Men's basketball: Lucas hurt during Spartans' first Big Ten loss

MADISON, Wis. - Wake up, Big Ten. Wisconsin just cracked open the door for you.

And they did it with a swift and decisive kick to the back side of front-running Michigan State, which lost 67-49 - and more importantly, lost star Kalin Lucas in the second half to a right ankle sprain that appeared serious.

The junior guard twisted the ankle severely with 10:40 left in the game, coming down after a jumper on the foot of Wisconsin's Keaton Nankivil.

Lucas said after the game that it isn't broken - although he will get X-rays today - but that he has a "high sprain," which typically means longer healing time.

"I guess the issue is whether he's a fast healer or not," MSU coach Tom Izzo said of Lucas' status for Saturday's game at Illinois. "And I don't know, because he's never really been hurt."

The No. 5 Spartans' first Big Ten loss in 10 games was convincing from start to finish - with No. 16 Wisconsin jumping to a 10-1 lead and leading by six or more for the rest of the night in front of 17,230 howling fans at the Kohl Center.

"I thought for the most part that was an old-fashioned whooping," Izzo said.

The short-handed Badgers (17-5 overall, 7-3 Big Ten) pulled within two games of MSU (19-4, 9-1) with blazing outside shooting, frequently foiling MSU defensive possessions with jump shots late in the shot clock.

"It seemed like we played defense for 35 seconds, and the last couple seconds they'd hit a big 3," MSU's Chris Allen said, "or someone would mess up on an assignment and they'd get a layup."

MSU chopped a 17-point deficit down to eight early in the second, but the Badgers responded. When Lucas went down with MSU trailing 50-37, the prospects of a comeback were lost.

Senior guard Jason Bohannon led Wisconsin with 19 points, and sophomore guard Jordan Taylor had 17.

The Badgers, missing star forward Jon Leuer (wrist fracture), still shot 51 percent from the field in their third home win against a top-10 team this season.

Durrell Summers was the only double-figures scorer with 11 for MSU, which shot 37 percent and had 13 turnovers to just five for Wisconsin.

A few MSU players said after the game that the practices leading up to the game were lethargic. Korie Lucious said the Spartans "saw this coming" in a way.

"I think we all did in practice," he said. "We haven't been bringing it like we should have."

The loss breaks a Big Ten regular-season league winning streak of 14 for MSU. The last defeat came Feb. 17 of last year at Purdue.

MSU has now lost seven straight games in Madison, with its last victory coming in 2001, the year before Bo Ryan took over as Wisconsin's coach.

The Badgers earned a season split with MSU and made a race to the finish possible.

Purdue, Illinois and Ohio State are all a half game behind Wisconsin at 6-3. A visit to Illinois and a home game with Purdue are next on MSU's schedule - so these standings could get closer in a hurry.

Or the Spartans could re-establish control in a hurry. To do so, they'll need Lucas, and they'll need to play better in all phases than they did Tuesday.

"We will learn about ourselves," MSU's Draymond Green said.

"I told a lot of people we're not gonna go undefeated," Izzo said, "and (now) we have to do a good job of bouncing back. The road doesn't get any easier."