Surging Spartans beat Wisconsin

Nick Ward had 22 points and nine rebounds, Miles Bridges had 17 points and Matt McQuaid added a season-high 15 to help Michigan State beat No. 16 Wisconsin 84-74 on Sunday in East Lansing, Mich.

The Spartans (18-11, 10-6 Big Ten) have won six of their last eight games, moving them into a third-place tie in the conference and perhaps sealing their spot in a 20th straight NCAA tournament.

The Badgers (22-7, 11-5) have lost four of five and lost a chance to pull into a first-place tie with No. 14 Purdue.

Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes scored 22 points, Bronson Koenig had 17 and Zak Showalter added 15. Ethan Happ fouled out with eight points, more than six points below his average.

Michigan State went on an 11-1 run midway through the second half, building a 12-point lead.

The Spartans finished the game 21 of 23 at the free-throw line, while the Badgers went 13 of 25.

UCF 53, Cincinnati 49: B.J. Taylor scored 27 points and 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall had seven points and four blocked shots to help UCF pull off the upset in Orlando, Fla.

After No. 15 Cincinnati pulled within two points when UCF missed two free throws in the waning seconds, Fall came through by making two free throws with 2 seconds remaining to hold off the Bearcats.

It was the first time in nine meetings that the Knights (19-10, 10-7 American Athletic Conference) beat Cincinnati (25-4, 14-2).

BYU plays spoiler: Topranked Gonzaga’s quest to go undefeated this season ended under a barrage of baskets by BYU’s Eric Mika on Saturday night.

Mika had 29 points and 11 rebounds, and BYU upset Gonzaga 79-71 in Spokane, Wash.

It was the Cougars’ first victory ever over a No. 1 team, after four losses, and spoiled the Bulldogs’ perfect record in their last regular-season game.

Mika, a sophomore center, made 10 of 14 shots from the floor and 9 of 13 free throws. His biggest basket put BYU ahead 73-71 with a minute left in the game.

Gonzaga (29-1, 17-1 West Coast) lost the ball on its next two possessions.