Wisconsin @ Michigan State Game Overview

That tied the Big Ten tournament record for made 3-pointers in a game and also set up a delicious storyline for the Saturday semifinal between No. 7 Michigan State (27-5) and Wisconsin (25-8).

The top-seeded Spartans rank second in the nation in 3-point percentage defense. Tom Izzo's crew allows foes to hit just 27.8 percent from long range. That's like taking a team that hit 19 of 32 3-pointers and turning them into a team that shoots 9 of 32.

Ten more misses is a massive difference -- and that's why the fifth-seeded Badgers say they are going to resist the urge to try to repeat their Friday feat. That won't be easy considering first-team all-Big Ten guard John Tonge (19.1 ppg, 39.8 3-point percentage) cashed all six of his 3-point attempts on his way to a game-high 26 points in 27 minutes against the Bruins.

"I would say not to get jump-shot happy," said Badgers senior point guard Kamari McGee, who hit all three of his 3-point tries vs. UCLA. "A lot of shots went down (Friday). I feel like we didn't go into the paint enough at (Michigan State). I feel like we can really eat inside and find guys and spread. That's where we can get our 3s from -- inside-out.

"If we just attack the paint more than we did in the last game, we'll have better results."

Ah, yes. That's the other fine storyline attached to the Saturday rematch.

When Michigan State and Wisconsin met in the regular season on March 2, the Spartans claimed a 71-62 home win. But there's an asterisk next to that result because it was the first time the Badgers played without fifth-year guard Max Klesmit, who missed the last three games of the regular season due to a leg injury.

Although Klesmit (9.5 ppg) has not done a ton statistically since returning to Wisconsin's lineup -- he contributed a total of 12 points, four rebounds and three assists during the Badgers' Big Ten tournament wins over Northwestern and UCLA -- his presence completes Wisconsin's rotation.

"It doesn't just affect Max when he missed (those games)," Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. "It was the shifting, so to speak, of the seats on the bus that happened. When we're whole and we've got all our people, we're a pretty good team."

Klesmit's return allowed McGee to resume his role as the sixth-man spark instead of being forced to log 35 minutes -- as he did when Michigan State won the first meeting.

In that game, the Badgers launched 32 3-point attempts just like as did Friday against UCLA, but they made only five. Not only did that match their lowest total of threes made in a game this season, but it marked their worst 3-point percentage (.156).

Michigan State, on the other hand, has come alive from the 3-point arc after ranking among the nation's worst shooting sides for most of the year. The Spartans hit 7 of 15 long-range attempts on Friday in their 74-64 quarterfinal win over Oregon. That came on the heels of a 9-for-24 performance in the regular-season finale against Michigan.

Freshman Jase Richardson hit 3 of 7 while scoring 17 points on Friday, which pushed him to 18 of 47 (38.3 percent) from beyond the arc and 16.9 points per game since he joined the starting lineup 10 games ago. Not coincidentally, the Spartans have gone 9-1 in that stretch while beating six AP Top 25 foes.

"He just has that very cerebral, very intelligent way of looking at the game," Izzo said. "Talking to me about backdoor plays and things that he thinks could work. He's just very efficient and very intelligent, and I think he knows he's got to do some things when we get stagnant. He talks to me about moving the ball more.

"I talked to him (Friday). When he said, 'I'm not shooting well,' I said, 'Let me worry about that. You just keep doing your job.'"

--Field Level Media