The Wisconsin Badgers fell to the Michigan State Spartans 69-65 on Tuesday, marking the Badgers second straight loss and they fall to 3-2 in Big Ten Conference play.
The Badgers were once again without forward Tyler Wahl, putting them in a tough spot to begin the night against a strong Michigan State team. They played well early, staying in the game and battling back and forth with the Spartans. Connor Essegian scored 10 of Wisconsin's first 16 points.
Michigan State took a 33-31 lead into halftime but Wisconsin was able to take a little bit of control in the second half. Stretching out to as big as a five point lead with four minutes left, but they weren't able to pull far enough away. The Spartans made their last eight shots from the field,17 points in their last 10 possessions, and clawed back to a 69-65 victory.
Wisconsin had a chance late, but a missed three from Hepburn and rebound from Michigan State gave the Spartans solid control of the game.
Steven Crowl led the way with 19 points, Chucky Hepburn had 14, while Connor Essegian scored 13 points.
Next up for Wisconsin is a trip to Indiana on Saturday to take on the Hoosiers at noon.