MADISON, Wis. Sporting Alert — Bronson Koenig scored 27 points and Nigel Hayes had 25 to help Wisconsin upset No. 4 Michigan State 77-76 in a college basketball game on Sunday.
Hayes, who shot 7-of-14 from the floor, connected on two of his three 3-pointers, while making 9-of-10 free throws and pulling down seven rebounds on the day.
Koenig hit four 3-pointers and finished with 8-of-15 on shooting.
Ethan Happ added 14 points, including the winning layup with 0:12 left, and grabbed eight rebounds for the Badgers (10-9, 2-4 Big Ten) who finished strong to secure the win.
“We played together the whole 40 minutes, and it showed,” said Happ.
Leading forward Denzel Valentine scored 23 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals to lead the way for Michigan State (16-3, 3-3 Big Ten), which was suffering its second successive defeat after losing 76-59 to No. 16 Iowa on Thursday night.
Matt Costello recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds, Eron Harris ended with 14 points and Bryn Forbes ended with 12 points off the bench for the Spartans, who take on Nebraska on Thursday.
After the game, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo had high praise for coach Gard, who took over the Wisconsin program after the legend Bo Ryan retired in December.
Izzo said: “I think the young coach out-coached the old coach.”
Michigan State shot 47.5 percent on 28-of-59 shooting, as well as going 44.4 percent from long range.
Wisconsin, which ended a three-game losing streak with that victory, was 44.7 percent overall from the field and 42.9 percent from 3-pointers.
“We were just a little bit better in possession,” said interim coach Greg Gard. “Did we play any differently?
“No. We were still trying to do the same things. But we were a little bit better in how we executed at certain times.”
Also on Sunday, Markus Kennedy scored 13 points and eight rebounds and Jordan Tolbert finished with 12 points, nine boards, six steals and two blocks and No. 10 SMU remain the nation’s only unbeaten Division I team after beating Tulane 60-45 on Sunday.
The Mustangs (17-0, 6-0 American Athletic Conference) didn’t have the best of day shooting the ball, after shooting a season-worst 40.4 percent, but held Tulane to 29.2 percent.
Melvin Frazier scored 11 points and Malik Morgan ended with 10 for the Green Wave (8-11, 1-5), which has lost five of its last six contests.
College Basketball Scores
Sunday, Jan. 17 ESPN Scoreboards
WISCONSIN 77, No. 4 MICHIGAN STATE 76
No. 10 SMU 60, TULANE 45
