For the fifth time in the last six games, it was the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team who hung their heads at the final buzzer — dropping by two in Iowa City to 15-11 University of Iowa.
The final possession of overtime was a rollercoaster for the UW faithful, who watched the seconds tick off the clock as point guard Chucky Hepburn fended off Tony Perkins’ drive to the basket. Hepburn managed to poke away the basketball, and for a brief moment it seemed like the game would be headed to a second overtime. But, Perkins ended up corralling the loose ball and putting down the game-winning layup with a second to spare.
It was clear from the very beginning that Saturday’s game was going to be a physical test for the Badgers, with 43 combined personal fouls committed — 24 in the second period — and 58 total free throw attempts.
Wisconsin failed to capitalize on its 28 attempts from the charity stripe — coming away with just 19 points (67.9%). Six of their nine misses came in the final nine minutes of the contest, including a pair of misses by Hepburn following a technical foul on Owen Freeman when the score was 74–70 in favor of Iowa.
The Hawkeyes went 24-for-30 (80%) from the line.
Defensively, UW had no answers for Freeman, who led Iowa in points (20), rebounds (12), assists (six), blocks (four) and steals (two), while shooting a perfect 6-for-6 from the field. The Hawkeyes also got sizable contributions from Perkins, who scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half, and Josh Dix (17 points on 8-for-11 FG).
Forward Steven Crowl posted a season-high 22 points, while guard AJ Storr joined him in the 20-point club with 21 of his own. Hepburn fell one rebound shy of a double-double, notching 18 points, nine rebounds and four steals, while guard Max Klesmit overcame a poor shooting day (2-for-10 FG, 0-for-4 3Pt) to deliver a career-high eight assists.
Crowl’s 22 points pushed him past the 1,000 career points milestone, becoming the 49th Badger to accomplish the feat.
UW came out red-hot Saturday, lurching out to a 17–6 lead in a little over five minutes behind five made 3-pointers and six individual points from forward Nolan Winter and Storr. Their offensive was executing at an extremely high level, starting out 12-for-15 from the field with assists on 11 of those makes.
Wisconsin led by as many as 13 midway through the first half — an advantage that would be their largest of the game — before Iowa began to punch back. The Hawkeyes made seven of their final nine field goal attempt, outscoring UW 21–14 in the closing 8:30 as the Badgers entered the break up 47–43.
After leading the entire first half, UW surrendered the lead just two minutes into the second, as Iowa’s offensive barrage continued. The Hawkeyes opened up the period shooting 6-for-9 from the field, but Crowl, who scored seven of the Badgers’ first nine points, kept UW in the mix as the lead changed hands seven times in the first five minutes.
Outside of Crowl, UW fell ice cold from the field, starting the second half 4-for-13 from the field and allowing Iowa to press their advantage to nine points with less than 10 minutes in regulation.
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But, Wisconsin tightened up on the defensive end and allowed Iowa to score just four points in the closing seven minutes. During that stretch, Hepburn took over, notching seven of the Badgers final 13 points while racking up four rebounds and two steals.
In the final 65 seconds, Wahl and Perkins exchanged layups, knotting the game at 78 with 28 seconds left with the ball in UW’s hands.
Coming out of a timeout, the Badgers couldn’t find a good look, instead settling for a stepback three by Hepburn that rimmed out and was rebounded by Iowa. In transition, Perkins snaked a pick-and-roll and put up a heavily contested runner at the buzzer that went wide, pushing the contest to overtime.
Wahl, who picked up his fourth foul with 9:26 to play in regulation, but managed to play the final six minutes without committing a fifth, scored layups on back-to-back possessions to open up the extra frame.
Despite his efforts, the score was back to even with two minutes remaining, and after trading a pair of made free throws, the scoreboard read 86–86 with one minute to go.
UW managed to get up three shots in the final minute, but failed to log any points. On their first possession, Storr got a good look at the rim but missed the layup. On the next possession, Storr was blocked by Freeman, but recouped the offensive rebound and threw a cross-court pass to an open Klesmit, who missed the would-be go-ahead three.
Following a timeout, Perkins would sink the Badgers’ hopes of a win, making the game-winning layup in the last seconds.
With the loss, UW dropped to 17-9 on the year (9-6 conf.) but remained in third place in the Big Ten. Next up for the Badgers is a home date with 14-12 University of Maryland, who have lost three of their last four.
