No. 6 Wisconsin Rallies To Beat Michigan State 80-69 In OT
By ANDREW SELIGMAN/AP Sports Writer
CHICAGO (AP) - Nigel Hayes scored 25 points, Frank Kaminsky added 19 and No. 6 Wisconsin outscored Michigan State 11-0 in overtime Sunday for an 80-69 victory in the Big Ten Tournament championship game.
Bronson Koenig scored 18 points, and the Badgers (31-3) rallied from 11 points down in the second half in an attempt to strengthen their bid for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Branden Dawson and Denzel Valentine scored 16 points each for Michigan State (23-11). But the Spartans were outscored 31-10 over the final 11 1/2 minutes of the game and came up short after winning the tournament last year.
In the first overtime in a Big Ten title game, Hayes and Koenig hit 3-pointers in the first 3 minutes to give the Badgers a 75-69 lead. Michigan State missed all six shots and committed two turnovers in the extra period.
All that came after a wild finish in regulation.
Michigan State led 57-46 after going on a 17-5 run midway through the second half, only to have Wisconsin come back. The Badgers scored 11 straight in a 2-minute stretch and grabbed a 60-59 lead on Koenig's 3-pointer with 4:16 left.
Michigan State was up by two before Kaminsky scooped in a shot from the left block and hit a 3-pointer from NBA range to give Wisconsin a 67-64 lead with 1:44 left.
Valentine than quieted the Badgers fans with a tying 3 over Kaminsky, and Travis Trice drove down the right side for an off-balance floater to put Michigan State ahead 69-67 with 45 seconds remaining.
Koenig missed a 3 off the dribble after a timeout and the Badgers' John Gasser, trying to make a save in the corner, threw it to Valentine. Dekker then stole a bad pass from him, and Koenig hit two free throws to tie it at 69-all with 15 seconds remaining.
The game went to overtime after Dawson missed a 15-footer from the right side as time expired.
TIP INS
Michigan State: The Spartans are 4-1 in Big Ten finals.
Wisconsin: The Badgers are 16-2 away from home.
UP NEXT:
Michigan State: Waits to find out where it's going for the NCAA Tournament.
Wisconsin: Waits to find out where it's going for the NCAA Tournament.
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