Few rivalries are better than Bucky vs. Sparty

MADISON -- No, it's not Duke-North Carolina (or North Carolina-Duke, depending on your preference), but the growing rivalry between Wisconsin and Michigan State just seems to get more interesting every time these two Big Ten Conference teams take to the court.And in that regard, Tuesday was just another run-of-the-mill white-knuckler for the Badgers and the Spartans, who played to the wire in a 63-60 Michigan State victory that included an overtime and a lengthy officials' review before becoming final.Wisconsin thought it had forced a second OT when Ryan Evans banked in a 3-pointer as time expired. But an extensive review by the officials found that Evans' shot had come after time expired, "They said it was in his hands when the clock hit zero-zero-zero," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. "I thought they were questioning (whether it was a two- or three-pointer) because it was ruled good."The presence of Ryan to get the ball and take it out that fast he got it out and got the shot off. It actually played out. I thought he was spot-on."What added to the confusion was two conflicting clocks on the replay. The clock above the basket read 0:00 when Evans released the ball. But the clock on the arena's ribbon board clearly showed two-tenths of a second when the ball left his hands.Referee Pat Driscoll said that the officials watched the replay seven times and were also looking to see if Evans was in fact completely behind the line. He also said the officials noticed the clock discrepancy during the review, but the rules state that the official time is that which is displayed by the clock on the backboard."In our review, the clock clearly showed zeros while the ball remained in the Wisconsin player's hands," Driscoll said.Once the officials overturned their decision, the Spartans celebrated and another chapter was closed in the history of this sometimes bitter rivalry, which strangely enough, began in a similar fashion to Tuesday's conclusion.Before Ryan's arrival in Madison prior to the 2001-02 season, the Badgers had dropped 12 of the previous 13 meetings with Michigan State. Since Ryan took over, Wisconsin had won 13 of 19 games before Tuesday.In the teams' first meeting during the Ryan era, Michigan State saw a 10-point lead disappear in the second half. The Spartans thought they'd won the game on a last-second tip-in by Kelvin Tolbert prompting the Michigan State student section to rush the court but a review by officials determined the tip came after time expired and handed Wisconsin a 64-63 victory, snapping the Spartans' 53-game winning streak at the Breslin Center.Ryan thought about that game Tuesday when he was asked his feelings on losing in such a dramatic fashion.Eleven years ago, we were in this position and stole one at Michigan State and broke their 53-game win streak, Ryan said. Sometimes payback is payback. What are you going to do? Violence is out of the question. They all sting to me.The rivalry intensified in 2003 when Wisconsin pulled away late in a 64-53 victory at the Kohl Center, a contest punctuated by a lob and dunk from Devin Harris to Alando Tucker with just second to play.During the postgame handshakes, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo told Ryan he'd (expletive) remember that, to which Ryan responded with a nonchalant OK.The Badgers would go on to win their second consecutive Big Ten title while the Spartans finished third.A year later, Wisconsin won the first of two meetings between the two teams, and with the Big Ten title on the line in the rematch, Badgers coaches noticed the league championship banner was rolled up in the rafters of the Breslin Center, waiting to be unfurled following a Michigan State victory. Wisconsin tied the game late and won it in overtime.They met again in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals and again, Wisconsin prevailed late, leading to brisk sales of Bo Owns Izzo shirts in Madison.Things have cooled considerably between the two teams since, but each meeting had something on the line. In 2007, just after Wisconsin was ranked No. 1 in the country for the first time ever, the Spartans pull off an upset at home.Off the court, the rivalry between the two schools has grown thanks to increased competitiveness between the Badgers' and Spartans' football squads the past few seasons. A year ago, Michigan State handed the Badgers their only loss of the regular season, but Wisconsin won the tie-breaker between the two schools (and Ohio State) and got the Big Ten's Rose Bowl berth.The Spartans again knocked off Wisconsin this season, winning on a last-second hail mary at Spartan Stadium. But the Badgers extracted their revenge, rallying for a victory in the inaugural Big Ten championship game and heading to a second straight Rose Bowl.Tuesday, Izzo made reference to that series in his postgame remarks.When you look at this year in football, I think we deserve to win, he said. Over the years, I've gained more and more respect for Wisconsin ... It's been a pretty good rivalry, and now with football, who knows, maybe it'll become one of the better rivalries.Nope. It's certainly not Duke-UNC (Sorry ... UNC-Duke). It's not Xavier-Cincinnati. It'll never match the panache of UCLA-Notre Dame in the old days, but as far as contemporary rivalries ... few are more entertaining these days than Wisconsin-Michigan State.