Wisconsin Badgers had a tough task on Saturday afternoon. They faced a red-hot Michigan State team. The Spartans have been dominant in the last few weeks after their few small blips in the radar. Sparty is hunting a potential number one seed as well. Wisconsin needed one of their best efforts of the year to take down Michigan State. That did not happen. Wisconsin’s offense went away in the second half leading to Michigan State pulling away for a 67-55 victory. Badgers will await their fate on Selection Sunday.

Player of the Game: Ethan Happ – Even though Wisconsin did not have much offense, Ethan Happ had himself an afternoon. He played really well in this game after a tough outing versus Nebraska. Happ scored 20 points six rebounds and four blocks. He did what he could for this Wisconsin team, but they needed something more than just Happ. This felt like one of those games where the second banana was missing and Wisconsin relied too much on their star player.

Silver Star: Kobe King – If you want a silver lining of this game, look at Kobe King. He scored nine first-half points and played a large part in keeping things close for Wisconsin. King finished with 13 points, which is highest point total since 12/22 against Grambling. It was his best scoring effort in the Big Ten season. Some could wonder if King is not fully back from the ACL injury. Sometimes, it takes a year to fully recover from that injury. I’d expect a big sophomore year from King next season.

Thing I liked: The turnover bounce back – After a rough turnover performance against Nebraska, Wisconsin only committed five all game. They had a couple late that might have affected a comeback, yet, still, it’s positive to not have turnover performances add up. Once they do, it starts getting in your head a little bit. That didn’t happen with the Badgers. They did a good job of taking care of the ball yesterday.

Thing I didn’t like: Ice cold from three – Wisconsin will not win many games in the NCAA Tournament if they only make two threes out of 19 attempts. That is very bad. Badgers lack that true three-point assassin that can flip a score for a team. D’Mitirk Trice missed all five three-pointers while Brad Davison was only able to make one of the six he attempted yesterday.

Next up: Wisconsin will learn their fate in the NCAA Tournament at 5:00 pm. Most people are convinced the Badgers will be a four seed. Who they play will be interesting because there are some dangerous potential 13 seeds like Vermont or UC-Irvine. Looking at Lunardi and Palm, they both have the Badgers heading out West, although, I’m sure the Badgers would love playing in Des Moines, which is about three hours from Madison.

Charlie.