INDIANAPOLIS – Most teams would be satisfied with the defensive effort the Wisconsin men’s basketball team set forth against Big Ten Player of the Year Draymond Green Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis. But with Michigan State’s deep frontcourt rotation, Wisconsin wasn’t able to get the result it wanted in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.

Michigan State’s leading scorer and rebounder finished with an impressive stat line of 14 points and 16 rebounds, but it took him longer than usual to produce those numbers. In the first half of the Spartans’ (26-7) 65-52 win over the Badgers (24-9) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, however, Green scored just two points and turned the ball over a stunning four times.

But thanks to his frontcourt partners, centers Derrick Nix and Adreian Payne, Green was able to take his time before picking things up in the second half. Guard Austin Thornton also was critical in allowing Michigan State to rebound from the 20-9 run Wisconsin began the game with, scoring 12 points on 4-for-4 shooting from three-point range.

All together, with their top player unusually ineffective, the Spartans entered halftime leading 35-25.

“One of us was down, and I’ve been saying all year, a lot of the credit came towards me, but this team wouldn’t be where it’s at without Austin,” Green said, singling himself out for his first-half struggles. “I’ve always said we complement each other so well. I’m kind of a guy who’s up front and all that and Austin is just behind the scenes, does the work. And today, everybody saw what he was capable of doing when I started off the game struggling very bad.”

Green was quick to praise Thornton, but the all-around efforts of Nix and Payne might have played the largest roles in carrying the Spartans to victory. Offensively, Nix finished with nine points, while Payne added six. But on the defensive end, the duo largely shut down Wisconsin’s post players, providing a noticeable advantage in the paint.

UW forward Ryan Evans finished with 18 points, but the majority of those points came on jumpers abnormally far from the hoop. Forward/center Jared Berggren, one game after nearing a double-double against Indiana with 16 points and nine rebounds, finished with just six points on 1-for-7 shooting against Michigan State. Forward Frank Kaminsky added one three-pointer, while forward Mike Bruesewitz was held scoreless.

“They’re a good defensive team,” point guard Jordan Taylor said. “They do that to a lot of teams. But we didn’t do a very good job moving without the ball and some other things.”

Wisconsin’s biggest issue seemed to be an ability to manufacture quality shot attempts, reflected by its 34.7 percent (17-for-49) mark from the field. The Badgers also made just 35 percent of their 3-point attempts (7-for-20), making a second-half comeback even more difficult. Michigan State’s largest lead of 19 points came with 16:52 left in the game, but the closest Wisconsin was able to come in the second half was within 46-40 at the 12:18 mark.

With the Badgers’ frontcourt unable to manufacture consistent production, the Spartans took advantage – from start to finish. All nine of Nix’s points came in the first half, while all six of Payne’s were scored in the second.

The 6-foot-9, 270-pound Nix greatly overpowered any of the defenders Wisconsin threw at him defensively and on the boards, none any bigger than the 6-foot-10, 235-pound Berggren. Payne, at 6-foot-10 and 240 pounds, also exhibited his will on the Badgers in the second half.

Ultimately, the size disparity manifested itself inside. Michigan State finished with 22 points in the paint, while Wisconsin scored just six.

Coupled with the Spartans’ hot three-point shooting, keyed by Thornton, the Badgers simply could not keep pace. MSU finished 6-for-9 (66.7 percent) from behind the 3-point arc, including 4-for-5 (80 percent) in the first half.

“The three threes really hurt because there were a couple things that we didn’t do according to our rules,” head coach Bo Ryan said. “Some teams make you pay more than others if you don’t stick to your reads on defense. People talk about reads on offense; I like to talk about [them] on defense. It’s the same thing.”