East Lansing >> Michigan State’s Big Ten title dreams are only getting more real.

Driven by strong rebounding and abnormally hot 3-point shooting, No. 8 Michigan State overpowered No. 11 Wisconsin, 71-62, in a Sunday matinee marred by frequent fouls. The victory keeps the Spartans atop the Big Ten with two games to play.

Michigan State is a game in front of Michigan, which lost 93-73 to Illinois on Sunday afternoon.

“I just want to keep getting better,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “We gotta get better. We didn’t get better today. … I thought we just did some things that were unlike us, and then we did some really good things too, in the rebounding and the running and made some shots.”

Hard to please, Izzo’s message reflected the temperament of the game. There were breakthroughs: a team-leading 19 points from Jaden Akins included four 3-pointers for the once-slumping guard. There were consistent foundations: a 51-40 advantage on the glass, drive by forward Jaxon Kohler’s career-high 16 rebounds (seven offensive). Michigan State (24-5, 15-3 Big Ten) also found 20 assists from eight different players. However, fouls and misfires threatened the Spartans’ composure until the game’s late stages.

For Wisconsin, John Blackwell (Birmingham Brother Rice) dropped 19 points. His Badgers struggled offensively without starting guard Max Klesmit, who sat on the bench in a walking boot the duration of the game. Wisconsin (22-7, 12-6) scored once in the final four minutes of the game as Michigan State closed out the victory.

Wisconsin took a 34-32 lead into halftime, paced by a dominant start that built a 13-4 lead in the first five minutes.

Guard Jase Richardson opened Michigan State’s scoring with a three, but he played just five minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. The first came after getting beat off the baseline by Badgers depth player Jack Janicki and the second came on a blocking foul that his team and the crowd protested. Richardson sat most of the first half before finishing the game with 11 points and five rebounds.

With a star player stuck on the bench, Michigan State looked to its most reliable source of energy: a Coen Carr dunk. And this one was one of his finest. On a lob from Tre Holloman, Carr jammed the ball behind his back and made Breslin Center explode.

“I got that dunk in the first half, and I think we scored two or three more times after that,” Carr said. “It definitely gets our offense going, and it gets our defense going for sure.”

Michigan State keyed a 15-4 run after Carr’s highlight, turning a nine-point deficit into a two-point lead at 11:49. Akins hit three 3-pointers in a row, the first enabled by two offensive boards from Kohler. And even when Akins missed his next 3-pointer, he boarded his own miss and nailed a long two with confidence.

“Coen got the big dunk and it kind of got the crowd into the game,” Izzo said, “and then Jaden hit those 3s. I mean, it makes a difference.”

Kohler made a difference himself, his career-high rebounding fully earned. Wisconsin threw bodies and box-outs at him, but time after time he came up with the ball.

“I asked him after the game if he put glue on his hands or anything,” center Carson Cooper said, “… Stuff like that is just so beneficial because it keeps us in the game. Without Jaxon’s five offensive rebounds, whatever he had in the first half, when we got down it could’ve been a lot worse.”

Michigan State opened the second half with its offense surging. With Richardson retaking the floor, Michigan State put together an 8-0 run after Blackwell’s opening layup. Four different players scored once each.

Wisconsin broke the run off a 3 from forward Nolan Winter 3:22 in, the first made three after 14 straight misses. The Badgers shot 5-for-32 from deep on the day, well below their season average.

Michigan State continued to shoot well, at least compared to its form earlier in the season. Makes from Richardson and forward Frankie Fidler chipped in as Michigan State outscored Wisconsin 16-7 over a seven minute stretch, the final blows back-to-back dunks from Akins and Cooper.

Fouls continued to muddle Michigan State’s play at both ends of the court, including a pair of offensive fouls on center Szymon Zapala midway through the half. But Michigan State’s focus didn’t wane as dunks turned the crowd’s boos to cheers. Wisconsin battled with a 7-0 run of its own, taking the game down to a single point with 6:57 to play. Instead of taking the lead, however, a pair of turnovers by guard John Tonje — who Izzo praised as a player of the year candidate — wasted Wisconsin’s chance.

“The last six, seven minutes, I thought we really inflicted some damage to ourselves with some turnovers,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said.

Tonje finished the game with just 11 points on 3-for-13 shooting, clamped by Akins’ defense.

Carr and Cooper dunks kept Michigan State level with the Badgers, until that lockdown four minutes put the game on ice.

Sunday’s win keeps Michigan State in control of its Big Ten title hopes, a chance at Izzo’s 11th Big Ten title.

That would tie Bob Knight and Piggy Lambert for the conference record. Michigan State will visit Iowa for its penultimate game Thursday.

“You get to this time of year and everybody’s telling me how good you are, and sometimes I think we don’t handle that well,” Izzo said.

“But I don’t know if any team handles that well. And I don’t handle it well. If you tell me we’re good, I say the opposite, but there’s a reason.”

The reason shows in wins like Sunday’s, when its title odds got that much greater.