagles on Saturday 75-64. In the game against Michigan State for Wisconsin, AJ Storr led the way for the Badgers with 22 points scored. He also grabbed five rebounds in the contest.
Storr told Michael McCleary of the Wisconsin State Journal after the game by saying:
“Walkthrough, shootaround, just everybody locked in. so I knew we were going to have a good game.”
Steven Crowl also scored in double figures for the Wisconsin Badgers against the Michigan State Spartans with 18 points, grabbed six rebounds, and recorded five assists. John Blackwell also scored 10 points off the bench for Wisconsin.
Chucky Hepburn also said after the game to the media:
“Coming off the (National Invitation Tournament) run, I knew that we’re gonna be able to just come out with some momentum. The first few games that we lost, I wasn’t too worried about because it was still early in the season.”
It isn’t so early in the season now. They have gained momentum and head coach Greg Gard has to like what he sees from his Badgers squad. Wisconsin shot 43.5% from three-point land and that is one of the reasons why they had an edge against Michigan State and they only shot 31.6% from three-point land.
Michigan State’s top two leading scorers in this basketball game were Tyson Walker with 22 points and AJ Hoggard with 14 points.
The Wisconsin Badgers’ Next Test After the Michigan State Spartans is Against the #1 Ranked Arizona Wildcats on Saturday
The Wisconsin Badgers now have put the Michigan State and Tom Izzo test into the rearview mirror for now. Wisconsin’s next test will be on the road on Saturday against the top-ranked team in the country in the Arizona Wildcats, They are 7-0 this season and are coached by Tommy Lloyd.
If Wisconsin is able to pull off this upset, then they will move up higher in the AP poll. They are currently ranked 23rd in the country, The Badgers have a tall task ahead of them and will have time to prepare. Wisconsin pulled off a couple of upsets this season already, why can’t they do it again? However, this could feel like a different beast.