The No. 1 seed Michigan State Spartans stormed back in the first half of their Big Ten Tournament semifinal matchup with Wisconsin to take a ten point lead into the locker room. The lead was the result of a 21-point swing that saw the Spartans go from down 10 to up 11 over the final 10 minutes of the first half.
Big Ten Tournament Semifinal, Wisconsin Vs. Michigan State: Spartans Take 10-Point Lead At Half
The duo of Austin Thornton and Brandon Wood led Tom Izzo's club with nine points each. Sparty got back into it shooting from outside, as Thornton led the charge drilling three of three attempts from behind the arc. Derrick Nix was huge off the bench matching the team-high nine points doing the dirty work on four of six attempts down low.
Ryan Evans led the Badgers with nine points of his own, while also grabbing five boards. Friday's unsung hero Rob Wilson has just two points and missed his two attempts from three-point range, just one day after hitting seven threes against Indiana. The Badgers clamped down on the defensive end and looked to be in total control of the game, slowing the pace down with a comfortable double-digit lead. But Izzo's club flipped a switch, and started hitting their threes to re-assert themselves as the No. 1 seed and take the 35-25 advantage at half.
For all news and information regarding the Wisconsin Badgers, please visit Bucky's Fifth Quarter. For updates and perspective on the Michigan State Spartans, head on over to The Only Colors. For wall to wall coverage of the 2012 NCAA Tournament, stay tuned to SB Nation's dedicated college hoops hub.
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