The Badgers close out the regular season against #2 Michigan State on Sunday at noon.

Wisconsin isn’t playing for much on Sunday other than a shot at a four-game win streak and a chance to build more momentum going into the 2018-19 season. The Badgers NCAA Tournament streak is likely over (barring a Big Ten Tournament championship), as is their streak of finishing in the top-four of the Big Ten.

Gard’s squad has won three straight close games, showing some maturation and improvement from earlier in the season where they were unable to make the plays needed down the stretch. Wisconsin has beat one top-ten team this year in Purdue.

On the other side, MSU is playing for a Big Ten Championship and number one seeds in the Big Ten Tournament as well as a chance at the number one overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans have been rolling as of late, winning 11 straight contests.

Michigan State’s leading scorer Miles Bridges (17.1 PPG) is cleared for Sunday’s game despite being caught up in the recent NCAA scandal. His mom reportedly accepted $400 which is against current NCAA rules. It’s been a tumultuous season for MSU with the Larry Nassar case and other sexual assault cases within the program.

Bridges scored 24 points on January 26th when the Spartans beat Wisconsin 76-61. MSU jumped out to an early lead, one of the many slow starts that have plagued the Badgers this season, and coasted to a victory. Ethan Happ scored 23 points but took 19 shots. Brad Davison and Brevin Pritzl, who has really come along over the last few weeks, were just 8-24 combined.

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