The Michigan State Spartans had not won in the Kohl Center for a while until Tuesday night, end even then, the game ended in controversy. Ryan Evans hit a falling away desperation three-pointer as time expired in overtime, but officials ruled that the ball left his hands just after the game clock had expired. To complicate matters, a courtside clock out of sync with the clock above the basket showed 0.2 seconds remaining when the ball left Evans' hands, but the official clock above the basket was already at zero and the light was on.
The 63-60 win was more than enough reason for The Only Colors to be excited:
For a moment, it seemed that the Kohl Center's magic had returned, as Taylor sank consecutive threes (including a deep, guarded bomb) sandwiching two Appling free throws to cut it to 63-60. With 10 seconds left, Green missed two free throws to give Wisconsin a chance. Taylor was unable to convert a third three-pointer, but Evans got the rebound and quickly dribbled out behind the arc. Evans's shot banked high off the glass and in, and the referees initially counted it, but replay showed that the ball was still in his hands when the backboard clock read 0.0 and the red light came on. Bizarrely, the clock on the display boards around the edges of the arena was not synced with the backboard clock and showed 0.1 left when the ball left Evans's hands, but the referees correctly ruled that the backboard clock was official and the shot was waved off.
Michigan State is now in first place in the Big Ten all by itself with a pair of precious road victories. The road win at Wisconsin is one of the rarest of all, as the Badgers have now only lost eight times in conference play there, but now they have lost two in a row at home after Iowa's shocking upset last weekend.
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