Wisconsin may not have starting point guard Trevon Hughes for Sunday's Big Ten championship game against Illinois because of an injured left ankle, but that doesn't mean the Badgers won't have a leg to stand on.

They won their only previous game this year without the sophomore's services, beating a Top 10 Texas squad 67-66 in Austin on Dec. 29. They also completed their comeback against Michigan State in the Big Ten semifinals Saturday with Hughes out of the game.

He hit the deck holding his ankle in obvious pain with 12:38 remaining and the Badgers trailing the Spartans 45-35. Wisconsin outscored Michigan State 30-18 the rest of the way for a 65-63 victory. Head coach Bo Ryan said Hughes' status for the Big Ten final was uncertain.

Wisconsin is in the championship game for the second straight season and the fourth time in five years. Illinois (16-18), which needs to win to get in the NCAA Tournament, is in the final for the first time since beating Wisconsin 54-43 in 2005.

The Badgers defeated the Fighting Illini twice this season. They won 70-60 at the Kohl Center on Jan. 10 behind 22 points from Hughes. Hughes led the way again with 18 in a 71-57 victory in Champaign on Feb. 20.

WISCONSIN 65, MICHIGAN STATE 63: A steal and layup by Michael Flowers gave the Badgers the lead, and a missed 3-pointer by Drew Neitzel at the buzzer gave them the win Saturday against the foul-plagued Spartans in the Big Ten semifinals in Indianapolis.

No. 8 Wisconsin (28-4) advanced to the title game for the second straight year despite shooting 37 percent from the field. The Badgers outscored No. 19 Michigan State (25-8) by a 26-14 margin at the free-throw line as the Spartans committed 30 fouls, one short of the tournament record, and had four players foul out.

The Badgers trailed 53-41 with eight minutes remaining before Jason Bohannon ignited a 13-2 run with a 3-point bucket.

After the layup by Flowers gave Wisconsin its first lead since it was 23-22, Kalin Lucas missed an off-balance drive in the lane with 12 seconds left. Bohannon could have iced it, but missed two free throws with eight seconds remaining to give Neitzel one last look.

Neitzel led all scorers with 26 points and Lucas added 18. Brian Butch had 19 points to lead the Badgers, who also got a double-double from Joe Krabbenhoft and 18 points and nine boards from Marcus Landry.

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