The University of Wisconsin has worked all season to upgrade its offense to one of the country's more efficient units. But the program's core is still its defense, which betrayed them over the final 20 minutes Tuesday night.
No longer the last unbeaten team in conference play, No.11 Wisconsin couldn’t generate stops and slow Penn State’s guard play in an 87-83 defeat to the Nittany Lions at the Byrce Jordan Center in State College.
A.J. Storr’s 23 points were one of five players to reach double figures for Wisconsin (13-4, 5-1 Big Ten), which saw its lead in the conference shrink to a half-game over Purdue.
After shooting 46.9 percent in the first half, the Nittany Lions (9-9, 3-4) shot 60.7 percent in the second half, getting terrific play from guards Kanyne Clary (game-high 27 points) and Ace Baldwin Jr. (20). The duo scored 32 of Penn State’s 48 points in the second half.
The Badgers had won 15 of the last 17 meetings at Penn State but trailed by as many as 12 early and couldn’t lift itself over the hump because it couldn’t string together defensive possessions.
Seven times the Badgers tied the score or cut the lead to one in the second half, only to see Penn State score on the next possession six times. The only time Penn State failed to score; the Nittany Lions forced a Storr turnover that led to a three-point jumper.
Penn State – leading the conference in 16.6 turnovers per game – scored 16 points off 13 Wisconsin turnovers.
Things even seemed to work when Penn State missed. Forward Demetri Lilley outmaneuvered Steven Crowl for an offensive rebound, leading to Baldwin Jr. hitting a three-pointer after crossing over Blackwell to gain separation. The Nittany Lions were shooting 65 percent (13-for-20) in taking a six-point lead with 7:52 to go.
UW took its first lead with 5:01 remaining, where Max Klesmit capped an 8-0 run with a three-pointer, but the Nittany Lions hit two free throws on the next possession. Including that pair, Penn State made nine of its 10 free throws to keep its lead at two possessions.
The Badgers’ last gasp came with just over a minute remaining and trailing by four, but Storr was blocked on a drive to the rim by Qudus Wahab and Clary made a contested jumper on the other end.
In the final five minutes, Storr’s three-pointer with 0.4 seconds left was Wisconsin’s only made basket on six attempts.
What it means: The Badgers did enough offensively to win, shooting 48.3 percent from the field and averaging 1.239 points per possession, but Wisconsin’s defense was not up to par with its inability to stop Penn State’s guards.
Stat of the game: Chucky Hepburn went scoreless on his four attempts, the first game he was held scoreless since March 20, 2022.
Reason to be Concerned: The turnovers are becoming an alarming trend for a program that is among the nation’s leaders in the fewest turnovers. Wisconsin has been sloppy with the ball in consecutive games with 13 turnovers.
Don’t overlook: Markus Ilver provided quality minutes for Wisconsin in the first half. The junior reserve forward only played five minutes but contributed three points, five rebounds, an assist, and a steal.
What’s next: Wisconsin returns home to take on Indiana Friday night (7:30 p.m./FS1). Indiana (12-6, 4-3) was blown out at home by Purdue, 87-66, earlier in the evening, knocking the Hoosiers out of second place in the league. Forward Malik Reneau and center Kel’el Ware are the Hoosiers' top two scorers at 16.3 points and 14.8 ppg, respectively, but the duo was held to 13 points against Purdue. UW has won 24 of the last 28 against the Hoosiers, including 19 straight at home dating back to 2000.
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